The Abdominizer (often spelled Abdomenizer) was an

abdominal exercise Abdominal exercises are a type of strength exercise that affect the abdominal muscles (colloquially known as the stomach muscles or "abs"). Human abdominal consist of four muscles which are the rectus abdomens, internal oblique, external oblique, ...

r invented in 1984 by Canadian chiropractor Dennis Colonello and marketed through

infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dir ...

sWhat's what: Design expert Oliver Bennett selects objects that he finds inspirational - and those that are simply a waste of space
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', 2005 by the

Fitness Quest Fitness may refer to: * Physical fitness, a state of health and well-being of the body * Fitness (biology), an individual's ability to propagate its genes * Fitness (cereal), a brand of breakfast cereals and granola bars * ''Fitness'' (magazine) ...

corporation of

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes ...

, selling around six million.

Product

The Abdomenizer is an almost flat, saddle-like piece of thermoformed plastic, about 2 by 3 feet, with handles and a depression for the

tailbone The coccyx ( : coccyges or coccyxes), commonly referred to as the tailbone, is the final segment of the vertebral column in all apes, and analogous structures in certain other mammals such as horses. In tailless primates (e.g. humans and other ...

. The product was designed to protect the lower back during

sit-ups The sit-up (or curl-up) is an abdominal endurance training exercise to strengthen, tighten and tone the abdominal muscles. It is similar to a crunch (crunches target the rectus abdominis and also work the external and internal obliques), but s ...

. Colonello said in an interview in 2014 that the aim was to help people such as farmers consulting his practice in Ontario to do some exercise to develop

core strength In kinesiology, core stability refers to a person's ability to stabilize their core (all parts of the body which are not limbs). Stability, in this context, should be considered as an ability to control the position and movement of the core. Thus ...

. He made one prototype and tested the product in his clinical practice before being approached to market the product. Many people used them as snow sleds, and a

warning label A warning label is a label attached to a product, or contained in a product's instruction manual, warning the user about risks associated with its use, and may include restrictions by the manufacturer or seller on certain uses. Most of them ...

was affixed advising against this use.

Reception

Six million were sold in 57 countries, mainly through direct response television advertising. The Abdominizer is no longer sold after Fitness Quest acquired the rights and then stopped production when sales dropped. Expert opinion on the usefulness of the Abdominizer was mixed. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' noted that "they won't make the exercise any easier and they won't magically "firm both upper and lower abdominals," as the box claims." ''The Telegraph'' suggest that using an Abdominizer might lead to overly fast movements, causing injury. A physical therapist interviewed by ''

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst Communications, Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. Started as a men's health maga ...

'' suggested that the device would not protect the back, but would reduce effort and so lower the effectiveness of exercise. ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...

'' described it as "A symbol for TV shopping channels everywhere, a cheaply made, overpriced widget that is destined to be unpacked, tried exactly once, and consigned to the basement".

Advertising

Retail sales of the product were not initially successful. The Abdominizer was then advertised in television

s, first broadcast in October 1988. They were developed by direct marketer Collette Liantonio and featured actress Charlene Tilton and the New Zealand

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talen ...

John Sweetman. The adverts promised that you would "rock, rock, rock your way to a firmer stomach". By 1992, 1.5 million had been sold at $19.95 directly from TV advertising, and 2 million more had been sold in stores, This was described by

Jay Conrad Levinson Jay Conrad Levinson (February 10, 1933 – October 10, 2013) was an American business writer, known as author of the 1984 book ''Guerrilla marketing''. He was born in Detroit, raised in Chicago, graduated from the University of Colorado. His stud ...

and

Seth Godin Seth W. Godin is an American author and former dot com business executive. Background After leaving Spinnaker in 1986, he used $20,000 in savings to found Seth Godin Productions, primarily a book packaging business, out of a studio apartment in ...

as "a classic example of the way that informercials can drive the retail market". Tilton cameoed in the Married... with Children episode "Tis Time to Smell the Roses" as herself, selling the Abdomenizer door-to-door. Colonello described the infomercial as "silly" in 2014.

References

External links

* - satirical review *
traveler: blue skies, snowy hills, and my abdomenizer
Using an Abdominizer as a sled, 17 March 2009. * {{cite news, url=http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28950, title=Infomercial Makes Leap To Big Screen: Bruce Willis To Star In Paramount Pictures' The Abdomenizer, date=12 August 1998, work=The Onion, accessdate=2009-06-23, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628091841/http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28950, archivedate=2009-06-28, url-status=dead - satirical news story Exercise equipment Infomercials Products introduced in 1984 Canadian inventions 1980s fads and trends