The Proven Benefits Of Vibration Plates – Fact Not Myth
What Are The Benefits Of Vibration Plates?
When vibration plates first came about there was a lot of talk as to whether they had any medical/fitness benefit. The makers of this type of exercise machine claimed that the vibration plate benefits were numerous. Unfortunately at the time there wasn’t much evidence to support those claims.
So where is the proof?
Since then there have been a number of medical studies performed by a whole host of scientific and medical institutions, with NASA been among them. Some of their findings do prove much of what was reported to be true about vibration plates. It is now common knowledge and fully accepted that vibration plates are beneficial and an effective form of exercise.
Top Vibration Plate Benefits
Aid With Weight Loss
Aside from getting fit and healthy one of the main reasons a lot of people exercise is to lose weight. The problem for many is that losing weight means physical exertion and when you are unfit this can be really daunting. So imagine people’s amazement when an exercise machine comes along and the manufacturers claim it can cut your workout time dramatically and still show signs of weight loss.
With vibro plates this is one of the benefits that many people had doubts about. However studies have shown that using a vibration plate can indeed aid with weight loss. When using a vibration plate, the vibrations make the bodies muscles involuntarily contract up to 50 times per second, depending on the setting of your power plate. The contraction of the muscles uses energy which in turn means calories are burned. However, to get the most from a vibro workout it is recommended doing some traditional exercises on your plate such as squats and lunges. Doing this will further help with weight loss.
Improve Muscle Tone
If improving muscle tone is your fitness goal with a vibration plate, then there are a few things that you need to know about.
How do vibration plates benefit with muscle tone?
Similar to the weight loss benefits, it’s all down to the vibrations and their frequency. Its pretty simple science. As the vibrations ripple up through your body they cause the muscles to switch on and off. This is where the energy gets burnt and also as the muscles contract with the vibrations it helps to tone the muscles. The higher the frequency the more times per second the muscles are forced to contract. Therefore it is wise to choose a machine with a wide frequency range when deciding which vibration machine to choose.
In addition it is worth remembering that the correct posture is required when working out to get the most from your vibro plate. Maintaining correct posture and position helps to target certain muscles and ultimately leads to better tone and definition.
Improve Balance & Coordination
As we age the body starts to deteriorate. Our balance and coordination begin to decline at an ever increasing rate as we age. Having good balance is essential in keeping us on our feet. When our balance starts to deteriorate, trips and falls become a lot more common.
Balance and coordination are an area where vibration plates are been increasingly used by the elderly to help keep their muscles toned and their balance working. Due to a vibration plate oscillating, the body is forced to use more muscle fibers and neural pathways. A lot of these muscle fibers and neural pathways are used less as we age and this leads to their deterioration. It has been shown in several studies that using a vibration place will result in an overall improvement in balance in test subjects. In addition using a power plate also helped to rebuild motor patterns in the body. This basically means that connections between the brain and body were re-established and this led to an overall improvement in balance.
Low Impact Exercise
There has never been any doubt as to whether using a vibration plate is a low impact exercise. What this basically means is that the impact forces from using a power plate aren’t as high as other exercise machines such as treadmills for example. Low impact exercises are good for the joints as they don’t put too much pressure on them. This is one of the reasons why people use vibrating exercise machines for rehabilatation. It also means that if you are a bit overweight you can both tone your muscles and lose weight using a vibration machine befor you do typical weight bearing exercise like running or walking.
Can Reduce Cellulite
To prove that cellulite can be reduced by the use of vibration plates a team of scientists from the SANDERM Clinic for Skin Disease and Allergology performed studies on two groups of volunteers. One group performed cardio workouts and used a power plate. The second group only used a vibration plate for their workouts. Over the course of six months results indicated that those who used a vibration plate showed a 25% reduction in cellulite.
It is worth mentioning that this study wasn’t solely done using vibration plates, there were cardio workouts included. The participants that also performed cardio saw a 33% reduction in cellulite compared to the 25% of plate users. The vibro plate exercises were for 10 minutes and the cardio up to 40 minute sessions. With only an 8% increased reduction when including cardio exercises, the vibro plate performed exceptionally well in cellulite reduction.
Shorter Workout Times
It is well documented that using a whole body vibration machine can dramatically reduce workout times.
How?
This is due to the vibrations contracting the muscles a lot more than regular exercise would. In simple terms the muscles are doing a lot more work in a shorter time. Most manufacturers claim that 10 minutes on a vibration plate is equivalent to 60 minutes of ordinary exercise. just think; in the time it takes someone to get to the gym from home you could of already of done your exercises for the day. Brilliant!
As can be seen there are many medical and fitness benefits associated with a whole body vibration machine. In the list above we have covered some of the most important ones. Below is a list of more of the benefits of vibration plates that are worth thinking about.
- Increased Circulation & Blood Flow
- Improved Bone Density
- Increased Muscle Strength
- Can Help With Back pain
Final Words On The Benefits Of Vibration Plates
With numerous studies to back them up it seems that there are many vibration plate benefits. Although this form of exercise isn’t the best for cardio, it has many other positive benefits. In addition many of these benefits can’t be achieved with some other forms of exercise. Staying fit and healthy isn’t just about cardio and with vibro plates the additional benefits are well worth taking a look at for overall fitness. We highly recommend the use of vibration plates in combination with other forms of exercises for a complet workout.
Image | Brand/Model | Key Features | Max User Weight | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mirafit Vibration Machine | 9 Programmes 99 Speed Settings | 150 kgs | View Amazon Price | |
Bluefin Fitness Vibration Plate Ultra Slim | 5 Programmes 180 Speed Settings | 150 kgs | View Amazon Price | |
WeightWorld Vibration Machine | 5 Programmes 99 Speed Settings | 120 kgs | View Amazon Price | |
Vplate One Vibration Plate Machine | 4 Programmes 25 – 50 Hz Frequency Range | 120 kgs | View Best Gym Equipment Price | |
Bluefin Fitness Vibration Plate | 10 Programmes 180 Speed Settings | 150 kgs | View Amazon Price | |
LifePro 3D Vibration Plate | 8 Programmes 99 Speed Settings | 150 kgs | View Amazon Price | |
EVOLAND Vibration Power Plates | 5 Programmes 99 Speed Settings | 100 kgs | View Amazon Price | |
VIBRAPOWER Slim Vibration Plate | 5 Programmes 20 Speed Settings | 150 kgs | View Amazon Price | |
Confidence Pro Fitness Vibration Plate | 3 Programmes 50 Speed Settings | 150 kgs | View Amazon Price | |
ZAAP TX-5000 Vibration Trainer | 3 Programmes 50 Speed Settings | 120 kgs | View Amazon Price |
[…] Para aprovechar al máximo las placas vibratorias, asegúrese de sentarse con las rodillas ligeramente dobladas y, a partir de ahí, puede hacer algunos ejercicios diferentes, como sentadillas, estocadas y flexiones. Todas estas diferentes combinaciones y ángulos aseguran que cada músculo esté correctamente dirigido, aumentando su densidad muscular y estimulando el crecimiento muscular. […]