Comments on: As Seen On TV: Fad Exercise Equipment

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:53:28 +0000

While your abs will certainly “feel” tighter from all the contractions, a belt, no matter how much it is working your abs, is NOT going to trim fat.

These things “might” work, and I stress might, if combined with a healthy diet, and regular daily Aerobic exercise.

Other than that it is a scam. Do you not notice the before/after pictures? Pay attention to their body OTHER than the Abs, they have leaner arms, pecs, waists etc. A miracle ab belt isn’t going to give you biceps and pecs lol. Those people hit the gym, THAT’s how they got like that, not some belt.

These gimmicks feed on peoples gullibility and naivety.

By: Flora

Flora — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:39:10 +0000

How long before we see a version of the ThighMaster called the Cougar?

By: Gabrielle

Gabrielle — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 04:36:08 +0000

It doesn’t seem right to me that an exercise device should require batteries

By: Deb on the Rocks

Deb on the Rocks — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:28:02 +0000

I thought it was like how mainstream stores market vibrators as “neck tension relievers,” and this electricity thing was actually some kind of sex toy.

Which makes it surprising even to me to say I haven’t bought one–and now I certainly am not tempted!

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 06:25:13 +0000

This belt is a big version of the small, 2-electrode electronic massagers that are popular in Japan. Omron and others make them. They really do move your muscles. You twitch like crazy. Japanese use them when they have a crick in their necks or back pain.

Although your muscles move a lot, involunarily, I don’t know if the device actually develops your muscles. It seems unlikely that it would do that much. But normal muscle movement is triggered by nothing more than electric signals coming through your nervous system, so applying those signals externally probably does have some minor effect.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:27:26 +0000

I owned and used a Nordic Track for many years.

It was a great workout, if awkward. I eventually got rid of it because it wasn’t so easy on my knees. It also weighed a ton.

By: Cassy

Cassy — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:26:36 +0000

I was about to say I know nothing about owning exercise equipment, but then I remember I do own a pilates setup. I don’t think it has done anything except make me hurt like no ones business the next day.

My point was to add another thanks for posting the Cake Wrecks site, though. I laughed, I cried and now I am at work forwarding my favorites around the office.

By: April

April — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:43:30 +0000

You are totally evil for posting those links, just wanted you to know that you’re entirely responsible for me not getting a thing done last night. Between the cake wrecks that nearly made me pee myself laughing and the quizzes that I could not stop taking… ;)

I don’t buy into the fad exercise equipment so I’m not sure I can say much but that thing..the contour core sculpting thingy.. just looks like a waste of money.

By: littlem

littlem — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:53:31 +0000

I thought long and hard about a Gazelle. When I realized it had no progressive resistance I just bit the bullet and got a gym membership instead.

By: Betsy

Betsy — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:35:56 +0000

Um, yeah, totally did that pulse tummy thing. In my defense, it was post first baby and I was stuck in military base temporary housing for a month with a vomiting infant. I would have purchased anything at that point, just to relieve the tedium…

Total waste and long before I realized that I could not sit and eat a half gallon of mint chocolate chip while wearing an electric device and expect to lose the baby fat. Hard work and healthy eating is definitely the way to go!
But damn, those commercials suck you in! Logically, I think those of us who purchase such things know they are scams and we’re suckers for buying them, but we always hope that *this time* it will be true.