Whole Body Vibration Training Many of you will be familiar with vibration plates that shake whilst you

stand on them. Often the manufacturers make claims regarding strength and weight loss that seem too good to be true. This article provides you with some facts regarding vibration training based on the latest research studies. 1) The vibration creates a perturbation that your muscles have to dampen. They do this by automatically contracting. Therefore whole body vibration (WBV) will exercise your muscles automatically. However in order to make further strength progression you will need to add resistance to your initial exercises either by using conventional weights, tubing or altering the frequency or amplitude of the vibration. 2) Power output is increased following WBV. This is because muscle spindles have a lower threshold post training and therefore a greater stretch reflex arc is produced. However this adaptation appears to be temporary and immediately post exercise. 3) Strength can be increased with WBV. However there has to be adequate resistance and often bodyweight is NOT sufficient and additional load is required. 4) WBV can increase hormone levels circulating in your bloodstream. These include testosterone and growth hormone and could be beneficial when rehabilitating from injury 5) WBV creates an unstable base that will assist in improving balance and proprioception which will assist when rehabilitating from injuries. 6) WBV exercises should be performed for approximately one minute for maximum benefit. Studies show prolonged exercise duration (7mins) decreased strength. 7) WBV will NOT necessarily burn more calories than conventional exercise. This will depend on the type and intensity of the exercises performed both WBV and conventional. Therefore it is doubtful that WBV is better than conventional exercise for weight management. 7) WBV does not improve aerobic fitness. Despite increased blood flow velocity this is due to reduction in viscosity caused by WBV. To conclude WBV will provide sufficient stimulus to increase strength and power if you are a beginner to exercise. However additional resistance will be required if you are an experienced exerciser.

Some points to note are try doing dynamic exercises on the platform eg squats, lunges, dips and press ups Set the hertz below 20 when training stabilising muscles for proprioception. Vary the amplitude between sessions Supplement WBV with conventional training. If you suffer from a low back disorder proceed with caution