Not everybody has the money to pay for a gym membership or even the time and transportation to get to the facility. Year after year there are new fitness fads that become popular for some time then fade away. Some are technologies to help with fitness, some are different diet strategies, some are different clothing styles, and some are even different workout machines that are supposed to keep you in shape. There have been plenty of fitness fads that were a fluke and did not work and are just a hurt to your pocket. There are also some fads that are worth getting involved in because they can change your life. The fitness industry has come a long way since shiny spandex and sweatbands ruled the scene. But it’s fun to stroll down memory lane and remember the fitness fads of the past 10 years that were a fluke such as the Ab Roller, Shake Weight, Toning Shoes, and Power Balance. (Shakeshaft.n.d) Also down the lane are the fitness fads that actually are beneficial and work such as Yoga, Zumba, Kettlebell Workouts, Exergaming, and High Intense Interval Training which is most commonly know as HIIT. ("Top Workout Fads", n.d) This paper will explain why the fads were a fluke or a success and what fad I, personally consider to be the best one backed up by different information and research that has been found.
Everyone wants to have that tone fit stomach especially around the summer time. What are people willing to do to attain a nice solid stomach? Many people are tired of the old boring sit ups and planks that they have done over and over. Ab machines became popular and one that is well known is the Ab Roller. The Ab Roller is a small, portable piece of fitness equipment. It has a u-shaped frame with foam handles. There is cushion on the bottom to support your head. You can add weights on the side to increase the intensity of the workout and add more resistance to the roll that you will be performing. (Johnson,2011) The ab roller is best known for its comfort, but there has been no evidence that it does anything better than what normal crunches and sit ups do for your abs.( “Ab Roller”,2008) The non-profit fitness watchdog group, conducted a study to measure the effectiveness of this product by checking the muscle activity. They measured the muscle activity by using electromyography equipment. The study concluded that the sit-up placed 7th on a list of 13 and the Ab Roller placed 9th on the list. (Johnson,2011) You cannot get that flat stomach by using this or basically any ab machine unless you diet.
The number one biggest fitness fad that has been a fluke is the Shake Weight. (Shakeshaft.n.d) The Shake Weight became very popular by the info commercials that have been televised over and over and consecutive mentions of the product on various TV shows such as Ellen DeGeneres. (Jonathan, n.d) When it comes to nonsensical exercise equipment the Shake Weight might just be the head of them all. It is based on the oxymoronic “principle” of “dynamic inertia,” the Shake Weight is alleged to give users, “lean, sculpted arms and shoulders. (Marinello,2010) The Shake Weight resembles a regular dumbbell, It is a 2.5 pound weight with a spring on either end. To perform the exercise, you shake it back and forth. They claim that this movement is much better than traditional weight training. This is proven wrong by another electromyography test to judge how it activates the chest, shoulders, biceps, and triceps muscles. They looked at those results compared to basic exercises such as calisthenics and elastic bands. The results display that the Shake Weight’s exercises were inferior to our conventional exercises targeting those muscles, and for the biceps, they were about the same. You burn more calories walking 3 mph then using the Shake Weight. (“Shake Yourself Into Shape”,2011) According to this information I would not buy the Shake Weight. All I see it doing for me is putting a hole in my pocket and falling for another gimmick that these info commercials play.
A fitness fad that became popular and had many different brands consuming them is the Toning Shoes. Toning shoes are designed with a bottom that is not like the traditional shoe. This bottom is rounded instead of a flat and stable surface. The point of the roundedness is to force you and your muscles to work harder on keeping your balance.(Rodriguez, n.d) These shoes are definitely not in for fashion because they look hideous like your grandmas orthopedic footwear. Do these shoes really help you get toned legs and a butt that Beyonce would envy? A fitness claim has stated “It’s the shoe proven to work your hamstrings and calves up to 11 percent harder. And tones your butt up to 28 percent more than regular sneakers just by walking.” This was proven wrong by a study that was conducted by exercise scientists from the Exercise and Health Program at the University of Wisconsin, and La Crosse. The study was evaluating exercise responses to walking in traditional athletic shoes (a New Balance running shoe) versus the popular toning shoes. The second study evaluated muscle activation when walking in regular athletic shoes compared to toning shoes.(Anders, n.d) The exercise response study was done by females who completed a dozen five-minute exercise trials in which they walked on a treadmill for five minutes wearing each type of shoe brand. The subjects were asked to walk at different speeds and different elevations. The shoe order was randomized. Researchers monitored each subject’s oxygen consumption, heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and caloric expenditure. To measure the muscle activation the researchers used EMG to record muscle activity in six muscle areas: calf, quads, hamstrings, buttocks, back and abs.(Anders, n.d) The results were as assumed, that there is no major increases in either exercise response or muscle activation. Also there is no evidence to support the claims that these shoes will help exercise more intensely, burn more calories or improve muscle strength and tone. These shoes are not something you want to wear to help you slim down and live a healthy fit lifestyle.
Another fitness fad that flopped is the Power Balance.( Shakeshaft ,n .d ) The Power Balance is a performance enhancing bracelet that has tiny holograms embedded into it. They want what’s going to give them the edge over someone else,” explains Rachel Hazuga, M.S., a researcher from the University of Wisconsin. “Even if it makes them only slightly better, it still means they’re better.”(“Power Balance”, n.d) Would a band like this really improve flexibility, balance, strength and vertical jump? The American Council on Exercise also known as ACE got together 42 NCAA Division III athletes to perform a few test to see if these bracelets really work. There were half men and half women whom each completed two trials of four test: trunk flexibility, balance, strength and vertical jump. One trial the subject wore the Power Balance bracelet and for the other trial they wore a placebo. They did not know what bracelet they wore for what trial. It was completely randomized and double blinded. (“Power Balance”, n.d) Porcari, one of the researchers who conducted the study said it was invariably. Each subject performed better on the second trial no matter what band they had on. (“Power Balance”, n.d) You might ask why the bands work on the commercials you see on TV. Well this is easy to explain, if you were given a math test today and then the same math test tomorrow, it is almost assured that you will score higher on the test tomorrow. This is because it’s sequence of events and you knew what to expect. This researchers call order effect is the same for the commercials. In the product demonstrations, the tester first tugs on the subjects arm while he is not wearing the wristband. This disrupts his balance and causes him to stumble. During this initial trial, the subject is unaware as to what to expect or how to react. For the second trial, the wristband is used. The tester again tugs on the subjects arm. This time, the subject is aware of what will happen and is prepared to stabilize himself. As a result, the wristband miraculously improves the subject’s balance! (Williams, n.d) There are little ways to fool the viewers into buying products like this. Overall I would personally not get one because they are expensive, 30 dollars for something that is proven not to work is what I consider to be a frugal buy.
It’s funny how workout trends come and go, and how a centuries- old piece of cast iron can inspire legions of exercisers in 2010.That’s the way it seems to be going for the good old kettlebell (Schnettler,Porcari & Foster,2010). The kettlebell has been around since the 18th century. They are made out of cast iron; they are cannonball shaped weights with a single handle on top. The popular feat with kettlebell is the swinging motions you do. It increases stamina and strength.(Parker,2010) A study was done by the University of Wisconsin, LA Crosse Exercise and Health Program. The study consisted of 10 volunteers of both gender ages 29 to 46. Each volunteer was given a maximal exercise test on a treadmill while oxygen consumption and heart rate were constantly monitored. Once they had a fitness baseline established, on a separate day they performed a five-minute kettlebell VO2 max snatch test to establish a baseline of their specific kettlebell fitness. The results showed that the kettlebell workout was much more intense. They burned much more calories in half the time doing the intense training than the exercise test on the treadmill. (Schnettler,Porcari & Foster,2010)
Many children just want to play video games instead of working out. Students can sit and play a video game for hours but some can only work out for a short time until they get bored and don’t want to do it any more. High levels of screen time are a contributing factor that encourage sedentary lifestyles in young people.(Daley,2009) Exergaming has been a great motivator for children to workout. Exergames are seen as evolving from technology changes aimed at making videogames more fun. This type of gaming incorporates physical activity for all ages and involves movements of all different types of limbs. Exergamer games are such as Dance Dance Revolution and the Wii. DDR is a game that involves you to step on a mat that has arrows. You step on the arrows as the arrows move up to the top of the screen. This game can get very intense when you play on a higher speed; you are non-stop moving around the mat to hit all the arrows. Children and adults love this game. I never imagined riding along rugged terrain, swerving around curves, racing an adversary, all from a stationary bike. This is as all because of virtual devices. These types of equipment are becoming popular fast. They have a bike called the “brain bike.” This bike incorporates the physical activity of pedaling while playing games on a screen. The games improve body and brain functions. They are designed to improve memory, concentration, and cognitive function. These types of equipment can range from reasonably affordable to almost unrealistically expensive. From 1999 to 2003 the time young people spent playing videos nearly doubled from 29 minutes to 49 minutes.(Yang,2006) This time could have been spent in engaging in physical activity. Overall, exergames may motivate children to become physically active, but we also need to develop techniques to engage children in learning and adopting healthy diet and nutrition habits.(Yang,Smith & Gramham 2006)
What would you say if we told you that the latest scientific research suggests shorter cardio sessions for crazy fat loss? High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is on the fast track to becoming the standard for steady and sustained fat loss. HITT is known to increase your metabolism and keep you burning calories. The key is in what is called EPOC (Extra post-exercise oxygen consumption), a process happening at the end of the workout and the oxygen consumed after the workout.(“An Instant H.I.I.T”,2007) Researchers at Laval University conducted a study using two groups in a months-long experiment. One group followed a 15 week program using HIIT and the other group performed only a steady-state cardio for 20 weeks. The 20 weeks of steady state cardio burned 15,00 more calories than HIIT but the HIIT program lost significantly more body fat. (Pena & Stoppani,2010) This is great because not everyone wants to lose muscle mass by burning so many calories. HIIT training makes you lose the fat under the skin and you keep your muscle definition. New research published April 5 in the American Journal of Human Biology reveals that high intensity exercise is more beneficial than traditional endurance training.(Blackwell,2011) The study was voluntary school children, 47 boys and 10 girls, who were randomly divided into two groups moderate(MOD) and high intensity(HIT) exercise teams. They worked out for 3 weekly exercises over 7 weeks. The HIT group did sprints of 20 meters over 30 seconds in contrast to MOD who ran steadily for a 20 min period. When the study was over the MOD group completed 420 minutes of exercise while the HIT group only completed 63 minutes. HIT intervention was 907.2 kcal in comparison to 4410 kcal for the MOD group. The MOD group exercise was 6 times higher than the HIT group. Cardiovascular disease risk factors in the Hit group occurred in only 15% of the total exercise time.(Blackwell,2011) As you can see from this study that HIIT does equal as much if not more than moderate training but in half the time. This is great because a lot of people have the excuse of I am too busy to workout. I am sure everyone can find a simple 20 minutes to workout. There are many ways to perform HIIT training. You can make up your own workouts or follow a fitness DVD program called Insanity. Insanity, created by Shaun Thompson, who is an American fitness trainer, was released in 2009. It was dubbed 'the hardest workout put on DVD' and sold via infomercials. This program took traditional interval training and flipped it on its head—you perform long bursts of maximum-intensity exercises with short periods of rest. Each Insanity workout keeps you constantly challenged as you alternate between aerobic and anaerobic intervals performed at your max. The result: burn up to 1,000 calories in an hour and get the most insane body in 60 days. Insanity is a popular fitness fad in 2011(“Top Fitness Fads,2011) Insanity is a HIIT program that can be done in your room or anywhere you have some space and a DVD player of computer. I have personally done Insanity two times and loved every moment of it. I also ran long distance for quite some time. I personally liked the HIIT better because running 10 miles can take up to 2 hours while I can get a great workout that will push me to my limits by using HIIT and be finished in 30-40 minutes. Research shows that High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) can burn adipose (fat) tissue more than up to 50% more effectively than low-intensity exercise and moderate intensity exercise. (Behar,n.d). HIIT training is for the people who are looking to burn as much fat as possible during a cutting phase, people looking to minimize fat gain during a bulking phase, people looking to increase their basal metabolic rate and etc. The only set back for HIIT is that it is really intense and you must be ready for it. It is very tiring and pushes you. If you’re too busy to workout, that is a lame excuse since HIIT does not take long.
As you can see, there are plenty of fitness fads down memory lane that you do not hear of anymore and then there are some that you still hear of every day and that are still growing in popularity. HIIT involves alternating brief bursts of very high intensity exercise (work intervals) with brief segments of lower intensity exercise (recovery intervals). Overall, if you are looking to loose some serious fat but still stay lean and do not have lots of time for those long workouts, H.I.I.T is the way to go. I suggest everyone to go out and buy Insanity. This program changed my life and I became addicted. Nothings is better than the floor looking like a puddle, my grey tank top is now soaked and dark grey, gasping for every ounce of air and my face looks like a stop sign, bright red… and I am smiling because I love it. Insanity and H.I.I.T have been proven to help everyone reach a goal they want.
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