In the Way Back Wednesday Halloween post, I described the electrifying properties of Rejuvenique, and how it uses electronic impulses to stimulate the muscles of the face.  While the appearance of the Rejuvenique facial mask is somewhat disconcerting, its use of electronic impulses for muscle stimulation is a form of beauty and exercise technology that has been around for years and is a continuing method of firming, toning, and relaxing muscles.

A decade ago, electronic muscle stimulation (EMS) was used by the famous Dr. Ho in his namesake Dr. Ho’s Muscle Massager.  This device looks suspiciously like an EMS machine I once endured during a bout of physical therapy (I think I may need to call my HMO about this).  However, most viewers of the Dr. Ho infomercial–at least most male viewers–won’t notice a thing about how the Muscle Massager looks.  See, much like fellow infomercial host Tom Vu, Dr. Ho relied heavily on scantily clad women in need of electronic stimulation.  In fact, male viewers may have been so busy noticing the models that they may not have even realized that one bikini beauty exclaims, after sampling the Muscle Massager, that she no longer needs men:

Now, the use of electronic muscle stimulation can be hazardous to certain groups.  As Dr. Ho states in his disclaimer, these devices are “not to be used by pregnant women, people with pacemakers, or epileptics.”

Or by idiots:

Electronic muscle stimulation (EMS) is a valid technology, however.  Remember, I mentioned earlier that EMS was used in physical therapy, and regardless of my joke about checking with my HMO to see if Dr. Ho is on my preferred provider list, the EMS is one of the reasons I’m not hobbling around like a geriatric at the age of . . . um . . . never mind.

Some modern electronic muscle stimulators that can be seen on TV include several that are used for strengthening and tightening the muscles of the abs.  Absonic, Abtronic, and the Contour Ab Belt have been among the more popular electronic ab stimulators seen on television infomercials.

The latest development in electronic stomach toning medical technology is the Flex Belt.  The FlexBelt ab belt has been clinically tested and proven to stimulate the abdominal muscles up to 150 times per thirty minute session.  Most importantly, the Flex Belt is the only EMS device to be cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a Class II Medical Device to be sold directly to the consumer.  Take that, HMO.

We’re not quite going way back for today’s post, but this little number is too good to pass up.  Lazy people all around the world (myself included) are searching for the perfect way to lose weight and trim their waistlines with absolutely no effort whatsoever.  The geniuses at Perfect Creations have heard the cry of the lethargic and fat, and they have answered with . . . the Hawaii Chair.  You’ve just got to love an infomercial product with the slogan, “You don’t have to exercise.  The Hawaii Chair will do it for you.”   Seen on TV shows such as Ellen, the Hawaii Chair seat swivels around to move your bulk in a hula-like fashion to tighten your waist and make you look like a complete fool:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_amg-Aos4

Is it just me, or did anyone else do a double take when the guy says, “Oooh.  This feels great on my a . . . bs”? 

Now, the product itself and the infomercial are not the only ridiculous things about the Hawaii Chair.  In fact, Hawaii Chair’s website offers even more fun.  You see, it has been quite poorly translated and includes such gems as, “Old men can use the Hawaii Chair easily to help improve the operation of digestive and cardiovascular systems.”  Take heed, Old Men!  According to the website, you can also use the Hawaii Chair to “thaw and loosen redundant fat” on the buttocks, thighs, and waist.  And let me tell you, there is nothing worse than frozen redundant fat. 

Seriously.

I’ve just updated the site with quite a few new diet and fitness products to add to our list of existing products to help you lose weight and get in shape.  If dropping pounds or improving your fitness is one of your New Years Resolutions, now is the time to order the products you want to help you achieve those goals.  Here is some of the hottest selling exercise equipment  we’ve had available on our site:

• Ab Circle
• The Contour Ab Belt
• Slendertone System Abs
• Ab Rocket
• Iso7X

And here’s what’s new:

• UltraRez [RezV1000]
• Transform12
• IsoBo
• BodiPro
• BodiRocker
• Exerspy

Juicing has also been a popular category with diet and fitness consumers over the past several years, and we have a couple of new juicers to offer, including the Sharper Image Super Juicer and the Living Well Healthmaster Fruit and Vegetable Emulsifier.

We’ve just added 2 new pieces of exercise equipment to our listings – the BodiPro and BodiRocker. I believe both of these were released during the summer, but are now starting to get more media time.

The BodiRocker puts a twist on push-ups, literally. The BodiPro appears to offer more of a full body workout in a fairly compact piece of equipment. I expect these will be fairly successful products, especially when the new year rolls around – which is a very hot selling period for fitness equipment for obvious reasons. Other fitness products that have been selling well lately include the Ab Circle, Contour Abs, ISO7X and the Slendertone Ab Belt.