Since becoming a stay-at-home mom and full-time blogger, I'll admit that my physical fitness level isn't quite what it used to be.  Finding the time to workout seems to be next to impossible most days and I'm always on the hunt to find products and services which can help maximize results in a minimum amount of time.

If you're like me, then you've heard of the Shake Weight before.  I saw the commercials and infomercials for this fitness product but often wondered if the Shake Weight was as good as they claimed it to be.  Well, thankfully for me, I got the chance to incorporate the Shake Weight into my daily routine and try it out.  Keep reading to learn more!

The Shake Weight is a 2.5 pound dumbbell which uses dynamic inertia, instead of a motor or batteries, to move back and forth.  This extra shaking movement can actually stimulate muscle activity up to 300% as compared with a traditional dumbbell.  There are four popular movements to do with the Shake Weight (double hand front, single hand side, side to side and behind the head) which will allow you to see and feel results in as little as 6 minutes per day.

A well-documented scientific study involving the Shake Weight technology was conducted by Dr. Daniel Cipriani, Professor at the department of Exercise Physiology at San Diego State University, one of the leading Exercise Physiology Departments in the country.  The study used EMG monitoring of muscle activity during use of the Shake Weight compared to similar size dumbbells, pushups and sit-ups.

The study revealed that the Shake Weight radically outperformed free weights due to the rapid motion of the exercise and isometric contraction of the entire upper body during use.

Honestly, I was quite skeptical about the Shake Weight and was eager to give it a shake for myself to see if I could really feel noticeable results after just six minutes of use.  Surprisingly, I did!  I started with the double hand front move and within 30 seconds, I could feel my arms tiring.  The entire time that I was using the Shake Weight, I could also feel many muscle groups firing at once, such as my biceps and triceps.

Next, I switched to the side to side motion and felt an immediate firing of my chest and shoulder muscles.  The only exercise I found difficult to do was the behind the head motion.  No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get the Shake Weight to shake back and forth very well while in this position.  Other than that, I have to admit that the Shake Weight worked!

I've since incorporated the Shake Weight into my daily run on the elliptical machine.  I try and run 5 miles every day on this machine, and while I've noticed my legs and butt tightening up, unfortunately, an elliptical just doesn't do much for the upper body.  Now since receiving the Shake Weights, I start off using one in each hand while doing the single hand side move.

Once I get fatigued from this, I move on to the double hand front move using just one weight.  It isn't long before my arms and shoulders are really tired and then I continue the rest of my run without anything at all.  My arms are already showing more definition in just a week's worth of use, so I think the Shake Weights added to my run on the elliptical is proving to be a great total body workout!

Disclosure:  I received two of the Shake Weight Classics from Fitness IQ in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. This product review is based on my own personal experiences with this item and is completely honest and objective.