Suzanne Somers helped make the ThighMaster famous in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Originally marketed as the solution to shaping slender, shapely thighs, the ThighMaster has been restyled, to a certain degree, as a miniature, full-body sculpting resistance machine. But like most exercise equipment that advertises spectacular results in little time with little effort, there's more to know about the ThighMaster than the manufacturer's promises.
Description
The ThighMaster consists of two pieces of foam-covered tubing connected with a spring-loaded hinge. The tubes are bent into a rough candy-cane shape; the spring joins the long, straight ends, and the rounded ends act as handles.
Target Muscles
The inner-thigh muscles the ThighMaster was created to target are called your hip adductors: the adductor brevis, adductor longus and adductor magnus. All three hip adductors, plus the pectineus and gracilis muscles, exert force to bring your legs together.
Original Use
The ThighMaster's original use was fairly simple. Sit down and place the handles between your thighs just above the knee, with the spring pointing down. Squeeze your thighs together against the spring's resistance. Release and repeat to, according to early infomercials, "Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze your way to shapely hips and thighs." But there's a problem. As pointed out in the Los Angeles Times article "Working Out Old School," the ThighMaster works you through a very limited range of motion. In the LA Times article, IDEA personal trainer Justin Price advises that you'd be better served by doing side squats, which work your hip adductors through the full range of motion.
Additional Uses
The original marketing material recommended using the ThighMaster to tone not just your thighs but other muscles too. Early infomercials depicted a man and a woman using the ThighMaster to tone their biceps and chest, respectively. Again, the limited range of motion is a problem. Despite promises made, the ThighMaster simply can't work your muscles through the full range of motion.
Availability
As of September 2010, the ThighMaster is available in two versions. The ThighMaster Gold is almost identical to the original, with updated materials and brighter colors. The ThighMaster LBX is designed to work your outer thighs and buttocks. Instead of offering resistance against inward compression, it resists outward pressure. You place the LBX handles on either side of your outer thighs, just above the knees, and spread your knees apart against its resistance. The ThighMaster Gold is available for about $20 from the Suzanne Somers website, or packaged with the LBX for just over $35 from ThighMaster.net, as of September 2010.
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