In February this year I finally reached my goal weight after getting rid of four and a half stone of unwanted weight. I quickly discovered, however, that my 'new' body didn't look quite as I imagined it would do when I reached this goal. The problem was that I wasn't toned in any way shape or form! I'd dropped down from 14st6 to 10st in eight months with the only exercise I did being that of quite intense cardio. I'd completely ignored toning exercises as they didn't burn as many calories and as a result was left with saggy bits. Since then I've managed to drop another dress size purely by toning up, my weight still remains the same!

Whilst my stomach was the main area I wanted to work on I also made sure I didn't miss anything else out and purchased myself a Shake Weight from Tesco. I can't remember how much I actually paid for it but it's currently showing on their website for £17.92. I can only assume the Shake Weight is quite popular as it's available from many stores and websites generally costing between £15 and £20 so it's worth shopping around.

The Shake Weight, as the name suggests, is a weight which you shake. It is 30cm long and weights 1.15kg. If you're willing to pay a little extra the weight can be purchased in pink or black (named Shake Weight for Men), personally I don't see the point in doing so as the function and results are still the same! I have the simple white and silver version which I'm perfectly happy with.

The weight has a curvy middle section which you hold when using it and on either side is a large flat disk connected to the middle section via black rubber which contains the lightweight spring device contained within the weight to allow you to shake it. I find it to be very easy and comfortable to hold and the relatively small size of the weight makes it extremely easy to store away. 'I don't have enough room' is not an excuse to get out of purchasing fitness equipment with this!

Along with the Shake Weight you'll also get an instructional DVD which contains a workout routine and safety information. Personally I watched this once and vowed never to do so again as the over enthusiastic woman presenting it annoyed me rather a little too much! Having said that the DVD workout is pretty simple so, if you wish to follow this, you only really need to watch it once anyway.

Using the weight is easy, it's also easy to see why it has been the butt of so many 'definitely invented by a man' jokes as well! Holding this out in front of you on a slight slant so that it's facing your face whilst shaking it up and down may really work out the arms and shoulders but it will also have anyone who's watching you in a fit of giggles. Fortunately, this can be used in other positions which allow different areas to be targeted.

I tend to stick to the standard 'rude' position and I can simply use the weight during the breaks when I'm watching TV or when I'm waiting for my meal to cook etc. It's really convenient and it's recommended you only need to do six minutes a day to see results! I think we can probably all spare six minutes out of our day for better looking arms.

On the down side, six minutes is actually harder than it sounds when you're first getting into using this. For the first couple of weeks my shoulders were burning after just a minute and a half and it took at least a month of everyday use before I finally felt able to do the complete six minute workout. This does, however, show that it is doing what it's supposed to do and a little persistence will have you shaking away for six minutes a day in no time, so don't be defeated!

Does it work? A big, massive yes it does! I won't pretend I have used this religiously every day since getting it, the novelty did wear off after a couple of months and I haven't used it every day in a long time. Having said that I do use it at least once a week and the results have been noticeable. I believe I bought this back in March and since then my arms have reduced by 3inches and my once bingo wings are now a proud asset of mine and probably the part of my body which gets the most compliments. In all the time I've been using it the Shake Weight still looks and feels brand new, I've never experienced any problems with it and it is certainly a long lasting piece of equipment meaning, if you stick to it, you do get more than your money's worth I think.

I would absolutely recommend this. As long as you're willing to put the effort in then you definitely will see results. It's a pretty decent price, extremely convenient and really does work. It does take time to build up to being able to do a solid six minutes (it really is much harder than it sounds) but when you do you'll be the arm envy of everyone you know!