10 commandments of Buying Fitness Gadgets on TV
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LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
Posts: 3,634 Member
How then can you tell the good from the bad from the ugly? First, let's start with "The Ten Commandments of Buying Fitness Gadgets on TV" according to Liz Neporent, a fitness authority who has written extensively on the subject.
1. If an advertisement claims that you can tone up while lying in bed watching the tube, save your money for the Miracle Mop. There's no such thing as "the no sweat workout that works." If there were, don't you think you'd have done this workout by now?
2. Beware of the phrase "guaranteed or your money back." Read the fine print. The manufacturers may promise that you'll lose four inches in one month – if you stick to a low-fat diet and a far more extensive exercise program.
3. Don't be impressed by the "expert" endorsements. Don't think for a minute that a three-time Mr. Universe built his biceps with some plastic contraption that looks like a model of the Star Ship Enterprise. And never buy anything hawked by an actress who hasn't had a decent gig in more than five years.
4. Don't whip out your credit card just because a product is not sold in stores. Truth is, most of these gizmos are sold in stores – or they will be in a month or two. Sometimes the product is actually cheaper at the store; plus, you can test out the product.
5. Beware of phrases like "three easy payments." One gadget claims to cost "Not 60 dollars! Not 50 dollars!" but "just two easy payments of 19.95 dollars." Add in shipping and handling, and it costs 46.85 dollars.
6. Don't be impressed that a product was "awarded a US patent." You can patent a nose-hair clipper for mice if you wanted to. To get a patent, you need to have an original idea, not necessarily a good one.
7. Don't believe that a gadget will enable you to build strength and lose fat simultaneously. Some products make this claim blatantly; others use a more subtle approach.
Consider the ThighMaster commercials: A svelte model zips up her pants and says, "Thank you, ThighMaster. I never thought I'd fit into these jeans again." The ThighMaster may help you tone your inner thigh muscles, but it's not going to slim you down.
8. Don't be swayed by scientific terminology. Product manufacturers love to throw around big words. Some of these terms, such as omnikinetics, have no accepted meaning in the scientific community.
9. Don't believe some new contraption is better than free weights or real weight machines. One product manufacturer claims that "with free weights or machines, getting the right form is impossible," but with its gizmo, "there's no way to use the gadget improperly."
10. Hide your credit card between 12 AM and 4 AM. At that late hour, everything kinda looks good. Go to bed.
Got this in an article & thought of sharing this here.
1. If an advertisement claims that you can tone up while lying in bed watching the tube, save your money for the Miracle Mop. There's no such thing as "the no sweat workout that works." If there were, don't you think you'd have done this workout by now?
2. Beware of the phrase "guaranteed or your money back." Read the fine print. The manufacturers may promise that you'll lose four inches in one month – if you stick to a low-fat diet and a far more extensive exercise program.
3. Don't be impressed by the "expert" endorsements. Don't think for a minute that a three-time Mr. Universe built his biceps with some plastic contraption that looks like a model of the Star Ship Enterprise. And never buy anything hawked by an actress who hasn't had a decent gig in more than five years.
4. Don't whip out your credit card just because a product is not sold in stores. Truth is, most of these gizmos are sold in stores – or they will be in a month or two. Sometimes the product is actually cheaper at the store; plus, you can test out the product.
5. Beware of phrases like "three easy payments." One gadget claims to cost "Not 60 dollars! Not 50 dollars!" but "just two easy payments of 19.95 dollars." Add in shipping and handling, and it costs 46.85 dollars.
6. Don't be impressed that a product was "awarded a US patent." You can patent a nose-hair clipper for mice if you wanted to. To get a patent, you need to have an original idea, not necessarily a good one.
7. Don't believe that a gadget will enable you to build strength and lose fat simultaneously. Some products make this claim blatantly; others use a more subtle approach.
Consider the ThighMaster commercials: A svelte model zips up her pants and says, "Thank you, ThighMaster. I never thought I'd fit into these jeans again." The ThighMaster may help you tone your inner thigh muscles, but it's not going to slim you down.
8. Don't be swayed by scientific terminology. Product manufacturers love to throw around big words. Some of these terms, such as omnikinetics, have no accepted meaning in the scientific community.
9. Don't believe some new contraption is better than free weights or real weight machines. One product manufacturer claims that "with free weights or machines, getting the right form is impossible," but with its gizmo, "there's no way to use the gadget improperly."
10. Hide your credit card between 12 AM and 4 AM. At that late hour, everything kinda looks good. Go to bed.
Got this in an article & thought of sharing this here.
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Replies
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Excellent article! Thanks for sharing!0
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shake weight always makes me laugh0
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#10 is my favorite!0
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shake weight always makes me laugh
Hey! I like my shake weight! lol. Although it is a humorous invention ... clearly invented by a dude!
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#10 is my favorite!
Me too. Same with wandering around Wal-Mart in the exercise, health and beauty, and oddly enough, hardware sections.
Something about four a.m. always makes me think I need another phillips head screwdriver, a wrench, a flashlight, scrunchees in 15 different colors, toenail vitamins, and of course a pull up bar that magically screws in over your doorway (knowing full well I can't even do one pullup right now, so what do I want with that again?)0 -
LOL @ #10!!! Thanks for the laugh
Would never buy any crap off an infomercial...well...except the magic bullet, and maybe a snuggie. 0
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