When my wife, Diana was in grade school, she would often go to day camps during the summer. A wife and husband team ran summer art camps my Diana went to. The husband and wife would switch off activities and one of the activities the wife did involved the children exercising. This fairly overweight woman would put in a copy of Richard Simmon’s “Sweatin’ To The Oldies,” sit in a chair in the back of the gym and watch the kids dance around with the tape.
Now that’s physical education.
Richard Simmons in a hilarious personality. Sometimes he goes on “The Late Show With David Letterman.” David and Richard had a love/hate relationship, well more hate then love. For example in this clip when Richard to trying to promote his steamer.
The tray underneath the steamer was planted by Letterman. I love how David is poking holes in everything Richard is saying and how indignant Richard’s response is to Dave. Now this is all is in good fun. That's one of the things about Richard Simmons. He has always had a sense of humor about himself, which is evident in this classic clip from the improv show “Whose Line Is It Anyways.”
This show IS broadcasted on ABC Family network. Now, there’s a lot going on here. I’m not really going to get into. I’m going this one alone. If you don't understand what is so funny about the clip it's best that you just figure it out on their own.
I got introduced to Richard Simmons through his infomercials. I love infomercials, QVC and the Home Shopping Network. Every night as I’m getting ready to go to bed I flip on the television in our bedroom and watch some quality television advertising before I go to bed. I’ve never bought anything off of an infomercial however, I just find the internal logic and advertising techniques of these commercials hilarious. Like this commercial for the “comfort wipe.”
Now, this is actually a great idea. Many older people with limited range of motion could use a device like this. And seriously, this is the greatest innovation to toilet paper since the 1880s!! I like how “following the contours of your body” is a slight curve. If they were just selling this to people with a limited range of motion that would be one thing but they advertise this product for “someone who just doesn’t want to touch dirty toilet paper.” Wow.
One of the kings of infomercials is Richard Simmons. He’s had his workout tapes, his “Deal-A-Meal” program and his current “Food Mover” program. Yes, he is selling a product, but his message is one of the most genuine that you hear on television. Richard Simmons bases his program around the idea of cutting down caloric intake while exercising more to burn calories, resulting in losing weight.
This is how to lose weight, pure and simple and it’s amazing how many weight loss programs, diets, pills and devices don’t work off of this idea. I’m not saying that understanding the relationship between caloric intake and exercising more makes weight-loss any easier, but it does make it clear the fallacy of other weight-loss programs.
Surfing around the web for hilarious Richard Simmons moments, I came across “Richard Simmons on Capitol Hill”
Once you get over the initial shock of seeing Simmons in a suit, it’s hard to not take his personal and passionate speech seriously. I don’t know a lot about the program that he is talking about, but his message is right on. With the “No Child Left Behind” program federal funding for schools is based on tests score. If a school gets tests scores that do not meet, their “Adequate Yearly Progress” funding is reduced. These tests are in reading and math, so educators feel pressured to spend more time preparing for these tests, which often results in cutting arts and physical education classes in to spen more time on reading and math.
This combined with our fast-food culture and archaic physical education classes that focus more on sports then teaching students about their bodies has created a nation-wide health crisis. There needs to be someone waving the flag for this thing and I thank God that Richard Simmons is out there trying to make something happen.
I’ve always found Richard Simmons entertaining, but after watching his speech to congress I truly respect and admire him. Simmons has a huge heart and a beautiful message that just makes me feel happy to be alive.
Love you too Richard.
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