Well, I decided a pre-winter “Get Fit” program was needed so for the past three weeks I’ve taken my training to a new level. I work at Vibra-Train so I have all the equipment I need.
My goal was to increase my strength and overall well-being before the winter cold and rain hits New Zealand. Also to lose some fat, maybe some weight. I’ve got good muscle mass, not that I’ll complain if I build more – it supports the bones and also increases one’s metabolic rate = more fat calories burnt each day.
I’m using the Vibra-Train Safety Program, the one I know so well and instruct customers in every day. I’ve been precise about position and obeyed the rules by always following the step-by-step instructions for getting into perfect position. Then maintaining that “perfect position” for the 60 seconds of each pose – for me that’s the hard part.
Every time I train I’m strict on myself, just as I am on customers, to ensure a safe and effective workout but if I slow down and are very precise I find areas where I can improve. There’s the times I transfer weight onto my toes (cheating to get away from the burning feeling in the quads) whilst doing squat positions on the machine. This is, I know, a natural response to it being hard work (your body pulls away from situations that hurt) but it stops me getting the best muscle response which is by targetting the girth of the muscle. I’ve been correcting myself, it’s a situation where “stress” (in the quad muscles and in my perception of pain) is there to give a good result. Remember that stress is not bad, it’s how we respond to it that creates positive or negative results.
It’s taken me just two weeks, that’s six sessions, to feel stronger and that I could push myself even harder. It’s not that I haven’t trained for a long time but I’d taken two weeks off then had another two weeks where I’d trained only once a week as I felt unwell otherwise. We do not allow people to use the machines while they have active infection. Also it’s been a long, hot summer, perfect for relaxing and beach walks and too hot for serious exercise.
I’m now at the end of week 3 and I’m doing great. I’ve increased my vibra-training to two days on and one day off, a pattern that is okay for two weeks only as it overloads the muscles to serious fatigue. Any longer and there’s the risk of overtraining and muscle breakdown instead of building.
Vibration Training is a form of resistance training so to balance that I’ve added in some extra cardio work, more than my usual walk home or along the seaside, I’ve been using a stationary exercise bike and a treadmill. Twenty minutes of incline walking at a comfortable pace on most days.
So, to my results: We have a Body Composition Analyser in the Vibra-Train studio so after just three weeks I re-tested and yes, I have lost some weight. More importantly I’ve lost fat and more important than that is that I’m feeling great, that is except for one annoying point; my new jeans are loose and are almost falling down. My (also new) black work trousers are loose also. Can someone please buy me a belt?
Sydney
Already this year we are seeing great results. This morning’s clients included a young triathlete who at first could not hold position on the level 2 machines and was particularly poor at the upper body poses ( tricep dip and push-up) but has grown in strength and holds perfect position for the whole 60-120 seconds and is now able to hold his body weight in a 60 second pull-up using the vibrating handlebars of the Vibra -Train machine.
It wasn’t enough for my son and me though. Flying in with an early morning arrival time we picked up a pre-booked rental car and headed for the mountains. Hoping to ski at Mt Hutt we were a little disappointed when looking up snow conditions on my son’s new Google phone we read that Mt Hutt was closed due to inclement weather. Porter Heights was open so hoping it would remain so we drove on.
Kea, New Zealand alpine parrot, were interesting to watch. They are curious, intelligent birds who have almost no fear of humans so they sit on your car pecking at edges of paintwork or rubber, or demolishing your windscreen wipers right before your eyes. I was told they have a habit of rolling stones down the iron roof of mountain huts and so keeping trampers awake at nights.