Advertisement John Porcari, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse professor of exercise and sport science, will answer these questions and more in a free presentation, “Fitness Gizmos, Gadgets, Fallacies and Fads: What Works and What Doesn’t,” from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday in UW-L’s Cleary Alumni and Friends Center.
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His talk is part of a free health series presented by UW-L health and exercise experts on Tuesdays during February’s Heart Month.
Porcari said no matter what exercise machine you use, you will burn calories. But how many depends on your intensity — in other words, how hard you work.
“You’ll get similar health benefits from the machines in the gym, but you will work harder on some machines, and that’s the machine you probably should use if you want a better workout,” he said.
Porcari, who has tested many exercise machines and gadgets in research studies with the American Council on Exercise, said walking poles will improve your walking workout by helping you burn 20 percent to 25 percent more calories and building upper-body endurance.
“For older people, the poles also help decrease the impact on your feet,” he said.
Porcari said the poles are better than swinging your arms with small weights while walking. “The weights are OK, but you have to really swing your arms,” he said. “Sixty to 70 percent of the benefits are from swinging your arms alone.”
He also will talk about health infomercials on television.
Porcari said he would never buy a product based only on an infomercial because the claims often are untrue or exaggerated.
For example, an exercise routine may advertise you can burn up to 1,000 calories, but maybe only one person ever achieved 1,000 calories, he said.
“They also pay experts to say things, and they may have never seen the product,” Porcari aid. “Then there’s the fine print you can’t read about the results not being typical.”
Porcari suggests checking the product online and especially looking at critical blogs. Better yet, check out Consumer Reports, he added.
Can thigh creams, belly busters and butt burners give you the body you have always wanted?
“The simple answer is no,” Porcari said. “There is a cream and then there’s the dream, but there’s no dream in the cream.”
Porcari and his graduate students have tested many of the exercise machines and gimmicks he will talk about.
“As consumers ourselves, and more importantly as exercise professionals, it is our job to separate fact from fiction,” he said.
Brian Udermann, UW-L associate professor of exercise and sport science, will present “Could Mom Have Been Wrong? Health Myths That May Surprise You” to conclude the series at 6 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Cleary Alumni and Friends Center.
