By Diara Fowler IStaff WriterI

From a quick 15 minute workout to the sweat drenching variety of workout tapes, many exercises have had their moments of fame.

Such exercises end up becoming exercise fads.

An exercise fad is a piece of equipment or celebrity sponsored video that is seen in an infomercial that uses ease, speed, and comfort to appeal to customers over equipment that is proven a fad is a quick fix with short-term and temporary result.

A few popular workout fads have been the ThighMaster, the Jane Fonda workout collection, Ta-Boe by Billy Blank, Richard Simons aerobics tapes, The Perfect Pushup, Bow-flex home gyms and the shake weight.

As these fads come and go some are associated with more success than others.

The ThighMaster was designed by Joshua Reynolds in the ’80s and was targeted towards women, as it promised sexier thighs in a matter of minutes.

The instructions were fairly simple, just place the device between your thighs and squeeze them together. Although this fad didn’t do too well production wise, it was one of the most memorable.

Jane Fonda’s aerobics videos were introduced in the ’80s as well. The 23 exercise tapes sold more than 17 million copies.

Fonda’s videos were without a doubt one of the biggest workout fads of all time.

“I used to workout to these videos four times a week for 30 minutes,” stated gym rat, Christina Johnson.

“It really did help speed up my metabolism and heart rate to help me burn calories,” added Johnson.

The Tae Bo exercises were created by Billy Blank back in the ’90s and were a combination of both Tae Kwon Do and boxing.

The Cardio-boxing was a gateway to many gyms offering cardio kickboxing classes and boot camps.

“I would do this twice a week as these tapes had more of a fighting style to them with a lot of movement of the arms and legs,” said Johnson.

The very first Bowflex home gym model was created in 1986 by Tessema D. Shifferaw. The machine then went viral with Nautilus Inc. in 1993.

A popular feature of the machine included intensive cardio based workouts with adjustable dumbbells.

However, this machine lost its glow when several recalls of different models were issued between the time frame of 2004-2009.

The Perfect Pushup was created by Navy SEAL Alden Mills in 2009. This device would contract your muscles natural rotation for better results and a healthier workout.

“I did 500 pushups every day for a month straight and did not receive the results that I was looking for,” stated gym rat, Rashuan Brackins.

The most recent fad to gain the public’s attention was the Shake Weight. The device brought in over $40 million in sales and was created in August of 2010 by Ben Kunz.

With the device having two models, a women’s version weighing 2.5 lbs and a men’s version weighing 5 lbs, it was no wonder this device was well talked about.

The Shake Weight was designed to engage one’s muscles throughout their arms, shoulders and chest. However, this fad did not last long because of many parodies and negative feedback.

As these workout fads slowly begin to disappear, it won’t be long before the next one comes and goes.