BY THE NUMBERS

Seven Silly Fitness Fads

Before you sign up for a circus-themed exercise class, or buy tricked-out Hula Hoops, read our guide to which wacky workouts actually work.

By Sarah Ball | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Jul 10, 2008 | Updated: 6:17  p.m. ET Jul 10, 2008

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  • Posted By: hooprama.com @ 07/31/2008 2:36:54 AM

    Hands down, hula hooping is one of THE best ways to get into shape and to have fun while doing it! I stopped going to the gym over three years ago and have also been teaching hula hoop fitness classes too! The hoop got me into the best shape I have ever been in- with a 6-pack of abs and tone arms too. I also make and sell custom weighted hula hoops to all over the country www.customweightedhulahoop.com

  • Posted By: JustAnotherWoman @ 07/17/2008 2:18:54 PM

    A lot of you are defending the hula hoop, and while I don't exercise as much as I should, I have to ask, do you switch directions regularly or do you seem to favor one direction more often. Any single-sided activity is hard on your muscles and puts more strain on your joints. Even things like golf and bowling mess with your body more than you know.

    And just so you know. Highheels are harder on your body than you think. So any of you with a stripperella workout, I would highly suggest doing it barefoot, especially if you are one to wear highheels on a regular basis anyways.

  • Posted By: Ray Salomone-The Push Up Warrior @ 07/17/2008 2:44:44 AM

    Fads come and go but the reality remains the same. High Intensity Interval Training along with the Mediterranean Diet is the only way to ensure FAST and LIFE LASTING BENEFITS.

    Ray Salomone
    Personal Trainer and Wellness Crusader
    www.GrecoRomanWellness.com

    Recent New York Post profile at this link:
    http://www.nypost.com/seven/06242008/entertainment/health/drop_and_give_me_40__116879.htm

  • Posted By: Inspyra @ 07/15/2008 7:41:31 PM

    The section on weighted hula hooping is full of uninformed garbage. First of all, adult-sized hula hoops are no more "toys" than are adult-sized bicycles, rollerblades, etc. A hula hoop is a tool, a dance prop, and, for anyone that applies themselves for more than a few seconds, a way to get an awesome workout. Weighted hula hoops require more power to keep them up (hoops always want to slow down and fall down), so the fact that they are weighted makes them more likely to give you a great workout. No one is going to pull a muscle with a weighted hoop, but you might be more apt to bruise your "edges" (the bony parts of your body, like your hips and elbows). Also, men are JUST AS LIKELY as women to both get a workout from hooping and to get really good at hooping. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRNop3qrjPI for proof!

    Seriously, Newsweek, you asked the American Dietetic Association for their thoughts on hooping as form of exercise?! Pathetic! Why don't you inquire amongst hooping professionals? (A quick Google search would've led you to http://www.hooping.org/). I guess that would've been way too obvious.

  • Posted By: whoknew @ 07/15/2008 3:38:37 PM

    Maybe it's how you feel and not how fast it changes your looks that really matters. I twisted my ankle by walking. Go figure, isn't that the easiest exercise? After months on crutches, the first exercise I could do was to hula hoop. I didn't have to walk to do it. Plus, it is fun. Movement and happiness are the keys to health.

  • Posted By: reversedgaze @ 07/15/2008 10:58:33 AM

    "I would recommend staying with the normal ones???with the weighted [hoops], beginners could pull a muscle."
    I don't think this DR has hula hooped, perhaps ever. the weighted and larger hoops make it *easier* to maintain momentum, and keep the hoop going. It also keeps you from having to maintain an impossible speed -- like you need to with a child's lightweight hoop -- So contrary to the Dr. You would be likely to pinch a nerve in your spinal column by trying to keep a child's toy hoop a lot on an adult body.... Not to mention get more discouraged instead of cardiovascularaly fit!

    Go to the hardware store and buy some irrigation tubing a couple connectors and some pretty electrical or fabric tape... and make one yourself, and you see the difference! And you don't need to go to the gym for it!

    • Posted By: xcrunner @ 07/15/2008 2:37:58 PM

      I think the DR was saying to stick with normal hula hoops for the excercises that involve twirling them around your arms and such, not your standard hula hoop-ing. I could definitely see someone pulling something or over-doing it on their arms with a weighted hoop. But believe me, I totally agree that the weighted ones would/should make it easier normally. I have a pretty hard time keeping a hula hoop up,..I may have to try these heavy ones.

  • Posted By: wat>happen2>18 @ 07/15/2008 10:51:52 AM

    Maybe I am old fashion, but the excercises we did in grade school is ideal and cheaper too! How did we migrate so far from something that works for sure? Go swimming, get outside and actually play with your kids ( I mean running, doing monkey bars, race them ect) everyday and watch how far you come! Remember we use to be that active and thats how we got there!

  • Posted By: wat>happen2>18 @ 07/15/2008 10:45:03 AM

    Maybe I am old fashion, but doing excercises that we did back in grade school seems like a better idea and cheaper too. How did we migrate so far from something what works for sure?

  • Posted By: LeighAnn @ 07/11/2008 6:10:53 PM

    Guess I should have noted what magazine I'm with: James Hubbard's My Family Doctor. :-)

  • Posted By: LeighAnn @ 07/11/2008 5:03:47 PM

    What a great idea for an article. I love some of these ideas, though. I'm all for anything that makes exercising fun, and if it's a fad, well, enjoy it for a while and then move on to the next thing. There are down sides to anything, but I agree with 3kitties+1dog: Whatever gets us off our butts is the key! Our magazine is actually going to post an article on alternate types of exercise next week (including fencing).

  • Posted By: kshortSD @ 07/11/2008 12:21:09 PM

    I remember when step aerobics were a fad. It was so much fun, I went 5 or 6 times a week! Now, boxing classes are becoming a "fad" and I don't mind. It's the best workout I've ever had! Some of us need variety to get a great workout.

  • Posted By: composer433 @ 07/11/2008 10:31:44 AM

    It's not fast, it hurts, and you sweat ALOT, but I've dropped about 20 lbs. in 4 months by riding my bike 2-3 times a week for 20-40 miles. Just nice slow but steady riding - no trying to break land speed records. Now the trick is to find some way to keep it off in the winter when the local climate forces me to store the cycle. I don't buy the idea that there is any 15 minute workout that will really do the job.

  • Posted By: 3kitties+1dog @ 07/11/2008 8:40:24 AM

    I'm thinking that ANYTHING that gets people up and moving is better than sitting on your butt all day. Most of us spend a good part of the day sitting in a chair - so let's get up and physical! Silly and faddish? Who cares - whatever works! :-)

  • Posted By: 3kitties+1dog @ 07/11/2008 8:38:34 AM

    I'm thinking that ANYTHING that gets people moving and physical is good. Who cares if it looks silly or is considered faddish? Doing "something" is better than sitting on your butt!

  • Posted By: Fort Begay @ 07/10/2008 11:27:04 PM

    I know the reporter scoffs at the fads, but some people buy into them and benefit. My gym has daily classes from aerobics, martial arts, ball exercises, steps, pilates or yoga, and most of them are very well attended. I applaud anyone who takes the initiative and shows commitment. The group I like are the mother-daughter ones. Whether it's for incentive or partnership, they seem to benefit, if not for weight loss but building a better bond. That is a part of health that people don't mention.

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