As I was researching topics for this week’s SeenOnTV Blog post, I came across an infomercial for the Double Burner, a piece of As Seen On TV exercise equipment circa 1992.  I don’t actually recall this specific infomercial–perhaps that is because in 1992 I was graduating from high school and starting college, and I may or may have been preoccupied with more important things, like prepping for the SAT or meeting cute college boys.  Though the Double Burner itself does not ring a bell with me, it definitely reflects two of the hottest fitness trends of the eighties and nineties:  the stair stepper and the cross country ski machine.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=desxwsNC-oY&feature=related

I love the Double Burner infomercial, I must say.  Rather than smoothly gliding through their workouts, the fitness models look like they are sludging through mud, leaving me to think the Double Burner could use a double dose of WD-40.  But even as they trudge through this difficult workout, they manage to stay sexy; Little Miss Purple-Sports-Bra-and-Pink-Slouch-Socks even manages to drop an over-the-shoulder come-hither glance.

By combining stepping action with cross-country ski arms, the Double Burner users certainly seem to be working harder than their Easy Glider using counterparts.  After all, the Easy Glider was a cross-country ski machine alone.  While Easy Glider users and Double Burner users shared similar fitness attire (spandex, anyone?), those poor Easy Gliders just didn’t have the sex appeal of the Double Burners:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=VOo0WwCuujE&NR=1

“Hey.  For the money, Easy Glider really is the best.”  Is that really a selling point?  Saying it is the best you can get for $19.95?  Still, for the budget conscious, the Easy Glider may have trumped the $177 Double Burner.  Besides, just look how pleased Little Miss Lavender Lycra is when she slides her Easy Glider under the bed.  Also?  I’m pretty sure we owned this back in the day.

The Double Burner, however, was on to something with its 2-in-1 approach to infomercial exercise equipment.  Through the process of As Seen On TV product evolution, greater things have come to pass.  My favorite example is the Bowflex Treadclimber, which combines treadmill, stair stepper, and elliptical trainer into one effective machine.  While the Treadclimber fitness models feature smokin’ hot bodies, like those oiled up Double Burners, they don’t seem like they are actively trying to seduce you.  The Bowflex Treadclimber is legit–giving you an effective calorie burning workout without having to resort to the sex-sells approach of the early nineties.  Slouch socks optional.

Life Mimics Art, and As Seen On TV Exercise Products are No Exception

Strangely shaped walking shoes designed to shape and firm your derriere have recently become quite popular.  On one hand, I’m intrigued, because anything that will give me a workout without me having to, you know, work out sounds a-okay to me.  On the other hand, I think these shoes with the bulky, curved soles look flat ridiculous.  Whenever I see them, I can’t help but think of the old Seinfeld episode, “The Jimmy.”

In “The Jimmy,” George and Jerry befriend Jimmy who wears special shoes that are supposed to help him jump higher.  Somehow, Kramer ends up wearing the shoes, and yada, yada, yada . . . Mel Torme thinks he’s mentally challenged.

This is what Jimmy’s shoes look like:

As much as I think the new shape-up, toning shoes look ridiculous and make me think of Jimmy’s shoes, I found As Seen On TV exercise equipment from the 1980′s and 1990′s that out-jimmies Jimmy.

Enter the Exerlopers:

The spring-soled Exerlopers are designed to:

• Reduce shock to the joints associated with running
• Maximize your workout by adding varied motion to your running
• Increase your speed and your vertical leap with spring supported action
• Make you look like a complete fool

Exerlopers were developed in the mid-1980′s by Canadian inventor Gregory Lekhtman, and enjoyed celebrity fame in 1993 when Lekhtman’s girlfriend, then-Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, was seen wearing Exerlopers as she exercised.

Exerlopers are still available today, and you can even adapt them for an at-home workout using Insta-Runner.  According to the Exerlopers website, Insta-Runner is a “unique collapsible running stand which provides a workout for the upper and lower body.”  The handlebars on the Insta-Runner swivel to provide upper body resistance while you run in place wearing your Exerlopers.

As Seen on TV Exercise Equipment for Multi-Taskers

The idea behind Exerlopers is sound exercise advice.  Why simply run when you can run AND jump at the same time?  Why do cardio alone when you can combine cardio and strength training in one workout?  People want maximum results in minimum time, and infomercial exercise videos and equipment that allow you to combine effective fitness routines are among the most popular As Seen On TV products available.

The Bowflex Treadclimber combines the motion of a stairclimber, a treadmill, and an elliptical trainer to amplify fat-burning cardio.  FlexShaper is designed to combine resistance training with aerobic exercise for simultaneous toning and fat burning.

Products using Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS), like the FlexBelt ab belt or the FlexMini butt and thigh toner, let you discreetly work out your abs or lower body as you go about your daily business.

Of course, if modesty is not important when it comes to your As Seen On TV exercise routine (you’re not still wearing spandex pants, are you?) then Exerlopers are, er, leaps and bounds beyond discretion.

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:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvjT0d1kqds

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?