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The Shake Weight is an arm-toning and upper body workout device that launched in July 2009 via direct response television and has since become a worldwide phenomenon after initially going viral as a result of the perceived sexually suggestive nature of the product while in use.
Product specifications
Initially released as a product designed specifically for women, a male version, the Shake Weight for Men, has become a popular brand extension. Based on a new workout technology dubbed Dynamic Inertia, the Shake Weight is designed to engage the muscles in the arms, shoulders and chest in an entirely new fashion. A scientific study involving the Shake Weight technology was conducted by Dr. Daniel Cipriani, Professor at the department of Exercise Physiology at San Diego State University. The study used EMG monitoring of muscle activity during use of the Shake Weight compared to similar size dumbbells, pushups and sit-ups and revealed that the Shake Weight outperforms free weights due to the rapid motion of the exercise and isometric contraction of the entire upper body during use. Additionally, LifeModeler, Inc., a biomechanics research company and developer of human computer models utilized by organizations such as NASA, showed that just 6 minutes of exercise with the Shake Weight consumes the same amount of muscle energy as 34 minutes of curls with traditional dumbbells weighing the same amount. Additionally, males consumed 36.5 calories per minute with the five pound Shake Weight, while consuming 4.54 calories with a five pound dumbbell. Females consumed 18.3 calories with the two and a half pound Shake Weight, compared to 2.27 calories with a two and a half pound dumbbell. Unlike the impression created by the rapid motion of the device, the Shake Weight is not battery-powered and does not employ a vibration-based technology; rather, the user generates the movement. The internal resistance and shaft bounces the weight back and forth, creating a workout that the developer contends increases upper body muscle activity by more than 300% compared to traditional free weights. The original women’s version weighs 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) and the Shake Weight for Men weighs in at 10 lbs. (4.5 kg).
Reception
The product has been the subject of popular attention and parody, partially due to the sexually suggestive nature of the product during use. Following its July 2009 debut, clips from the Shake Weight infomercial quickly went viral. The viral YouTube clip has more than 5,000,000 views. Among its many appearances on television shows, Shake Weight was featured multiple times on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, as well as Good Morning America, Today, The View, The Doctors and This Morning, a British talk show, among others. The Shake Weight commercial has also been parodied on Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, Two and a Half Men, the South Park episode "Crème Fraiche"., and on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3 episode Totally Leotarded. The Shake Weight was also featured on HBO Hard Knocks: New York Jets, in which the team used the Shake Weight to warm up before a practice session during spring training.
Product developer
FitnessIQ is the developer and marketer behind the Shake Weight. Johann Verheem is FitnessIQ's CEO and Shake Weight's inventor.
Sales
By August 2010, a reported two million Shake Weight units had been sold for a total of $40 million in sales. According to an official company press release, Shake Weight is “currently the number-one-selling fitness product in Target retailers nationwide and number-one As Seen on TV brand in Wal-Mart and UK’s Tesco since its infomercial launch in August 2009”.
Endorsements
In January 2010, Alex Gerrard, the English model and wife of English footballer Steven Gerrard, launched the UK version of the Shake Weight. Gerrard said, "I use the Shake Weight every day and my arms have never looked so good. It really works."
Reviews
Good Morning America featured Shake Weight as part of a best-selling fitness product round-up in which the show’s fitness expert gave the product a B+ because, according to her, “It really works triceps and delts… you get a burn.”
References
1."Shake Weight website". http://www.shakeweight.com/flare/next. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
2."Shake Weight for Men website". http://www.buyshakeweightformen.com/flare/next. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
3.Atkinson, Louise (12 January 2010). "Vibrating dumbbells, fat-melting shorts... get in shape the cheat's way". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1242478/Vibrating-dumbbells-fat-melting-shorts--shape-cheats-way.html#ixzz0lnRtdick.
4."The Shake Weight Arm-Sculpting Craze Shaking up a Media Frenzy". Business Wire. News Blaze. 6 August 2009. http://newsblaze.com/story/2009080611051900001.bw/topstory.html. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
5.Tom Roberts (7 August 2009). "Viral Video Chart: Mattress dominoes and the weirdest divorce hearing ever". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/aug/07/mattress-dominoes-viral-video-chart.
6."Hilarious Shake Weight Exercise for Women Video". Viral Video Chart. Unruly Media. http://viralvideochart.unrulymedia.com/youtube/hilarious_shake_weight_exercise_for_womennbspvideo?id=4S3C4AC908w. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
7.Sarah Bull (8 January 2010). "Slimline Alex Gerrard ignores critics to launch ludicrous Shake Weight fitness aid". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1241642/Slimline-Alex-Gerrard-ignores-critics-launch-ludicrous-Shake-Weight-fitness-aid.html#ixzz0lnUXfUJ9.
8."Season 35: Episode 19". Saturday Night Live Transcripts. http://snltranscripts.jt.org/09/09s.phtml. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
9.Christine Lagorio (16 August 2010). "Shaking America By Storm". Inc.. http://www.inc.com/articles/2010/08/shake-weight-inventor-johann-verheem.html. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
10.Darren Rovell (20 August 2010). "The Shake Weight Hits $40 Million In Sales". CNBC. http://www.cnbc.com/id/38788941/The_Shake_Weight_Hits_40_Million_In_Sales. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
External links
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/Isometric_exercise
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