This blog was originally featured on Maria Haymandou’s fitness website here.
—
After a few too many holiday cookies and a with a brand-spanking-new fitness resolution on our lips, January finds many would-be couch potatoes gearing up for their summer bod. Unfortunately, weeding through the good, the bad and the ugly of favorite fitness products can encourage a more significant sweat than the proposed workouts. So what’s the word on wacky workout gear?
The Shake Weight: This twenty dollar, barbell-esque device claims to deliver your upper body workout in just six minutes a day by just shaking the device. However, as witnessed in this cool muscle chart by Interbody, the upper body is composed of the chest, back, shoulders and arms, each with anterior and posterior major muscles as well as assistor muscles. While shaking this two-pound object might encourage a little burn in the biceps, anterior deltoids, and a few pectoral fibers, sacrificing proper form while shaking your groove could lead to injury. Not to mention the fact that you’ve missed several key muscle groups along the way which could lead to muscle imbalance. Best advice for building upper body strength? Participate in an educated, free-weight session addressing all muscle groups and proper alignment.
Ab Belt by Sport Elec: Heading south of the upper body to the abs, we find this fifty dollar gadget with claims to firm and tone abs in two weeks. The best part? Once you strap on the belt and hit the “on” button, you’re done! The magic behind this belt is electrical-stimulation does the work for you. Great concept, but a bit too narrow-minded. As shown on Healthline.com the complex group of muscles that make up the core go deep and wide. And, with muscle growth comes the need for progressive resistance. Unfortunately, while binge-watching your favorite series, the targeted electro-stimulated muscles will quickly plateau.
Ab Circle Pro: Although a smaller price tag than the above ab-buster, this fifteen dollar piece of equipment isn’t going to do the trick for you, either. Not only does it not target the critical portion abdominal musculature (see above chart), this quick, pendulum-style exercise can be a tricky maneuver for the hips and back risking injury to these areas.
Bottom line? Don’t sweat the small stuff. Instead, find a gym with educated trainers and get your year going right.
Maria Haymandou 