Shake Weight
{{Short description|Exercise equipment}}
{{use dmy dates |date=March 2022}}
The Shake Weight is a modified dumbbell that oscillates, purportedly increasing the effects of exercise. As a result of the perceived sexually suggestive nature of the product, infomercial clips of the exercise device have gone viral.
A 2011 study in Consumer Reports states that for the chest, shoulder and triceps, the Shake Weight's exercises are inferior to conventional exercises that target the individual muscles. For the biceps, the results were similar. Additionally, the report found that the Shake Weight routines burned fewer calories than walking at {{convert|3|mph}}.{{cite news |title=The Shake Weight Hits $40 Million In Sales |author=Darren Rovell |newspaper=CNBC|date=20 August 2010 |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2010/08/20/the-shake-weight-hits-40-million-in-sales.html |access-date=9 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110611035115/https://www.cnbc.com/id/38788941/The_Shake_Weight_Hits_40_Million_In_Sales |archive-date=11 June 2011}}
Specifications
The Shake Weight has a female and male version, though it was initially released as a product "designed specifically for women".{{cite web |url=http://www.shakeweight.com/flare/next |title=Shake Weight website |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=20 April 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110202214928/http://www.shakeweight.com/flare/next |archive-date=2 February 2011}}
The female version weighs {{convert|2.5|lb|kg|sigfig=3}}.{{cite web |url=https://www.theshakeweight.com/ |title=Shake Weight ® |access-date=2011-06-05 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121217201120/https://www.theshakeweight.com/ |archive-date=2012-12-17 |url-status=dead }} The male version weighs twice as much at {{convert|5|lb|kg|sigfig=3}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.buyshakeweightformen.com/flare/next |title=Shake Weight for Men website |author= |date= |publisher= |accessdate=20 April 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100404045915/http://www.buyshakeweightformen.com/flare/next |archive-date=4 April 2010}}
Reception
Shake Weight has gained popular attention and parody because its use involves the appearance of pumping a phallic object. The product's commercials have been described by Diane Mapes of MSNBC as "slightly pornographic".{{cite news|last=Mapes|first=Diane|title=Stroke of luck? Shake Weight (kind of) works to tone arms|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/39677329|accessdate=14 July 2011|newspaper=MSNBC|date=29 October 2010}}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Following its July 2009 debut, clips from a Shake Weight infomercial quickly went viral. The viral YouTube clip has more than 4,000,000 views.{{cite web |url=http://viralvideochart.unrulymedia.com/youtube/hilarious_shake_weight_exercise_for_womennbspvideo?id=4S3C4AC908w |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724060631/http://viralvideochart.unrulymedia.com/youtube/hilarious_shake_weight_exercise_for_womennbspvideo?id=4S3C4AC908w |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 July 2011 |title=Hilarious Shake Weight Exercise for Women Video |work=Viral Video Chart |publisher=Unruly Media |accessdate=20 April 2010}} When Emma Stone visited Jimmy Kimmel Live! in September 2010 and host Jimmy Kimmel asked her if she had heard of "this great invention", her spontaneous reaction was "it's practically pornographic!".{{cite web | url=https://okmagazine.com/news/video-emma-stone-shakes-late-night-jimmy-fallon/ | title=VIDEO: Emma Stone Shakes up 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' | date=17 September 2010 }} The Shake Weight commercial has also been parodied by Saturday Night Live,{{cite web |url=http://snltranscripts.jt.org/09/09s.phtml |title=Season 35: Episode 19 |author= |date= |publisher=Saturday Night Live Transcripts |accessdate=26 April 2010}} The Daily Show, Two and a Half Men, South Park,{{Cite web|url=https://www.cryptogeography.com/shake-weight-south-park-video-joke-all-along/|title=Shake Weight - South Park Video Proved It Was A Joke All Along|date=2019-05-25|website=CryptoGeography|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-03}} Regular Show, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, RuPaul's Drag Race, Deadpool, and Thor: Ragnarok.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_knKu0JCNw|title=Thor Ragnarok shake weight|date=22 February 2018 |via=www.youtube.com}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/nzjwa3/in_thor_ragnarok_2017_skurges_shake_weight/|title=In Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Skurge's shake weight actually belongs to director Taika Waititi. He bought it while filming Green Lantern in 2011, and jokes that it's a "DC crossover".|date=June 14, 2021}}