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BodyBuilder-related stories

Shake Weight: Gives You a Total-Body Workout in Six Minutes?

Fitness, Reviews & Products, We Tried it

If you haven't already seen the infamously hilarious Shake Weight commercials (check it out below), or seen celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Queen Latifah poking fun at the weight-lifting product, we'll clue you in. The Shake Weight for women is an "As Seen on TV" 2.5-pound dumbbell-like product with spring-action that supposedly targets your biceps, triceps, shoulders and chest, and claims you'll only need to work out six minutes a day to get the full muscle-toning benefits.

The men's commercial, seemingly aimed at wannabe bodybuilders, asks, "Would you like to get your arms ripped? Your shoulders pumped and your chest sculpted ... Do you hate working out for hours at the gym with big, bulky equipment, or boring, slow dumbbells?"

The Shake Weight for women commercial, meanwhile, is aimed at fans of Michelle Obama's arms. "Work out your entire upper body in just six minutes a day," the ad touts. "You'll get arms you'll be proud to show off. Feel free to go sleeveless."

The commercials go on to explain these claims are possible because of "dynamic inertia." The manufacturers assert that if men use the Shake Weight for just one minute it's equivalent to doing 240 repetitions of regular weight-lifting. For women, the commercial explains, "Scientific studies at a prestigious University prove that the Shake Weight increases upper-body muscle activity by 300 percent compared to traditional weights." All that for a price tag of $19.95 (plus shipping) for the ladies' version or $29.95 (plus shipping) for guys.

Training to Tone vs Training for Bulk - Know the Difference

Ask Fitz!, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment

ask fitz

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answers. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz. I keep hearing both you and other people say I should do push-ups, but I'm a small woman and don't want to bulk up. Push-ups are hard, so should I do them if I want to stay toned yet trim? Alyssa

A. Great question, Alyssa! This common question is on the mind of many women, and I'm happy to give this answer as many times as there are women who need to hear it. What you need to know is that it requires extraordinary effort for most women to put on any sort of bulky muscle. That means: protein shakes, supplements and insane amounts of heavy lifting. Of course, there are a few rare women here and there who pack on muscle quickly, but if you're already telling me you are small ... you are not one of those rare women.

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A real vegan bodybuilder

Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Alternative & Green Health

Kenneth G. Williams. That's him in the picture. Pretty big guy. More than just a little ripped. Body builder. Vegan.

Wait, what?!? A bodybuilding vegan? That's right.

Williams hasn't always been a vegan, in fact back when he first got started in body building he was very much into the usual fare of meat, eggs, and dairy. But then one day, in the middle of the night, he had "a moment" and has been a vegan ever since.

Just goes to show that you don't need to eat meat to feel "tough" and to be healthy and fit. If you want to eat meat, then by all means go ahead. But if you've been leaning towards vegetarianism or veganism then don't let stereotypes be the thing that holds you back.

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