Fitness Fads: Which Ones Actually Work?

From strippercise to circus-trapeze aerobics, gyms and fitness gurus keep coming up with new ways to make working out less of a chore. But though these whimsical classes and instructional DVDs can reinvigorate your gym routine, some of the glitziest (and goofiest) new trends can also put you at risk for sprained ankles, pulled muscles and overexertion. And some don't even give you much of a workout.

Here are seven of the silliest fitness fads--with the lowdown on whether or not they really chisel and tone. (For other workout tips, check out our earlier story on "Six of the Worst Ways to Work Out.")

1. Weighted Hula Hooping. Maybe it was the 50th anniversary last month, or maybe it's the buzz over the new Wii Fit version, but Hula Hooping, the backyard mainstay from the 1950s, is back--and a whole lot heavier. National gym chains like Bally Total Fitness now offer hooping classes to kids and seniors alike, with weighted Hula Hoops that participants wheel around their outstretched limbs and torso.

Will the toy-based hybrid of strength and cardio give you the toned curves of Beyonce, who says she hoops to stay svelte? "The unweighted, traditional ones definitely work your core, and you can actually get the cardio system up," says Jim White, certified fitness trainer and spokesman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). "I would recommend staying with the normal ones--with the weighted [hoops], beginners could pull a muscle."

The verdict: If you can do it, join the hoopligans. But avoid weighted hoops if you're new, and be advised of the gender divide--White says women are far more likely to be able to hoop well than men.

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Comments

[jamesinraro]

A heap of new studies in the past week have shown how effective an extract of red wine is in slowing aging, preventing the formation of fat cells, and preventing the diseases which normally come with aging. Unfortunately, just upping your wine intake will not give you enough of the ingredient, resveratrol, needed to produce these effects. The pharmaceutical-grade resveratrol, biotivia transmax, used by researchers in these studies has been shown to both prevent the onset of Diabetes in obese mammals and to safely amplify the effects of statin drugs such as Lipitor and Zocor resulting in a large reduction of the bad cholesterol and increase in HDL, the good form of cholesterol. In studies of transmax, a concentrated resveratrol supplement available commercially, this compound has also exhibited important neuroprotective effects against Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease. Resveratrol works by activating the human SIRT-1 anti-aging genes. In an earlier journal Nature study it was found to increase life span of mice by 31% and prevent the usual diseases of aging and obesity including Diabetes, strokes and tumors.

[truthyguy]

I vote for pole dancing as the number 1 fitness method. My 2nd choice is petting my Pet Rock. Third is massaging on the snake oil I recently bought at the circus.

[rini]

What about that breathercizing video that came out? There was an older actress who said that you can breathe your way to a faster metabolism and lose weight from your chair. It actually becomes entertaining to watch some informercials after a while. You gotta love Tony Little's hair.

[watcher269]

I Say Yeah! Pole Dancing is Numero Uno! Well - they have to be half naked. But - Hell Yeah!