On January 1st, wrote an article on diet fads, http://www.examiner.com/weight-loss-in-denver/history-of-fads-and-yo-yo-diets, explaining how diets have part of history and are history. This article is on fitness fads. Below is a video done by a friend that has a business in the area called six pack shortcuts. It is quite funny but educational as well.
Want to shift those pounds? Lose weight fast? Reader, you're in luck. It's clear that there are any number of companies keen to takes pounds off your bank balance and seriously lighten your wallet. Snake oil is obviously going to be huge this year, as is the waist size of anyone who really believes that the singlet/leggings/ cycling shorts they wear will make them trim.
From strippercise to circus-trapeze aerobics, gyms and fitness gurus keep coming up with new ways to make working out less of a chore. But though these whimsical classes and instructional DVDs can reinvigorate your gym routine, some of the glitziest (and goofiest) new trends can also put you at risk for sprained ankles, pulled muscles and overexertion. And some don't even give you much of a workout.
Is it just me, or are fitness fads getting sexier and sexier? It seems to have started in the 80s, when sexy workout girls started making aerobics tapes for stay-at-home moms to do in their living rooms. In the process, they ditched the sweatsuits for leotards and ushered in a new era of sexy fitness. Since then, each new fad expands the boundaries of what’s acceptable. Yoga, for example, made it totally normal for women to walk around wearing lycra pants that hug every curve of their bodies. And now we’ve got fads like “pole dancing fitness,” which is basically just straight up sex practice.
When you channel-surf television for something amazing to watch, you're bound to drop into one of those loud, flashy infomercials showcasing some sort of "wonder" product.
Most of you ascertain from the get-go that the product is probably just a gimmick, a hoax, a scam, but nevertheless you watch, watch and watch some more. Soon you're hooked! The phone is in your hand, and you're drooling all over yourself, ready to buy the latest fitness gadget, contraption or doohickey.
Like the Ab Slimming Belt
The idea behind this device is that after you fasten it around your midsection and turn it on, the belt will send small electric shocks to your abdominal muscles, causing them to continuously contract and relax. Essentially, it would mimic doing a series of abdominal crunches that constantly recruit your abdominal muscle fibers.
But how hard do those muscle fibers really work? Assuming this belt is safe for the average individual, the electric shocks it gives are probably very light, and the force needed to really make your muscles work would be something similar to the electrical chair. In any case, low levels of contractions will not produce washboard abs. They will, however, make you look spastic if you wear it in public.
Secondly, how many calories will you burn with this thing? Hardly any. Anyone who has great abdominals knows that if you want a six-pack, you need to burn a lot of calories. Burning calories helps melt away fat so you can expose the abdominals. While the Ab Slimming Belt may prevent muscle atrophy if you're bed-ridden, it isn't going to do much else.
OR the shake weight is the newest (and silliest) fitness contrivance on the market, but sadly has become popular for women. Supposedly, vigorously shaking this 2.5-pound weight will produce firm and toned arms in a jiffy, and the recommended six minutes of Shake Weight exercise a day will (insert hyper-advertising mega-voice!) leave you looking sleeker and leaner than ever before!
Where do I begin? First, 2.5 pounds is not nearly enough resistance to challenge anyone - not even your grandmother.
Secondly, the range of movement using the Shake Weight is too short and abrupt. It is likely to cause an injury before it gets you ripped. Unless you work the muscles across their full movement range, the exercise becomes inefficient and ineffective to create shapely arms.
Sure, you'll feel a slight burn after awhile, but a burning sensation doesn't correlate to results.
Not convinced? Before spending some of your hard-earned money, make your own Shake Weight by filling up a shaker/water bottle with water, and shake it. And if you like it, you already have your own version to use.
Life must have been simpler for our ancestors, albeit shorter, nastier and lacking in such basic amenities as the electric toaster. Exercise was something early humans just got, not something they thought about. It was all "Quick, follow that antelope!" or "Look out, it's that big, toothy, stripey thing we don't have a word for yet!", and anyone who stood around suggesting: "Yes, this running's all very well, but you really need to be working on your core stability" ended up inside a tiger.
And now? Anything goes. The Wii games console, launched in 2006, has pumped up the sector known as "lounge fitness". Wii Fit has sold 23 million copies. According to Tesco, "Weighted hula hoops are the next big thing!", which must be annoying if you're pushing the mixture of dance, aerobics and Latin beats known as Zumba (itself a modern take on another 1970s phenomenon, Jazzercise). For those who prefer balancing on a wobbly plank, the options include the T-Bow and the Indo Board. Jowls need a workout? The Face Bra!
STOP! That's quite enough. Thank God no one actually needs any of this.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PLAIN OLD SCHOOL GYM?? Worked out and got out!
