With so many self-help fitness items, videos, etc., you may be asking yourself, why do I need to pay a personal trainer? I think Fitness for Dummies authors, Suzanne Schlosberg and Liz Neporant, M.A., say it best: “The fitness industry has no shortage of hucksters, and they count on the public’s naivete—and hunger for a quick fix—to keep that money rolling in.” And of course you can get fit on your own, but there is no quick fix, you still have to make a plan, stay dedicated and always follow through. With a personal trainer you get the additional benefits of seeking advice, getting help with organization, learning right from wrong in the world of fitness, and have a motivational partner along the way. Below are four fitness rip-offs your personal trainer would advise you to look out for:

Creams, gels and pills intended to eliminate cellulite: Some of the ingredients included in these products are ginko biloba, sweet clover, grapeseed biblavonoids, dried focus vesiculosus, or sometimes “biotechnologically derived elements a/y.” HUH? The truth is no legitimate research exists to show the positive effect of any pill or cream on cellulite.

Pills and powders intended to speed up your metabolism: The ingredients in these, in their forms best known, citric acid found in fruits, the mineral chromium, or a mosh posh of any and every ingredient possible. A simple example to illustrate the falsity of these products: only two legitimate studies were published on the citric acid and its effects on human metabolism, the results were contradictory.

Pills intended to prevent your body from absorbing the fat you eat: a popular ingredient in these pills is chitosan, a substance that forms the hard shells of shellfish and insects. The are solutions that cost you a large chunk of your wallet, and promise the impossible. No, you can’t eat fried chicken with mounds of mash potatoes, and gravy and butter rolls, guilty and fat free.

Metal boxes that deliver electricity to muscles: The low-impulse jolt is supposed to tone and tighten muscles. The only way to strengthen muscles is to work them out. You are simply electrocuting yourself without proper help from a doctor or physical therapist, as these devices are only used best in pain management and certain rehabilitation.

For those of you in Fairfield County, have you ever invested in any of these rip-offs? If so, which ones and why?