The Pros and Cons of the Shake Weight

The Shake Weight, easily the biggest and most ridiculed fitness fad to come along within the last year. But does it work? If you go by what the makers of the Shake Weight advertise (to build up your arms, shoulders, and chest), yes it does work. There are numerous amounts of testimonials and reviews that show, despite the awkwardness, it does work as advertised. However, that is where the benefits of the Shake Weight end. The following two reviews from exercise professionals will show that the Shake Weight has benefits, but those benefits are very limited.

As you can see from these videos both of the reviewers agree that the Shake Weight indeed does work out your arms, and that’s about it. In both, they mentioned two major downsides to this huge fitness fad. The first and most obvious being how awkward it is to use it, and if you haven’t seen the South Park or SNL spoofs of the Shake Weight you can check them out here and here. Also, the reviews brought up another negative fact about the Shake Weight. That being the number of exercises you can do with the device is very limited, and I agree with that point. I myself have never used the Shake Weight, but from what I’ve seen there are three exercises that you can do with it. In contrast, with a set of dumbbells there are many more exercises that you are able to do. Another benefit that dumbbells have over the Shake Weight is the ability to work out a wider variety of muscle groups. With the Shake Weight you can work out your arms, shoulders, and maybe your chest; with a set of dumbbells you work out your: chest, shoulders, back, arms, and legs. You can essentially get a full-body work out with a set of dumbbells. You can find a complete list of dumbbell exercises here.

 Going back to the reviews, in the second review it was stated that another downside to the Shake Weight is it only works a very small range of motion. That is something that I feel is very important and should be taken into consideration when reviewing the Shake Weight. From my experiencing with sports, physical activity, and working out, I’ve learned that range of motion is  not only important to getting the most out of your work out, but also to taking care of your body. To get the most out of and really maximize your work out, you need your muscles to go through a full range of motion—full extension and contraction. This ensures that you reach all the fibers of your muscles. Range of motion is also important to taking care of your body. Going through a full range of motion in your exercises increases your joint flexibility and in turn decreases your risk for injury.

So with all this being said what is my final opinion on the Shake Weight? I believe that the shake weight does have some benefits in that it has the ability to work out your arms and shoulders. However, I would not suggest that it be the only tool you use in your workout because of the limited number of exercise that you can do with it. What I would suggest is to use it as a compliment to your workout. Maybe use it in between sets of push-ups or dumbbell exercises, or even use it as a warm-up to your workout to get the blood pumping. In all, I would suggest just to get a set of dumbbells because there are a lot more exercise that you can do with them. You will be able to work out a wider variety of muscle groups, and the best results always take time.

Sources:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/145905-importance-of-range-of-motion/

http://www.gainingweight.info/the-importance-of-proper-weight-lifting-form/