Most Useless Fitness Equipment

We’ve all seen them, those late night TV advertisements, 30 minute infomercials hocking the latest fitness craze, something guaranteed to make the pounds fall off with only a half hour a day, and all for $19.95. The makers of these devices have sold and made millions, successfully exploiting the misguided beliefs of many Americans that it is possible to get something for nothing. Here for your amusement are some of the more intriguing entries in the “Completely and Utterly Useless” category:

The Shake Weight: Who here among us has not seen the Shake Weight commercials and had one of those “are you serious?” moments? The Shake Weight is a 2.5 lb spring loaded dumbbell that users grip two handed in the middle and shake up and down. The creators say it provides a workout through “dynamic intertia”, a concept that has been debunked by a number of leading fitness professionals.  For the most part, all it does for you is make you look ridiculous for six minutes a day.

The Hawaii Chair: This motorized chair is designed to produce a hip swiveling effect, supposedly giving you a lower body workout while you sit in your office doing your daily routine. It requires virtually no work on your part, and the tag line even reads, “if you can sit, you can get fit”, a true testament to the laziness rampant in our society. We would not recommend using this device at work however, since it will mean that you are very unlikely to be invited to the best parties.

Ab Belts: Yet another promise of easy weight loss with little or no effort. These devices use electrical impulses to make your abs contract, eliminating the need for those pesky situps.  The problem is that it just doesn’t work, with a recent University of Wisconsin study concluding that after eight weeks these machines produced no significant changes in weight, body fat, strength, or overall appearance.

The Ab Rocker: Unlike most of the devices mentioned in this piece, the Ab Rocker actually does provide some benefits, although the fact that it places dead last on the list of abdominal exercise products should be enough to give you pause.  The Ab Rocker works your abdominals in a rocking motion, but the good old fashioned crunch is still the best way to get the six pack you’re gunning for.

The Thigh Master: If you don’t know what the Thigh Master is, then you’ve been living under a rock for the last 20 years. Endlessly hocked by actress Suzanne Somers, who used her own sexy gams to drive millions of people to their phones to order this miracle product, the Thigh Master became a late night marketing phenomenon. For $20, how could you miss, right? Easy, it was simply not the fat burning curative it was promoted to be.

In other words, when it comes to matters of fitness, you need to be prepared to part with some sweat or forget it. There are no shortcuts. It doesn’t take much to put on the weight, but there are things called discipline and commitment that are required if you want to see it come off.

LeaseQ is one of the leading providers of actual fitness equipment leasing and financing in the United States.

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