You may have seen this at a boot-camp class or on "The Biggest Loser." It sounds complicated but it's basically just a set of adjustable straps with handles attached to them. By anchoring the straps to something solid (a tree, a door, etc.) and pulling on the handles while assuming a variety of poses, you use gravity and your own weight to get better "strength, balance, flexibility and core stability." It's not the cheapest piece of equipment, but reviewers swear by it and are even surprised by it. One blogger says it's "a great choice for home exercisers" that's cheaper than a gym membership, and that it's good for "functional fitness types ... [and] folks who travel." Just beware of fakes that are shoddily made and potentially dangerous to use, other reviewers say.
Regularly advertised in surf magazines, the Indo Board -- a 30-inch-long, oval-shaped board (the "deck") atop a 6-inch cylinder (the "roller") and cushion -- seemingly has a decent following, and comes in a variety of colors and prints. The goal is to balance on the board for as long as possible without any part of it touching the ground, an activity geared to improve your balance and work your core by essentially mimicking surfing. Reviewers call it "so much fun" and "an effective trainer for any aggressive athlete," but it's also "not for the balance challenged" and worthy of its "use at your own risk" disclaimer. (So you may get a few bruises and sprains versus a beating by the ocean? Seems fair.)
OK, this one's iffy but worth bringing up because it's gotten millions of hits on YouTube. First off, the commercial sure gets our attention with: "Ladies, listen up! Are your arms and shoulders saggy, flabby and out of shape?" (Uh, yes.) Then, it tries to convince us that by shaking FitnessIQ's odd, 2.5-pound device, we'll create a "wave of energy" that will help us burn more calories in six minutes than we can lifting regular dumbbells in 32 minutes! (What?) Still, we couldn't find much evidence against it, just a fun SNL parody, an informative "L.A. Times" article, and a few complaints about elbow, wrist and neck injuries. Most reviewers loved it, saying, "it's fun, easy, yet I feel the burn," and that it provides "plenty of weight for a satisfying workout that will not bulk up your arms."
These bell-shaped, usually cast-iron weights have been making the rounds in gyms across the country as a workout accessory that adds more resistance to help you build more muscle and burn more fat during a total-body workout. While kettlebells come in many sizes and forms, the Jillian Michaels Powered by iFit Ultimate 20-lb. Adjustable PowerBell version on the left, $89, is quite popular. Reviewers say they can be a little noisy and knock you off balance, but otherwise, they are "very easy to use" and "an effective way to get fit and lose weight." They also offer "much different resistance than a dumbbell."
If you were a human wheelbarrow, well, you'd be using this device -- made by the people who brought us the original Classic Belt in the '80s. Designed to strengthen and tone your abs, shoulders, arms and back, the Valeo Ab Wheel is a simple wheel with handles on each side that you push back and forth while on all fours. Reviewers say assembly can be a pain and "you need to be in pretty good shape to use this," but it's good for "anyone who wants a hard workout" and it's "a terrific price for a pretty basic item" that "works well."
Stop us if this sounds familiar: It's 2 AM, and despite your best efforts to stop today's to-do list from taking over your mind, you're wide-awake, staring at the TV. The concept of doing a sleep-inducing shoulder stand has lost its appeal to the thought of watching part of that movie you've seen 100 times while eating the scrumptious chocolate chip cookie dough you have stashed in the freezer. And just as you're stuffing a second, third, fourth spoonful in your mouth, you're momentarily mesmerized by a peppy, slim fitness instructor wearing a leotard and a Scrunchie, describing some overweight girl's amazing (and, uh, completely bogus) transformation story: "Kate lost 150 pounds after just two months of using the fat-blasting thingamajig. It was so easy! Buy one now and we'll send you free ankle weights and an instructional DVD."
Yeah. As if the body of your dreams really could be purchased in three installments of $29.99 ... plus shipping and handling.
Well, according to the reviews we've found, maybe it could. To our amazement, enough people out there have made the call, bought the fitness equipment and gave it a fair shot that they feel compelled to share which wacky devices are worth putting down the cookie dough. Their glowing feedback has us almost thinking, "Hey, maybe some of those fat-blasting fitness thingamajigs aren't completely bogus after all. Maybe they just look funny."
And P.S., while our enthusiasm is growing, we must confess, we're still wondering who named some of these things (you'll see what we mean).
Dying of curiosity? We were too. Check out the top 10 wacky fitness devices that women say actually work to help them lose weight, tone, improve balance and build strength. You'll be so glad you have something fun to do next time you're missing out on beauty sleep.
