THE Most Expensive Fitness Scam (known to mankind)
Hey everyone!! Welcome back to real life!
Did you survive the Holiday Madness?
Did you manage to get through all the Big Eat-Fests?
I managed to time Christmas Day with my usual ‘cheat’ day so went for it with abandon!
But now it’s back to good behaviour.
But HEY… before New Years hits, I have something vitally important to share with you:
I know it’s almost time for New Years Resolutions but let me tell you now that not all fitness equipment is created equal.
I happened to stumble upon what might just be THE biggest AND most expensive fitness scam of all time.
It’s called the ROM Machine (cleverly named to capitalize upon the term “Range of Motion”) and in my opinion, it’s the biggest rip-off I’ve ever seen.
So now, let me ask you:
Are YOU gullible enough to fall for such an extravagantly expensive piece of equipment promising the moon (in 4 minutes no less), against the better knowledge and advice of ALL the fitness and medical practitioners on the PLANET? (except for the ones that have been nicely compensated for their opinions in this video, that is)
Do yourself a huge favour this year if you’re making fitness New Years Resolutions:
DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT.
Get yourself a gym membership, or a good set of dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, fitness bands, jump ropes, pull-up bar, running shoes (or all of the above) …
… and then USE THEM… REGULARLY!!!
… and that $15,000 you don’t know what to do with?
Well, a new car or a new swimming pool or a trip somewhere tropical springs to mind.
I’m in need of all of the above. Just email me and I’ll let you know where to send your money.
It’s for a good cause, I promise!! LOL
And, in keeping with today’s post, here’s today’s Workout Song of the Day.
I figure ANYONE trying to sell stuff like this to a gullible and unsuspecting (not to mention desperate) public looking for a magic pill, should be considered public enemy #1.
So, Days of the New, thanks for singing it out for us. Stay away from THIS “Enemy” everyone.
It’s also a fantastic cardio song. I run like the wind with this one blasting in my ears. Give it a go, I’ll bet you love it too.
Days of the New – Enemy
Don’t forget, if you love it, go get it. Amazon has one waiting for you now. Just click on the “Buy” button on the player widget and they’ll set you up in no time (and for super cheap, too!)
That’s it for today.
Have a fit, fun and fantastic day.
Girlwithnoname
December 27th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Just looks like something you’d f**k up your back with! It’s so ugly too! Unbelievable…
December 27th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
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December 27th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Haha, thanks for the tip! I am thinking of maybe joining a gym again, though the whole atmosphere isn’t appealing to me..
December 27th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Hey Dominic, you KNOW I’m the Queen of the Home Workout, right? If the gym isn’t appealing to you, head over to my coaching page (see banner at top of page) and let’s connect up, I have lots of ideas for you.
December 28th, 2009 at 10:39 am
OMG!! I’m speechless, is there anybody who would actually buy that thing?
December 28th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I’ve seen this product advertised for many years in the back of Scientific American, Popular Science and Popular Mechanics here in America. The company has spent many years and, I’m sure, a large sum of money to market the product to a very specific audience. Why sell 1,500 machines at $10 each when they can sell 1 machine at $15,000?
As a business, they seem to be doing very well.
But, then again, so has The Ab Circle Pro, The Contour Core Sculpting System and The Thighmaster. And I trust those machines to deliver results about as much as I trust a donut.
Is the ROM new in Canada? Or were you watching footage from American television?
From the footage, it looks like the machine uses isokinetic resistance for the upper and lower body exercises. This would explain the “automatically adjusting resistance” you talked about. But I can purchase a Concept2 rowing machine for one-tenth the price of the ROM and get the same resistance modality.
I wonder, though, if I could perform a tabata protocol using the ROM. I can certainly do it with a Concept2 rower: 20 seconds at full power, 10 seconds complete rest x 8 intervals total.
But I can also do tabata using a barbell, kettlebell or even pushups, so why spend the money of such a large piece of specialized equipment like the ROM?
December 28th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
that’s the ugliest exercise equipment ever!
December 28th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Hey Derek, that footage is a DVD they sent me in their marketing package designed to convince me it’s a worthwhile investment. Right, they probably should have saved their postage on me, huh? LOL.
Thanks for all your thoughts. All very valid. The thing still boils down to a massive scam though, wouldn’t you say?
GWNN
January 4th, 2010 at 8:32 am
I’ve never used a strong word like “scam” before in one of my comments, but you know what? I stand with you on this one: It certainly looks like a scam.
I am curious to know if anyone is seeing positive results using the product.
January 4th, 2010 at 10:49 am
yah, I’d be interested in that. How about it? Anyone out there wanna let us know if you’ve got one and had good results with it? I’m not interested in hearing from anyone paid by the company to endorse it. I only want to hear from anyone that spent their own hard earned bucks on it and is not being compensated by the company.
January 24th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
FWIW: I don’t think it’s a scam. It is different from both a rower (you pull and push) and a stair climber (much longer steps).
Here’s some other approaches, totally unrelated to the ROM, from other fitness peeps who think you can get a good workout in 4 minutes.
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/06/29/tabata-the-most-efficient-4-minutes-of-your-life/
http://www.cbass.com/SEARCHOF.HTM
It seems to me that you’re too quick to bash something that you haven’t even tried.
January 24th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Sure. Tabata. if you add up the warmup and the cooldown that they say you should do that’s 14 minutes of movement, for starters, not 4. and that 4 minutes in a tabata doesn’t include stretches.
and PLEASE don’t ask me to believe that OLYMPIANS train for ONLY 4 minutes on any given day.
4 minutes. sheesh. Everyone and their dog wants the easy way out. There isn’t one. Well, actually there is one: it’s called “death”.
April 23rd, 2010 at 8:10 pm
4 minutes a day? lol
June 15th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
Ok so you want someone who has tried this out. I have tried this out before. Mind you I didn’t purchase it, a client (physician) did. I only used it a couple times. It seemed to give me a good workout. One of the movers I know tried this out also quite a few weeks, and said it was a super awesome workout. (coming from a gym rat! ) I cannot tell you for sure results since I didn’t use it much. But I’m not convinced I would pay what they cost. I think with small kids, I would be scared they could break something on it. Could you imagine repair cost? Lol.
June 26th, 2012 at 3:16 pm
Thanks Danielle. I have no doubt this thing would be a good workout… IF you did it for longer than 4 minutes. 4 minutes a day isn’t sufficient, and the price is a monumental rip-off given the insanely lofty claims they’re making about how ripped you can get in only 4 minutes EACH DAY.
The other thing that bugs me is that they say it lowers the intensity FOR YOU at a certain stage… what? after 2 minutes? that’s not even enough time to WARM UP never mind worrying about lowering intensity already.
the whole thing smacks of ‘SCAM’ to me.
July 15th, 2012 at 4:33 am
I tried this machine, too. It was at a resort I went to in Colorado years ago. I was a bit intimidated at first as it takes up a parking spot sized space- and no, it doesn’t fold up and slide under the bed. Once I figured out how to use it , I used it for a good 45+ minutes because I was unaware of the 4 minute claim at the time. Honestly, it was a pleasant workout. The resistance is quite high so you never move too fast, it feels gentle on the joints, and of course, it does a good job of maximizing range of motion.
However, if it is as powerful as they claim, well, using it for so long probably should have killed me! I certainly shouldn’t have been able to use it regularly between full days on the slopes. Someday, if I live in a sick mansion and have become so disconnected from the value of money that the price of the ROM is just chump change, I’ll buy it and you are all welcome to come over and use it for 4 minutes whenever you want:)
Final verdict? Save yourself 14k and get a Concept 2 rowing machine.
December 29th, 2014 at 8:41 am
Someone in my area bought one of these. He then rented a corner in a local yoga center and offered the 4 minute workout for $15 a pop. He vanished after 6 months. don’t think he made his money back. I tried it once and thought it was a bust for $16,000. I’m happy with my E-trainer I got for free on my town’s clean-up day. I get the same results in about 10 minutes.