Americans are obsessed with taking the 'work' out of working out

The quest to work out without actually doing much work is eternal.

"It's human nature to gravitate toward shortcuts," says Cedric Bryant , the president and CEO of the American Council on Exercise .

There are the shaking weights that promise to rattle your bicep curls into overdrive and vibrating platforms for you to turbocharge your squats.

One review of the literature on the practice found that patients' measurements decreased by 2.9 millimeters on average, or about a 10th of an inch.

"That doesn't seem like very much," says Melanie Jay , the director of the NYU Langone Comprehensive Program on Obesity .

Emsculpt is best suited for functional wellness and rehabilitation, not significant weight loss or body contouring.

The modern narrative around fitness is that it's not just about being thin — it's about being strong, healthy, and fit at any weight.

People get duped by supplements that supposedly burn fat while they sleep and vests that claim to sculpt abs while they sit on the couch.

The rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound that really do seem to deliver miracles.