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Health_Stenson_FitnessFads.sPubDate = "9/22/2008 8:14:44 PM GMT";
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Health_Stenson_FitnessFads.appHeader = "Fabulous fitness fads?";
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Health_Stenson_FitnessFads.appFooter = "&#8212; Jacqueline Stenson, MSNBC.com contributing writer";
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Health_Stenson_FitnessFads[i-1].body = "<div style=\"font-family : Verdana, Arial, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><class=\"textBodyBlack\"><font size=\"2\"><headline/><br>If you&#146;re trying to shape up, there&#146;s no shortage of exercise equipment and workouts promising to deliver bigger, better, faster results. But are they really all that? </BR><br>We asked msnbc.com fitness contributors Gina Lombardi, Jay Blahnik and Kathy Kaehler to weigh in on some of the latest trends.<br>";

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Health_Stenson_FitnessFads[i-1].body = "<div style=\"font-family : Verdana, Arial, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><class=\"textBodyBlack\"><font size=\"2\"><headline/><br><B>What it is:</B> A fitness machine aimed at toning the buttocks and thighs. Reportedly, J. Lo has used the Skorcher to get in shape after having her twins, and Daniel Radcliffe (a.k.a. Harry Potter) got one to buff up his backside for revealing scenes in the Broadway play &#147;Equus.&#148; Web site: <A HREF=\"http://www.skorcher.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.skorcher.com</A>. Price ranges from $399 to $1,199.</BR> <br><B>The claims:</B> \"The world's best butt exercise ... The butt machine that will make your maximus, medius, and minimus the sexiest ... Skorcher shapes better butts with our signature exercise, the hip thrust &#8212; the best exercise for attaining a nice, sexy butt.&#148;</BR><br><B>Trainer feedback:</B> Any exercise product claiming to be the &#147;world&#146;s best&#148; understandably raises a skeptical eye in the fitness community. &#147;It allows you to do good, solid exercises, but many if not all of the exercises can be done completely safely and effectively without the product,&#148; says Jay Blahnik, a personal trainer in Laguna Beach, Calif., and author of &#147;Full Body Flexibility.\" &#147;Some people, however, like machines to do things on and are more motivated to do them with products than without.&#148;</BR><br>But another of our resident experts says the device can really rev up your workout. &#147;This is a home run for challenging the body and taking average, pedestrian exercises into the stratosphere,&#148; says Los Angeles fitness coach Gina Lombardi, host of &#147;FitNation&#148; and author of the forthcoming book &#147;Deadline Fitness.&#148;<br>";

Health_Stenson_FitnessFads[i++] = new Array("","Slanted Riser","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/brill-hlt-080908-slanted-riser.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "spriproducts.com", "298", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
Health_Stenson_FitnessFads[i-1].body = "<div style=\"font-family : Verdana, Arial, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><class=\"textBodyBlack\"><font size=\"2\"><headline/><br><B>What it is:</B> An angled riser that fits under a traditional step, like those from step aerobics classes, to allow you to step up or lie back on a slant. Web site: <a HREF=\"http://www.spriproducts.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.spriproducts.com</A>. Price is $59.95.</BR><br><B>The claims:</B> &#147;Not only will the Slanted Riser add a new dimension to your cardio workout by transforming your flat Step into an angled platform, but paired with standard risers, the Slanted Riser will also turn your Step into an incline/decline bench ... From aerobic training to strength conditioning, SPRI's patented Slanted Riser will bring unlimited versatility to your workout.&#148;</BR><br><B>Trainer feedback:</B> &#147;It is not a complete revolution, but a nice evolution from the standard step,&#148; says Blahnik. &#147;Since it only requires you to buy two new risers, it is more like an upgrade to what many people already have. For many exercises, it is much better, such as forward lunges (because it catches the foot at a better, more comfortable angle), and it allows you to do some things you cannot do on a flat step, such as incline and decline chest presses.&#148;<br>";

Health_Stenson_FitnessFads[i++] = new Array("","The Brain Muscle Workout","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/brill-hlt-080908-TBMW.htease.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "thebrainmuscleworkout.com", "110", "118", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
Health_Stenson_FitnessFads[i-1].body = "<div style=\"font-family : Verdana, Arial, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><class=\"textBodyBlack\"><font size=\"2\"><headline/><br><B>What it is:</B> A workout developed by trainer Michael Gonzalez-Wallace that aims to engage the bodies and brains of adults and kids through balance and coordination activities. Web site: <A HREF=\"http://www.thebrainmuscleworkout.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.thebrainmuscleworkout.com</A>. Workout DVDs cost $16.95.</BR> <br><B>The claims:</B> &#147;Scientifically proven to reverse the physical and mental signs of aging while improving your fitness level ... The workout simultaneously stimulates the brain, muscles and nervous system ... Your kids will get smarter and fitter.&#148;</BR><br><B>Trainer feedback:</B> Scientists haven&#146;t yet found the fountain of youth, though some do believe exercise is the closest thing to it. But this program isn&#146;t the only way to reap the many benefits of exercise, including keeping the mind sharp, says Lombardi. &#147;Many of us coaches and trainers who have been in this business for 15 years or longer have been doing this type of training for years,&#148; she says. &#147;This is nothing new, just repackaged common sense when it comes to strength, conditioning and stimulating the mind/body connection.&#148;<br>";

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Health_Stenson_FitnessFads[i-1].body = "<div style=\"font-family : Verdana, Arial, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><class=\"textBodyBlack\"><font size=\"2\"><headline/><br><B>What it is:</B> Taking off on the huge popularity of yoga, a whole new crop of &#147;fusion&#148; classes has hit the fitness scene. They pair up yoga with very different activities such as aerobic dance, cycling, even boxing.</BR><br><B>The claims:</B> The classes, often targeted to people with limited time for working out, are promoted as ways to do it all &#8212; get your cardio, sculpting and mind/body fix &#8212; at once.</BR><br><B>Trainer feedback:</B> While classes taught by a good instructor probably aren&#146;t causing any harm, they may not be accomplishing as much as they claim, either. &#147;I don't like anything attached to the front of the word 'yoga' or to the back &#8212; cardio yoga, yoga box, buff yoga, Yoga Booty Ballet,&#148; says Kathy Kaehler, a Los Angeles personal trainer. &#147;I feel this is a trend that people jumped on, and it has ruined the core of what yoga really is. It has also given people a false sense of what yoga is for and how it is practiced ... These classes have made the practice of yoga to be more of a weight loss, fitness workout, when yoga is for meditation, calming and quieting the mind and body.&#148;<br>";

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Health_Stenson_FitnessFads[i-1].body = "<div style=\"font-family : Verdana, Arial, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><class=\"textBodyBlack\"><font size=\"2\"><headline/><br><B>What it is:</B> An indoor bike that, unlike conventional stationary cycles, allows you to steer and move from side to side. Web site: <A HREF=\"http://www.realryder.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.realryder.com</A>. Price is $2,395.</BR><br><B>The claims:</B> &#147;After 20 years, the indoor cycling bike finally gets moving! ... It tilts, turns, and banks like an outdoor bike &#8212; works out the core, upper body, legs, cardio, and improves balance the way other indoor cycling bikes can&#146;t ... More moves. More complete workouts.&#148;</BR><br><B>Trainer feedback:</B> Lombardi loves it. &#147;I am a big fan of this bike,&#148; she says. &#147;Being an avid mountain bike rider, I love the versatility and true-to-life feel of this so called &#145;stationary&#146; bike. I think we need a new term for this one!&#148;</BR><br>But Blahnik isn&#146;t sold on this fancy set of wheels. &#147;It adds some visual dynamics, but it probably would cause you to work less intensely than you could on a bike that doesn't tilt, because it requires more balance, thereby reducing your calorie burn,&#148; he says. &#147;Also, this is not the way a real bike on the road works because you don't have to hold a leaning position when a bike outside banks a turn ... So in reality this is not like riding a real bike.&#148;</BR> <br>The benefits with this bike are &#147;probably slight, if there are any at all,&#148; he says. &#147;And, in exchange for the likely reduced calorie burn, I am not sure it is worth it. For people who are bored to death on stationary bikes, it is probably more interesting, but the novelty wears off very quickly.&#148;<br>";

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Health_Stenson_FitnessFads[i-1].body = "<div style=\"font-family : Verdana, Arial, Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif;\"><class=\"textBodyBlack\"><font size=\"2\"><headline/><br><B>What it is:</B> From the makers of the Total Gym, a home machine promoted on TV infomercials by Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley, comes a higher-end workout machine for fitness clubs and studios that allows you to do resistance training and Pilates. Web site: <a HREF=\"http://www.efisportsmedicine.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.efisportsmedicine.com</A>. Price is $2,895.</br> <br><B>The claims:</B> &#147;Gravity is a fun and innovative program that provides full body conditioning through resistance training or Pilates. In small groups or individually, your training sessions are monitored for maximum results in just 30-45 minutes ... The Gravity System: Show Mother Nature who&#146;s boss ... Gravity Pilates: Feels like Zen, works like boot camp.&#148;</BR><br><B>Trainer feedback:</B> &#147;This is a good product &#8212; comfortable, fun, smooth and fairly easy to use,&#148; says Blahnik. &#147;The downside is that it is very big, you need to know how to do the exercises or you would be lost, and adjusting the resistance is a bit tricky because you have to change the incline to do it, which means you can't do it on the machine.&#148;<br>";

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