As Seen On TV Blog

Today we bring Way Back Wednesday to you all the way from 1992.  Jane Fonda, aerobics guru extraordinaire, could be seen on tv frequently, promoting her various aerobics videos and workout equipment.  Nearly 20 years ago, she brought us her New Step Aerobic Workout (how’s that for a great title?).  Along with the 45-minute step workout, you received a bench step with a FREE intensity level.  I mean, you could have just received two lousy levels with your order, but they threw one in FREE!  You could step on four inches, six inches, or tumble gracelessly from a height of eight inches:

Now, personally, I think that the true secret to the effectiveness of the workout lay in the size and thickness of the socks.  I mean, those suckers had to add a good five, ten pounds at least.

In the infomercial, Fonda notes that step aerobics provides less stress on the joints, but through the years, we have discovered that step aerobics is, in fact, jarring on the joints.  As workout philosophy and technology has evolved, trainers have learned ways to maintain the quality of a step workout while eliminating the stress on the bones and joints.  Two notable exercise equipment products include the TreadClimber, made by the fitness geniuses at Bowflex, and the AirClimber, which gives you the benefits of an aerobic step workout, but cushions your step through air-filled bellows beneath the steps.

Ginormous socks are optional, but do you really want to minimize your efforts by wearing normal socks?

With an impending trip to the lake this weekend, it has just hit me that I will be forced to wear a bathing suit--in public--in less than a week.  Of course, this just sets my mind to wondering exactly how many calories I can burn in the next two days.  I think I may have to resort to forcing my fellow vacationers to wear blindfolds.

In the meantime, all of the trauma brought on by the prospect of wearing a small piece of spandex to cover my not-so-small body has made me begin to ponder the evolution of the workout video.   From Jane Fonda first bringing aerobics to your living room and  Richard Simmons being your personal cheerleader as you sweated to the oldies, we’ve come farther than you can stretch a day-glo leotard.

Just take a look at this Jazzercise video from the 80′s.  While not exclusively an as seen on TV, it does have all the crucial elements of an 80′s infomercial workout video:  the big hair, the wedgie-inducing leotards, the bad music, and the really awful moves:

I think I got an ab workout just from laughing so hard.

Of course, now we have things like P90x and Insanity. Check out the difference in the workouts (and in the bodies performing them!):

While I know that nothing is going to get this body ready for the lake by the end of the week, I have no doubt that Tony Horton and Shaun T could have me ready to rock the boat by the end of the summer.

No leotard required.

P90X and Insanity have just been added to our product line-up, and we have more BeachBody products coming soon.  P90X and Insanity are some extremely intense home exercise programs.  I should know – I’ve done them both (actually, just about to finish up the Insanity program this week).

They are tough, but if you really want results you’ve got to work at it.  I struggled a lot through both of the programs.  With Insanity, even after 2 months, the warmup still feels  like a pretty good workout, and I am absolutely wiped out and sweating like a horse after the complete workout.  And while I can’t speak for everyone, I’ve have been extremely pleased with my results on these 2 programs.

P90X is geared more toward building strength, while Insanity is to build cardio endurance and help you tone.  I didn’t stick to the diet very well (the programs come with a very detailed diet plan in addition to the exercise), or I would probably have had phenominal results, but here’s what I did experience:

• Lost 20lbs
• Went from a size 40 waist to a 36
• Went from doing 2 pullups to 15 (plus more curls, pushup, situps, increased resistance, etc)
• More definition in chest, biceps, triceps
• Better abs (still have a little bulge to get rid of right in the middle, but I can see abs and obliques now with some definition)

I did lay off the soft drinks quite a bit – still have 1 or 2 a week, so I am sure that helped as well.

Both P90X and Insanity are great programs, but you really do have to be determined and committed to get through them.  I’ll wrap up Insanity in a few days, take a little break for the Holidays, and get started again in the New Year.