Dynamic-inertia Workouts

Q: My wife is considering getting a pair of shake weights that have been advertised on infomercials. Does the dynamic-inertia workout have some value for untrained people?

A: Oh, sure—those weighted maracas are especially effective when combined with Bodyblade exercises! Seriously, any exercise is better than none, but workouts with those 2.5-pound shakers work only the biceps, triceps and delts, and their resistance level is relatively low. So those exercises will exert little strength-training effect or influence on fat loss.

Rather than using shake weights, she could probably achieve better results from such dynamic-inertia training as whipping a garden hose, a training protocol sport scientists would refer to as “oscillatory isometrics.” Maybe someone will come up with a study comparing five minutes of daily shake-weight training to the same amount of exercise whipping a garden hose. The title of the study might be “Physical Fitness Benefits of Dynamic-Inertia Training With Weighted Maracas vs. Oscillatory Isometrics Using a Garden Hose.”

Editor’s note: Charles Poliquin is recognized as one of the world’s most suc-cessful strength coaches, having coached Olympic med-alists in 12 different sports, including the U.S. women’s track-and-field team for the 2000 Olympics. He’s spent years researching European journals (he’s fluent in English, French and German) and speaking with other coaches and scientists in his quest to optimize training methods. For more on his books, seminars and methods, visit www.CharlesPoliquin.net. Also, see his ad in the magazine.  IM