Losing weight and staying fit is a goal for many. New technologies are always being added to help us achieve our goals. With so many fitness gadgets on the market, the big question becomes which ones are good (because they can actually help you build muscle and lose weight), which ones are bad, and which ones are just plain crazy. Let’s take a look at a few fitness gadgets from each category.
The good
The good ones can help you build muscles or lose weight. Some can even do both, depending on the gadget.
The Nintendo Wii- If you thought the Nintendo Wii console was just another console, you’d be wrong. This revolutionary game console offers some great fitness programs, including Cardio Boxing, Wii Fit, and Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum, to name a few. Yoga, Pilates, cardio, strength training, and exercise are all just a drive away from your home. Many a bankrupt has become a fitness buff since the Nintendo Wii.
Hiking vest: If you’ve never heard of the hiking vest, it’s a heavy black vest weighing anywhere from eight pounds to sixteen pounds in the largest vest. You can increase the weight of the vest by placing weights in the pockets. A workout CD is also included. It may not be pretty, but it definitely makes your walk more effective.
If you don’t see the iPod shuffle as a fitness gadget, you’re wrong. It’s a great way to take your mind off your taxing workout and keep you going. After all, listening to your favourite music can be energising in itself.
The Abdominal Wheel: For the Abdominal Wheel, grab the handles on each side and roll it across the floor as you stretch. It’s a simple idea. Whether there is any real value is debatable, as the same benefit can be enjoyed from a crunch, but it can get a beginner going who might not be getting a great ab workout otherwise.
The bad
While they may work, they seem like a bad idea everywhere.
The Fitness Cube: The sales pitch is about how it will transform your body and take up little space in your home. It can be used as a chair and hides a variety of accessories. Whether it has any real value seems to be negative, although the infomercial is quite funny.
The Perfect Pushup: If you thought the pushup was better than improved, you’d be wrong. The perfect push-up is a device with rubber bottoms and rotating brackets. The grip rotation allows you to take your push-ups to a new level. The question is whether there is any real fitness value, and the answer is no. The
crazy one
How nice it would be if we didn’t mention some of the crazy fitness ideas that have sprung up.
iGallop: The iGallop is designed to simulate a horseback ride, training the thighs, lower back, and abdomen. That said, Pilates is a much better workout.
Weight Shaking: The purpose of weight shaking is to tighten inertia and strengthen your arms using vibration. Whether it works or not is really unknown, but the logic would say no. However, it is one of the craziest devices we have seen.
There you have it. The good, the bad, and the crazy. It seems that while fitness gadgets can certainly help build muscles and lose weight, they also can’t do anything. It’s important to do some research before you waste your money on something you won’t use—or that breaks the first time you try it. Read reviews online and follow your favorite health and fitness blogs. If you choose your fitness gadgets carefully, you may have a tool that can help you achieve your goals; if you don’t choose carefully, you will only end up with more junk that ends up in the garage. Check out Hi-Tech gadget trends.
