So, while I am developing an online fitness program which I cannot discuss in details, and am developing a piece of equipment which fills a blank in most people’s training, I am careful about putting my stamp on products that represent my sense of integrity, knowledge, education and training beliefs. At the same time, it’s brought an awareness of what others’ awareness in fitness is, that being of the general public and the marketers of products.
BEHIND THE SCENES OF AN INFOMERCIAL
When you see a product such as the AB ROCKET TWISTER, you hear testimonials of folks who have lost X inches in record time, or simply state ” I rock and I twist, now I have abs”. And you see a bunch of attractive models in amazing shape, as well as a “celebrity trainer” host, doing drills on the tool (implications of the word tool extend beyond the device itself). Another one is called Steel Abs, not released yet, and since I am not bound by any confidentiality agreement, simply have observed the behind-the-scenes while training, I can reveal what I have witnessed. What you are not seeing is the fact that:
1) Large groups of people work out intensely 6 days a week (large groups to manage drop out rates and maximize testimonial and results potential).
2) Folks taking part receive all their meals provided 6 days a week (unsure of the 7th) with only 1200 calories.
3) The use of any promoted device amounts to maybe 2 minutes out of the intense hour of working out.
THE DEVICE ITSELF
It’s flimsy, cheap, poorly designed but brilliantly marketed to minimize production cost and maximize profit. Geared at the buyer looking for the quick fix and then quitting after realizing it actually takes work and the device in question provides a teeny tiny percentage of the work to be done, not counting the nutritional aspect.
I even spoke with the trainer in charge of one of the groups who would never use it with his clients, agrees that it doesn’t even target the advertised body parts if you don’t have an existing knowledge base to properly recruit muscles. If anything, it promotes tightness in areas already tight from real life, like sitting at your desk with bad posture (no need to go into further detail). It’s so cheap, a really overweight person would fall off and/or break it! Good guy, good trainer, but he’s getting paid, therefore trying to find an angle so he can justify selling out.
THE COMPANY
Launch DRTV is the group. I am giving them exposure right now and good for them. That don’t mean I endorse them. Quite the contrary. But they are experts at selling you fitness stuff. They have an impressive roster of products you are familiar with. And they will continue getting rich of of people looking for an easy way out who are willing to drop a few dollars, hundreds of thousands of times. I snuck in a few snapshots from my phone while training a client.
UNAUTHORIZED PICTURES
Check out the device called Steel Abs. Couldn’t you do that with a bench or chair or even on the floor? Notice also the other moves (squats, pushups, lunges…) which really make up the majority of the “weight loss routine”, not the toy itself!
THE ALTERNATIVE
Everything is already out there. if you need a good program, learn how to use your body, its range of motion. Develop your mobility, technique, form, and anything you do will yield effective results, so long as you know there is no lazy, easy answer or magic tool that will “do it for you”. Better yet, if you need the guidance and accountability, stay tuned for the project I am involved with which will only require that you use what you already have at your disposal and get creative with it. If MacGyver could rig a machine with bubble gum, an elastic and some bleach, you can also use a jug of water, a broomstick, a chair or even your kid as a training weight!
CONCLUSION
Wanna lose weight? Read my previous blog authored by guest writer Jay Chavez. Book a session with me for training or with him for nutrition. There are simple ways out, not easy ways out!