Does the Shake Weight Work?

What woman doesn’t want to trim her arms and shape her shoulders in just 6 minutes a day? Not very many, considering the Shake Weight infomercial has more than 3.6 million views on YouTube and celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres are featuring it on their talk shows, But is this two and a half pound dumbbell-shaped apparatus really the fat-blasting, shoulder-shaping breakthrough it claims to be? For $20, you get the Shake Weight, which is equipped with spring-loaded weights on each end and an informational DVD to show you how to sculpt your arms, shoulders and chest with the power of "Dynamic Inertia." Now, “Dynamic Inertia” sounds promising. The only problem is that the phrase doesn’t hold any scientific significance, since the company that invented the Shake Weight crafted it as a marketing tool. The product's big claim is that by working out for six-minutes a few times a week, you'll see and feel incredible results. And while a study (funded by the company) found that using the Shake Weight requires nearly 300 percent more tricep and bicep activity than using a standard dumbbell, performing 240 reps per minute actually puts you at risk for overworking the muscles in your arms. If you’re new to the whole strength-training game, the Shake Weight could come in handy. You’ll just want to cut the six minutes in half to avoid injury. But if you know anything about weight lifting, the Shake Weight won’t add much to your routine. Sticking with free weights is a better idea to continue advancing your workout. It’s also helpful to know that since the Shake Weight is manually operated - no motor or batteries involved - it sounds a little bit like a panting dog each time you shake it. For a quieter less repetitive work out, a 30-minute upper body routine combining free weights and body weight exercises, like push ups, will trim those arms and shape those shoulders. To learn more about other fitness products you’ve seen on late-night TV, check out other videos in this series.