Every morning, when TV airtime is cheap and my clients are busting their asses on the Versa Climber we are subjected to this:

By the way this is the Versa Climber:

The Shake Weight at first doesn’t make me as angry as the P-90x infomercials that used to play at this time, but the more I see them the less hilarious it becomes.  My favorite line from this tragic commercial is “specifically designed for women, the shake weight is a 2.5 pound…”   Stop!  That’s lighter than what “Ms. Dancing Arms” Tracy Anderson prescribes — this is garbage.  Women: you are being lied to, you will never get in shape by lifting something lighter than your purse!  I think a safe bet for women with evaluating exercise methods/equipment is if  it claims it’s “specifically designed for women” run the other way.  On a side note, does your gym have a Versa Climber?  If so, then get on it, and don’t worry. it will probably be vacant because it’s hard and there is no magazine rack.  I prefer the competition setting on the machine for 30 second sprints.  Pick a challenger — the “Champion” with no resistance is a good place to start.  Now try to match or better the champ’s distance for 30 seconds, rest one minute and repeat 2 times, then go lift something heavy.