The 10 Weirdest Health and Fitness Gimmicks
Posted on Dec 19, 2017

Health and fitness gimmicks have been around for decades. People are always looking for new ways to find a shortcut to a healthy and fit body. Sometimes these gimmicks might appear to be helpful but in the long run, they are just weird ways to waste your time and money.

Sauna Suits

Sauna suits have been around for quite a long time. Most of these suits are made of plastic to promote more sweat during a workout or even just going about your day. This fitness gimmick not only makes you look like a weird trash bag person, it can lead to dehydration if you are not drinking enough water.

Power Balance

You may remember seeing professional and amateur athletes wearing these Power Balance bracelets when they were popular in 2010. The bracelet claimed to increase athletic ability through its holographic technology, but there were no real benefits and the company was sued for false advertising.

Vibration Belts

Remember those “fitness” machines that jiggled your fat around that was supposed to help you lose weight? Well, the idea has come back into style with these new vibration belts that claim to electronically stimulate muscles to reduce weight.

Face Slimming Masks

Made popular in Japan and made viral by YouTubers, these terrifying masks are supposed to slim your face by compressing the fat. Honestly, we are not too sure how these things are supposed to work but they sure are weird.

Toning Apparel

An extreme take on athletic wear, toning apparel dons resistance bands to promote extra muscle resistance training. With toning apparel, you are subjecting yourself to wearing very tight clothes to work out in.

Detox Foot Pads

These adhesive pads are designed to stick onto your feet while you sleep to collect the toxins in your body through the bottoms of your feet. The commercials for these pads show them being covered in something gross when they are removed. Scientific tests have proven that the pads don’t remove any toxins from your body.

Waist Training

This fitness gimmick has been popularized by the Kardashians. You are essentially wearing a corset or other tight-fitting garment around your midsection to make your waist skinnier. Historically wearing corsets have been proven to detrimental to women’s health because it causes internal organs to shift around. Sure it will make you look skinnier, but it’s just shifting around the fat not getting rid of it.

Body Wraps

With body wraps, you are supposed to apply a cream to the area you want to have slimmed down and skin tightened. Once the cream is applied you typically wrap it up in saran wrap or other tightening wraps. This fitness gimmick is supposed to reduce cellulite, tighten skin, and reduce waistlines.

Thighmaster

Everyone knows about the Thighmaster because of its famous commercials. It promoted an easy workout to make you as sexy as its spokeswoman Suzanne Somers; however, most buyers would quickly realize that the Thighmaster is just a weird fitness gimmick.

Juice Cleanse

Juice cleanses have become one of the most popular diets and health trends within the past few years. It was popularized by celebrities and social media personalities to cleanse your body of toxins by drinking only liquified fruits and veggies. This fitness gimmick is understandably weird because if you ask anyone who has done a juice cleanse they are likely to tell you horror stories.