Empower Personal Training

Infomercials for exercise products: Do they work?

ìOh, youíre a personal trainer? What do you think about (insert product here)? Does it work?î

A lot of times when I meet someone for the first time and they find out what I do for a living they ask me what I think about a certain product they saw on television. Some of the products look downright silly while others look like theyíll put you on the floor because youíre working so hard. All of these infomercials, however, seem to have a common format:

Cue the up-beat music with a funky twang and imagine an enthusiastic, tan, buff trainer talking at a louder-than-appropriate voice.

ìHave you tried everything to lose weight and get in shape? Tired of having those aching muscles and joints from doing hundreds of crunches without seeing any results? Are you ready for our revolutionary new program, backed by research from a university, which will make you lose weight and get in the best shape of your life while allowing you to eat whatever you want?î Sound familiar?

If youíre thinking about purchasing one of these programs I would caution you to think about a few things beforehand. First of all, take a critical look at the product. Are the workouts targeting more than one muscle group? There are many pieces of exercise equipment for sale that would have you believe you can ìtoneî certain areas of your body. This is simply not true; you cannot remove stomach fat by doing abdominal exercises alone and you cannot get rid of that funny jiggle in your arms by only doing bicep curls and triceps extensions.

Next, consider the ìactual testimonials from real people.î Many times these are actual fitness models that get their pictures taken for the after photos then get paid to gain 10 to 15 pounds of fat for the before shots. Also notice in these ìafterî pictures the people are tan, cleanly shaven, and have their hair done professionally.

My final word of advice would be to understand that you wonít get results from any program if you donít use it. As ridiculous as the Giselle may look I guarantee you someone doing it two hours a day will have better results than someone who buys P-90X and lets the DVDs sit in their case.

If youíre thinking of purchasing an exercise product from an infomercial find one that looks challenging that works many different muscles. Ask your friends, family, or co-workers if theyíve tried it and get their opinions on it. Surf the internet to see if there are any reviews. Finally when you have a program make sure you actually use it!

Thanks for reading- Iím off to go get a spray tan!

Paul Piracci, CSCS Professional Trainer

Paul brings a background of athletics and education to the Empower team. He believes that wellness should be viewed as a blended lifestyle that balances nutrition, a healthy mind, and fitness which incorporates fun recreational activities. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024.