Research Paper Random Part

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 none for its comfort but there has been no evidence that it does anything better than normal crunches and sit ups 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 7^th on a list of 13 and the Ab Roller placed 9^th 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 consequent mentions of the product on various TV shows such as Ellen Degenres. (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 muscle. They looked at those results compared to basic exercises such as calisthenics and elastic bands. The results shoulder 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.