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Exercise Equipment: When Treadmills Act Like Clothes Hangers

Have you ever gone to the store and bought a piece of home exercise equipment? When’s the last time you’ve seen a TV commercial that shows the latest and greatest contraption to get “a flat stomach, toned body and muscular arms?” Did you feel the urge to join the other millions of satisfied customers who bought the equipment?

Don't let your exercise equipment become your clothes hanger, remember to use it!A show of hands, please. It’s likely that almost everybody has purchased something over the course of their lifetimes.

The home exercise equipment industry is a billion-dollar business. There are so many pieces of equipment that the typical consumer can get confused over what they should buy. You can buy ellipticals, treadmills, multi-use gyms, benches, stability balls, racks, and racks of dumbbells—the list goes on and on.

And what about those lovely contraptions on TV?

The Gazelle?

You probably at least heard of—or even purchased—the immortal Thigh Master, Gazelle, Ab Lounge, Bowflex, etc.

However, what happens when you buy this exercise equipment? It’s common for many to use it for around six weeks and then stop. You get bored, confused, and lazy.

But don’t worry. You are just like everyone else.

The treadmill turns into a clothes hanger. The weight bench transforms into a table and collects all the other stuff that’s cluttering the basement. This is where buyers’ remorse sets in: “Why did I spend hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars on this attractive piece of exercise equipment, and now I don’t use it anymore?”

Don’t feel embarrassed; you’re not alone. Maybe I should start a support group for everyone that has gone through this mental anguish.

Exercise Equipment on TV

First off, I’ll let you in on a secret about those TV commercials that sell exercise equipment. The ‘customers’ who give the wonderful testimonials? The majority of them are paid actors.

Earth-shattering, isn’t it?

When you watch such commercials, get past all the hype and read the fine print at the bottom. You will typically see “Results Not Typical” or “You must follow a regular exercise routine AND (this is the big one) a sensible diet.”

“You mean when I jump on an Ab Lounge and do five minutes of ab work, I won’t get the “toned abs and flat stomach” like the people on TV?! I thought that was all I needed to do!”

You were so mesmerized by all the claims and hype that the common-sense muscle in your head failed to catch that.

An example of a senseless commercial exercise equipment fad.One testimonial that I roll my eyes at all the time involves the Ab Lounge. I can vividly see the blond woman pulling out the waistband on her pants and saying in so many words, “I lost X pounds just by doing the Ab Lounge for five minutes each day!”

No, you didn’t. You lost it by eating sensibly, doing other exercise routines, AND using your $50 piece of exercise equipment.

I’m all for our capitalist system and trying to get your piece of the pie; however, to claim that all these wonderful benefits can be yours just by using their piece of exercise equipment is misleading and ethically wrong.

So what do you do?

Well, first you hire a personal fitness trainerwhoa….blatant paid advertisement there! Seriously, get all the wonderful benefits of gym equipment and contraptions on TV by doing bodyweight routines. These include push-ups, squats, lunges, and many others.  You can also buy a simple stability ball and a set of adjustable dumbbells.

That’s it!

Of course, eating sensibly is numero uno in losing weight. But you knew that already, right?

Take those clothes off of the treadmill, hang them up, and do NOT fall prey to the latest and greatest exercise equipment shown on TV. Soon, it will end up in storage, and you will still weigh the same and have buyers’ remorse.

Onward!