Fitness Fads Over the Years

Workout trends come and go (who remembers Sweatin' to the Oldies?), but one thing stays the same: We're endlessly curious to find the next great way to tone up and get fit fast.

From fitness flops to the newer crazes that can't seem to lose steam (see the Zumba craze, pictured left), we highlighted our favorites. Read on for more >>

An infomercial product at best, this spring-action dumbbell, introduced in 2009, was said to strengthen and define muscles.

While its workout benefit is inconclusive, Shake Weight found success in spoofs on Saturday Night Live and Jimmy Kimmel Live, and went on to surpass the 4.5 million mark in units sold. 

Can a pair of shoes really tone your abs, butt, and legs? While some studies noted improvement in muscle strength and tone, others refuted this claim.

"Toning shoes appear to promise a quick-and-easy fitness solution, which we realize people are always looking for," says Cedric X. Bryant, PhD, Chief Science Officer of the American Council on Exercise (ACE). "Unfortunately, these shoes do not deliver the fitness or muscle-toning benefits they [advertise]."

Once a novelty item popularized by spokesperson Suzanne Somers in the 90s, the Thigh Master was proven to target and tone thighs muscles as promised, although the idea of spot reduction is a myth.

Health professionals will tell you, working out and reducing fat in one area is, unfortunately, impossible.

A workout phenomenon that dates back to the 70s, Jazzercise captured the hearts of dance-loving women everywhere.

And what's old is new again, as Jazzercise made the 2011 Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list, ranking as the #1 fitness franchise and #17 overall.

In 2011, Jazzercise partnered with two-time Dancing with the Stars champion Cheryl Burke, who served as company spokesperson.

The promise: Sit on a chair (equipped with cylinders that add resistance when you rock back and forth), pop in the workout DVD, follow the meal plan, and carve rock-hard abs.

While the Ab Rocket didn't deliver the exact results promised, many people did show some effective toning in the abdominal area.

Who needs a gym membership when you've got a video game console? Seems Nintendo had the right idea. After its launch in 2008, the Wii Fit went on to sell more than 22 million units.

Using a balance board, seen here, which measures a person's weight and center of balance, exercise enthusiasts can practice yoga, tennis, hula hooping and boxing using the device.

Since its release, many nursing homes and rehabilitation centers began incorporating the game into their exercise programs.

Sexy? Yes. Effective? Maybe. Celebrities like Carmen Electra and Kate Hudson boasted that their toned bods were a result of aerobic striptease classes and suddenly, women everywhere were stripping, lap dancing on chairs, and pole dancing.

While some got fit as a result, we mostly saw an increase in self-esteem and DVD sales.