The Real Answer
After finally asking about the mysterious object, the explanation turned out to be much less dramatic than I had imagined.
It was a thigh exerciser (also called a pelvic floor or inner-thigh trainer)—a piece of compact fitness equipment designed to strengthen the inner thighs, hips, pelvic floor, arms, or chest through resistance exercises.
Many people use these devices during home workouts because they’re lightweight, portable, and easy to incorporate into short exercise routines. Depending on the exercise, users squeeze the padded sections together with their thighs or hands to build muscle strength and improve stability.
