I thought it would be fun to end the week with this light-hearted list from Newsweek. The magazine names seven of the silliest fitness fads – it says some of them don’t give you much of a workout; others put you more at risk of getting hurt. Can you guess what they are? (Hint – the picture is one of them) 
1. Weighted Hula Hooping - it’s like the Hula Hoop we’ve known for 50 years now, only a lot heavier.
2. Strippercise - sensual “aerobic striptease” classes that include pole-dancing, chair-centered lap-dance routines, and floor exercises to work your abs.
3. The Bodyblade – you take a long, sword-like plastic bar, hoist it overhead and shake vigorously for a trunk-targeted workout.
4. Cirque du Soleil-Inspired “Aerial Aerobics” - at aerial fitness studios, you can tone up by defying gravity – in one exercise, you shimmy your way to the top of a cloth lanyard, wrap it around your feet and hang with your limbs dangling.
5. Wind-Relieving Asana – yes, we’re talking about the flatulence kind of “wind” here. This series of yoga postures helps you get air out of your digestive tract — in a room full of people. Nice.
6. Wii Fit Ski-Jump – this requires you to remain in a slight squat position for a few seconds before quickly straightening up.
7. Dorm Room Workouts – just 20 minutes of milling around your 9-by-10-foot room can help you ward off the dreaded Freshman 15.
This is just a summary – so if you want to see more on this, go to the full Newsweek article, which includes workout warnings.
So, have any of you tried any of these exercises? I haven’t, but the Weighted Hula Hoop kind of sounds fun to me… maybe after Boot Camp is over.
Photo Credit: Aerial Dance over Denver
Cirque du Soleil-Inspired “Aerial Aerobics†Could be intense. How is your Boot Camp going?
Actually, I think doing a unweighted hula hoop would be great if I could keep it up for longer than 15 seconds. But then, it’s been years.
Mark – Boot Camp is awesome! I will have a video about it on Monday.
cathy997 – yeah, Hula Hooping is very hard – I don’t know how I used to do it when I was a kid!!!
Hi! This is an interesting post. I actually think some of those sound like fun! I’m not sure why they’re considered silly (though I haven’t read the Newsweek article yet). I’m always all for fun workouts; if you don’t like going to the gym, what’s wrong with thinking outside the box and getting activity you really love? We’ve actually done articles about alternate types of exercise.
Leigh Ann Hubbard
Managing Editor
James Hubbard’s My Family Doctor
P.S. I’m going to tweet this post on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/FamilyDoctorMag
Wow! Wind relieving asana?! Boy, I would hate to accidentally find myself in that class! Seriously, I prefer a workout that is based on something fun that makes my body think it’s “playing” rather than “exercising”….the wii skiing sounds like fun
I definitely have my favorite ways of exercising, but enjoy reading about the fun variations on a theme. Anything to help jazz up the ol’ workout is good!
I’ve never tried any of these workout fads but the Cirque du Soliel acrobatics looks kind of fun!
N*
I’ve never done Wii fit ski-jump, but I must say that ever since we got a Wii last summer for my youngest son’s birthday, I’ve had a blast, and gotten some sore muscles, playing Wii Sports Tennis with them.
I really like to hear both of them on the floor above me, while I’m working in my home office, running (in place) and jumping while playing the Wii…I want them to get exercise whenever possible! They always get a very good workout playing Rayman Raving Rabbids.
Rebecca
I’m all about my workouts being fun, too – just gotta be careful with a couple of these, right?
wait…Strippercise is silly? Crap. I guess I just wasted $200 installing a pole in my bedroom (Note: joking!)
Uhhh WeightingGame… I actually know of someone who did install a pole in his home – and he is a total creep, BTW.