Why Use Vibro Plate Exercises?

If you have arrived here looking to wobble without exercises, that’s fine, as using vibro plates will still help you. However, vibro plate exercises will enhance all your efforts whatever your age and whether you want to wobble for health, general fitness or for sports reasons. But which exercises will get you the most benefit from your vibro plates?

The exercises you choose will depend on why you are doing them and your age and capabilities. For example, there is quite a bit of evidence to suggest that at least for the experimental subjects in research trials, that the use of vibro plate exercises can improve bone mineral density in older women and help prevent falls. If you are a post menopausal women with early osteoporosis the exercises may be aimed more at improving lumbar bone density and balance but you should always check with your doctor if you think or know you have osteoporosis (see below). The use of vibro plates in sport is quite well known and will increase muscle density and tone when using conventional or explosive strength training. If you want to lose weight, vibro plate exercises can help you use up to 170 calories every 5 minutes.

Vibro plate exercises for sports enthusiasts enhance and supplement motion and stability quickly, making it ideal for warming up. The benefits are based on the stimulation of the fast-twitch muscle fibers that improve explosive strength, muscle endurance, agility and motor learning. Trainers will recommend specific training for an individual depending on their specific needs and sport. General fitness exercises may include squats and bench presses on the vibro plates.

If you are a beginner, make sure you read the manufacturers guidelines first. Also, consider that using the vibro plates gives you a much more intense than regular exercising. Aim for 10 to 20 minutes a day or whatever you can manage. DO NOT overdose, as you can weaken your muscles and undo some of the benefits. The actual amount of time on the plates will vary depending on the power of the machine, which is why you need to refer to the manufacturers guidelines as your muscles need time to recover. It may in fact be safe to use the plates for up to an hour in total per day.

Suggested exercises for beginners to tone your body include squats and stretching. For sports and body building, try the ab bridge, push-ups/planks, bicep curls and hamstring holds. Details of how to do these can be found elsewhere on this site. You can get an excellent wall chart  known as the  Beginners Vibration Plate Exercise Programme (shown right) that is certainly worth looking at.  For the more advanced there is also the, Advanced Vibration Plate Exercise Programme.  Should you be really keen(!), you can get both the Basic and Advanced Combined Vibration Plate Exercise Programmes for a bit less (although personally, I think the postage is a little heavy on these charts).

OK, so the reason many of you will be here is for weight loss reasons as well as toning up. First, this is no miracle machine; you will need to alter your eating habits as well. Reports that using vibro plates will make you lose weight are greatly inflated – yes, they will certainly help to speed things up by improving muscle tone, but on their own, IMHO, forget it! If you like the gym, still go, the more avenues you can explore the better. If you feel you would benefit from a personal trainer, find  one. In fact, if you happen to live in the Frisco area, finding a Frisco personal trainer with some decent testimonials should be no problem.

Evidence from research found that an overweight group dieting and using vibro plates when followed over time, lost more weight than a group exercising using other means. However, the groups in this study were probably too small with only 15 in each group. Larger numbers would normally be required or the study replicated. However, there are probably enough studies with enough positive results for there to be some truth in the claim that vibro plates will help you lose weight and keep it off.

IMPORTANT NOTE

It is important that you speak with your doctor before using vibro plates if any of the following relate to you, as their use may aggrevate the condition. If your condition is not on the list you would also be wise to check.

You are pregnant
Have Acute/Deep vein thrombosis
Any serious cardiovascular disease
Have a pacemaker
You suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome
Have an acute hernia
Acute disc related problems
A particularly severe diabetic neuropathy
Tumors including metasatic
Any recent surgery or fresh wounds
Epilepsy
You have gallstones, kidney or bladder stones
Acute rheumatoid arthritis
Any acute inflammations, infections or fevers
Severe migraine
Surgical metal implants
Severe osteoporosis with a BMD of less than 70mg/ml
Nephrolithiasis

PS for our USA readers…… The links on this page relate mainly to the UK market. Our recommendation for the best value vibro plates in the US are the Health Mark VF80002 Port-A-Vibe Whole Body Vibration Therapy Machine (shown on left) which can be found at just $247.20 if you follow this link. The upright handle bar removes in seconds, allowing you to easily travel with just the base unit. You can control the programs using the detachable remote, and the base rotates 360 degrees allowing you to stimulate the muscles from a wide range of angles.

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Please be aware that several of the links found here will earn a commission for this website to help keep it afloat!

Who Should Not Use Vibro Plates?

Although the majority of people will be fine using vibro plates, it is important that you speak with your doctor before using if any of the following conditions relate to you, as their use may aggravate the condition. If your condition is not on the list, you would also be wise to check before use.

You are pregnant
Have Acute/Deep vein thrombosis
Any serious cardiovascular disease
Have a pacemaker
You suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome
Have an acute hernia
Acute disc related problems
A particularly severe diabetic neuropathy
Tumors including metasatic
Any recent surgery or fresh wounds
Epilepsy
You have gallstones, kidney or bladder stones
Acute rheumatoid arthritis
Any acute inflammations, infections or fevers
Severe migraine
Surgical metal implants
Severe osteoporosis with a BMD of less than 70mg/ml
Nephrolithiasis

The above is not an exhaustive list of who should and should not use vibro plates, so do please check with your doctor if you are at all concerned.

Do Vibration Plates Work?

Vibro plates are increasing in popularity but are not a new phenomenon and are frequently used to supplement sports training and for medical benefits as well as weight loss. However, do vibration plates work and how do they work?

Vibro plates either oscillate up and down or by using reciprocating vertical displacements that increase lateral accelerations. Typically, the home user will have an oscillating plate machine although researchers will use either type. Vibro plate exercises are low impact making them ideal for all adults and those with limited mobility (e.g. those with arthritis or joint pain). Whether you do additional exercises or not, you just stand there, hold on if you like, and let the machine do the work without the need for taking a cooling shower afterwards!

Machines typically have a range of pre-set programs and speeds that make the plates move at different speeds and in different ways. When the plates move, this makes even the tiniest muscles work hard. It’s not only your legs that get the effect, you can feel the sensation in the arms as well and with vibro plate exercises, you can target specifics like those ‘bingo wings’ you have been trying to get rid of!

Research and statistics from published research trials suggest they most certainly do work, at least for the people involved in the trials. The most reported trials are those carried out by NASA in 2001 in New York, although it is important to realise that the vibro plates used to train astronauts differed from those used by the domestic user today as the astronauts would be required to perform their duties while weightless in the space shuttle. The aim of this research included maintaining and improving muscle mass and bone density and has led to many other subsequent studies involving sportsmen and osteoporosis sufferers.

Briefly, in the NASA study, baseline measurements were taken from the astronauts prior to them exercising while using the vibro plates for 15-20 minutes a day. Positive results were recorded in terms of an increase in bone density and muscle mass following the test period.

Moving back to osteoporosis, there are many studies that support the notion that vibro plate exercises can improve bone mineral density (BMD) at least in post menopausal women, and help reduce the incidence of falls and bone fractures to a much greater effect that just walking (see for example, Guis, Raimundo and Leal, 2006. You can read the paper yourself at  http://www.spinesmithusa.com/docs/Stimulation-Gusi.pdf for the full article). This may be due in part to the strengthening of core muscles and balance due to the nature of the vibro plates to improve balance. However, so many controlled studies can’t all be wrong even if they disagree on some issues that may be due to other factors (e.g. increases in lumbar spine bone density producing some increases but not statistically significant ones).

I guess what the above is basically saying if you are asking “do vibration plates work? is that yes, vibro plates do work. However, you should always check with your doctor to see if they are OK for you. If you suffer from arthritis, osteoporosis or any other type of problem, they may be able to recommend specific exercises for you. Apart from a little blood pressure problem (vibro plate exercises are suppose to help with that as well!), I am reasonably fit for my age and my doctor could not see any potential problems with using these type of machines.