We Upgraded: The Power Plate Advantage
ReVibe Fitness and Wellness Now Offers Power Plate Training!
When I first heard about whole-body vibration (WBV) training, I was teaching at a college in the health and exercise science department. My classes were exercise physiology, kinesiology, and biomechanics. I had approached a company about adding a personal training studio to their equipment sales stores as a way for prospective customers to try equipment before they bought anything. The idea was a hit, but they wanted to know what I knew about WBV. I had to admit I had read about it, but never tried it. So the company hired me to travel to the Power Plate headquarters, then in Chicago, to check it out.
To be honest, I was skeptical. I thought it was a gimmick, like the shaking belt machines of the 70’s. But I asked a lot of questions, looked at the research, and by the third day I was sold that it was the exercise modality of the future, better than anything I had ever tried before.
I also realized that those who were touting the benefits of the equipment did not themselves realize what they had a hold of. They sold the equipment as a way of getting a full hour’s worth of exercise in 15–20 minutes. It is closer to 30 minutes, but that was not the point. The point was that the equipment actually recruited 30% more muscle in the 60 seconds of each exercise. In reality, that was like doing three sets in the time it took for one set to be performed, and getting better results because of it.
Still, people do not understand how it works. And yet, it is trusted by doctors (who understand the technology), celebrities, and professional athletes all over the world. It is also one of the most researched methodologies ever.
Not All Vibration Machines Are the Same
Not all whole-body vibration machines are alike. The original engineers built a machine with a plate that vibrates in three planes of motion. Not only is that difficult to achieve, but it is also expensive. That’s why our new machines are top of the line, and very expensive. We bought the best to offer our clients the most innovative and effective machines on the market. These same machines are used by celebrities like Mark Wahlberg, Serena Williams, most of the NFL, the NBA, and even Formula 1 drivers.
ReVibe has been in business for almost 20 years now, and we have always been awed by the sophistication of the Power Plate.
How Whole-Body Vibration Works
Generally speaking, the platform vibrates in three directions: north to south, east to west, and up and down. The sideways motions recruit more muscle and unlock tiny structures in the muscles that keep you tight. The up and down motion creates a G-force that loads the muscle, but not the joint.
Safe on joints, effective on muscles.
Where WBV Came From
Vibration training was originally discovered by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, who prescribed sessions on a vibrating chair to improve general health and, in particular, constipation in patients who were housed in a mental institution. It did work, and he noted that it also reduced pain and headaches. His research mind wondered what would happen if you turned up the vibration, and the results were not so good. So, he did not continue the research. However, the Soviets were interested, and they developed the first vibration platform and used it to increase bone mineral density for their cosmonauts.
That’s right, whole-body vibration was originally intended to increase bone mineral density.
This method ended up working very well, but it had an interesting side effect. It also increased strength, range of motion, and power. Thus, they applied the technology to their Olympic athletes starting in 1960. The Soviets dominated the world in gold medals for two and a half decades after that.
After the Berlin wall was destroyed in the mid 80’s, the whole-body vibration research was released and picked up by a Finnish Olympian, who then developed it into the Power Plate we know today. By this time, research was being done on a consistent basis, and outcomes were amazing.
What WBV Can Do
WBV not only restored bone and reversed osteoporosis, but it also activated the muscles in a way that transferred optimal strength to the body, increasing joint range of motion, reducing pain and inflammation, and allowing athletes to train harder and smarter.
Recent research has found that an average person, by the time they reach 63 years of age, will have lost almost 50% of their physical capacity. That is your ability to perform tasks. As you age beyond your 60’s, that strength loss will accelerate, leaving you with a loss of independence and possibly any number of health issues due to the lack of movement. WBV training is a means to prevent that loss, slow the aging process, and maintain your independence.
In a nutshell, the technology created by Power Plate, and Power Plate alone, provides a vibrating surface that forces the muscles of the body to fight against regular gravity enhanced by vibration. While the joints never receive more than the same force produced by standing, the muscles are activated by gravity and more muscles are recruited compared to the same movements in traditional exercise. Some independent studies find an additional 30–38% more muscle compared to standard workouts. That means a single set of Power Plate exercise recruits more muscle than three equivalent sets of the same exercise in a standard health club. That means more muscle is put to work, burning more calories than any other exercise on the planet.
The question I am always asked is how many more calories can be burned, which is difficult to answer because everyone burns calories at a different rate. Generally speaking, studies find that an average person will burn as much as 50% more calorically than traditional equivalent exercise.
But it means more than just the above.
When you lift a weight in a regular health club, just that muscle is activated. But in WBV, every muscle is activated. This is important for two reasons. First, more muscle recruitment means you burn more calories in each workout. Second, if you have ever had an injury, you will know that those muscles associated with that injury shut down for a while to recover. However, when a muscle shuts down, it gets weaker, not stronger. Over time, that weakness causes holes in the kinetic chain of motion, which increases the risk of re-injury. Usually, it creates a cycle of injury-recovery lasting years. Sometimes, without proper therapy, it can lead to joint dysfunction and chronic pain.
But those tiny vibrations that flow through the muscles wake up the weaker or injured muscles and reestablish balance. It does this by increasing the delivery of oxygen to all the cells, which supports their activity and recovery. The exercise itself also promotes something called autophagy. This is where old, damaged cells are removed from your body and replaced by new, fresh ones. Thus, your risk of disease goes down.
Multiple studies show an increase in skin blood flow too. This not only reduces the appearance of cellulite, but it also strengthens the collagen of the skin, providing a more youthful look.
Bone Density: What Really Moves the Needle
If you recall the earlier part of this blog, I wrote about how the cosmonauts used vibration to increase their bone mineral density after space flight. Obviously, spending time in zero-gravity environments is harmful to the bone, and vibration allows the body to recover from that faster. Interestingly, it is not zero gravity that accelerates the bone loss, it is muscular atrophy. Bones respond to the strength of muscle and create their tendinous anchors based on that strength. When a muscle pulls against a bone with more force (it is lifting a resistance), it stimulates that bone to lay down more minerals (BMD) and become stronger. Thus, it is not necessarily movement that improves bone density as much as it is the relative strength of the muscle pulling on that bone.
Many organizations will tell their clients to walk more or pound their feet more when walking up stairs. This does nothing. Walking is a submaximal event, and jarring the bones does not change ankle bone density at all. What does make a difference is how strong the person is. The stronger you are, the less likely you will experience BMD loss. Again, resistance training is the deciding factor, not the number of group fitness classes that you participate in.
Gravity applies a constant load to bone, and we still have people suffering from osteoporosis, especially if they have been taking SSRI drugs, prednisone, or proton pump inhibitors. But WBV increases the load that travels through the muscles, which increases the load placed on the anchors of that muscle and the bone it is attached to. In an independent study of 116 women, the group using a Power Plate WBV machine saw a 4.3% increase in lumbar bone mineral, while the group that did not receive WBV lost 1.9% BMD. At ReVibe Fitness and Wellness, we have seen clients increase BMD 9.2% in a one-year period.
Recovery, Pain Relief, and Real-World Strength
When people are exposed to vibration training, their muscles activate reflexively, and blood flow increases to muscle and joint without additional strain. This process helps people recover faster. Think of the vibration as ice therapy on steroids.
Many people rely on our training to keep them functional and healthy. The soothing vibrations produce instant relief from chronic pain, and over time can be used to control that pain, even eliminate it. Moreover, the Power Plate does something few others can offer. It allows a functional transfer of new strength into the real world, reducing your chance of injury and restoring a lifestyle that everyone should be able to enjoy into their golden years. What’s more, it does it at a price so affordable you can barely afford not to do it.
Try It at ReVibe
If you want to try ReVibe Fitness and Wellness and change your life, we are offering a 5-session package for $99 just to try it out. If you have been with us in the past, we have some offers you might not be able to refuse. Give us a call at 952-467-6771.
Ready to change your life?