Fitness Guinea Pig YouTube Channel (Humor)

I talked about the Everyday Health YouTube channel (actually, a network of mini-shows) in a previous post about Daily Dose with Jillian Michaels. This time, I would like to describe what I see as sort of a guilty pleasure on this seemingly healthy channel: Fitness Guinea Pig.

The appeal, in summary: Celebrities, comedians, actors, and “everyday joes” struggle with home fitness products they have never used before. Sometimes it ends surprisingly well, and other times, it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a particular product. Each product is tested over the course of a week, in several video episodes. This is fun for me on several levels, because I already recognize some of the people and products, but I never expected to see them together on the same screen!

Here are a few examples:

Mark Malkoff and the Shake Weight

Mark Malkoff is one of my favorite online personalities. He has a background in comedy writing, and has achieved some measure of fame for his own comedy projects, which include living at an Ikea store for a week, a 30 day Six-Pack Abs Challenge, and watching over 250 films in one month on Netflix Streaming. (By the way, he succeeded in 30 days by getting the six pack that has eluded me for years!) For the Fitness Guinea Pig channel, he has tested the “as seen on TV” Shake Weight, a battery-powered weight which is supposed to produce amazing results. In a separate test, Mark experiences the Master Cleanse, a liquid diet which claims to detoxify the body. Mark provides a good mix of information, humor, and bewilderment as he follows along with the instructions for each product.

Chris Broussard Squats with a Stability Ball

Chris Broussard is (apparently) a sports analyst for ESPN. I had never heard of him before, because I’m not a sports fan; but when I saw his Fitness Guinea Pig project was P90X (as indicated by the video title), I was very excited! I mean, I’ve done several rounds of P90X myself, so I felt as if we would have something in common. Anyway, it turns out that Chris was actually doing week 1 of P90X2, a program which was developed almost 10 years after P90X. (I completed my first 90 day “round” of P90X2 recently, too.) They are similar, but not the same. For example, the stability ball you see in the picture is present in many of the P90X2 workouts, but was not used at all in P90X. In the end, I think Chris gave it his best effort, except for the recommended nutrition plan. My only disappointment is that the Fitness Guinea Pig video title misrepresents the program he tested. Chris also tested The Perfect Pushup V2.

Jenna Morasca Introduces Brazil Butt Lift

Jenna Morasca‘s claim to fame was her participation in two seasons of the CBS reality show Survivor, and her ongoing gig as the host of the online Survivor Live internet talk show. She returned to CBS (briefly) as a contestant on The Amazing Race, with her boyfriend Ethan Zohn. Her current involvement in the Fitness Guinea Pig series might be related to a Survivor challenge in which she and a fellow contestant removed all their clothing to win a food-related prize. After the show aired, this led to a photo shoot in Playboy magazine. Jenna has been a Fitness Guinea Pig several times, testing “sexy” products such as Brazil Butt Lift (sold by Beachbody, the makers of P90X), the S Factor (inspired by stripper dance moves), the Ab Circle Pro… and a juice fast. This week, Jenna’s back, testing a packaged brand of raw foods, shipped to her house. She does like to work out, and seems to have more fitness knowledge than some of the other participants.

I hope you will take the opportunity to watch these and other Fitness Guinea Pig miniseries. Do you have a favorite online show that combines fitness and humor? I’ll be caught up with these episodes in no time, so I will need something new to watch!

Links


My HomeFitnessGeek YouTube channel featuring playlists of my favorites!
Fitness Guinea Pig Main Page (Only 166 subscribers? Come on, people!)
Fitness Guinea Pig Season 1

Related Posts


My P90X2 Day 1
P90X and P90X2 Cast Member Profiles