toolarge

Has anyone tried the Shake Weight? I understand you can't "target" fat loss, but I'm thinking about trying this to help tone my arms. I only have 10lbs to lose but it seems like I carry my extra weight in my extremities (arms, thighs, knees). I have small shoulders, small midsection, which actually makes my arms and legs look larger if that makes sense...Its actually quite an odd body shape. Anyway, with summer coming I need all the extra help I can get and this device looks like it will be fun to do while watching TV. At the gym I tend to work out the larger muscle groups (shoulders, back, chest). If I work my biceps/triceps I start to look "jacked up" in the arms. So, I'm either flabby batwing or jacked up. Hoping this will be give a nice toned lady look. anyone tried?

tandoorichicken

I think the "jacked up" look is largely in your head. Your muscles tend to get pumped up right after you workout because blood is rushing into that area to clear out built-up acids and provide nutrients to help recovery. That "look" mostly goes away after a couple hours and your arms will even out to look full and "toned." IMO the shake-weight is largely a waste of money and I'd worry about the impact it has on your elbows (all that back and forth isn't the best thing for one's joints). Just stick to regular biceps/triceps/shoulder exercises and you should be fine.

Plus, there's nothing to be ashamed of having lovely, shapely arms. Good luck!

-Nik

rpmcduff

Rather than 'Shake Weight' I would recommend you do more weight training exercises for your arms. If you are worried that your arms will become too burly don't be. Use a weight that you can do 10-12 repetitions with. If you don't believe me about your arms getting too big look on Bodybuilding.com. There are lots of profiles there about women who want bigger arms and have been working toward that goal for a long time but still don't have 'burly' arms. Unless you are on steroids it just won't happen for a woman. Don't neglect doing tricep exercises as these really help build the toned look. Good Luck.

farr1022

Try doing sets of pushups. My wife really got toned up after introducing them into her routine.

almeeker

Um, actually I think it has a lot to do with genetics. My dad has big burly arms and so do I.

tandoorichicken

It does have to do with genetics a bit, but almeeker I bet even your "big burly arms" look natural on you. With bodybuilder women it just doesn't fit with their frames and it's usually obvious that they're on some kind of "enhancer." It just doesn't look right. Natural, genetics-designed muscles look natural.

Built

I agree with RPMC and Tandoori--save your money. I, too, have a genetic predisposition towards building muscle in my arms which is most noticeable immediately following an upper body workout. As bodyfat decreases through good nutrition, the jiggles will lessen considerably. If you're looking for exercises to do at home, you could do dips using a sturdy chair or coffee table or pushups with hands positioned underneath shoulders and fingers angled inward ("girl" style if too hard on toes), or French press with tubing or even a towel. Exrx.net has a very complete exercise library with videos you might want to look at if you haven't already. Happy training!

tandoorichicken

Here's an article that reviews the shake weight — pretty much echoes our sentiments here.

-Nik

VegaSinclair

Most of the stuff you see on TV is pretty gimicky. I think the shake weight is one of the funniest commercials I've seen. Some of the stuff does work that you see on TV but basically what they've done is repackage exercise routines that have worked for decades and made them look new. For instance the bowflex stuff is similar to exercises you could do with free weights and barbells. It just looks cooler than a barbell.

almeeker

Yes, the bowflex looks cool, but that's not the really great thing about it. The actual exercises are nearly identical to ones you can do with barbells and gym equipment, what is revolutionary about it is the weight of the equipment itself. My parents put one in an upstairs room that never would have supported a full set of weights or a piece of weight equipment.

My dad likes the occasional piece of gimicky workout equipment (hence the bowflex). At one point he and I had a talk about which ones were good and which ones were money down the john. His basic argument was that it didn't matter to him what it cost, if he did the workout for 5-6 months and gained ground, at least he was working out the whole time. He just knows himself well enough to realize that he like a new toy now and then, and that it motivates him to workout.