Archive for the ‘Vibration Training’ category

Senior Citizens can do Vibration Training

February 11th, 2011

This is a question I get asked quite often. The phone rings in the Vibra-Train studio and a lady tells me she wants to start coming in regularly but lives across town. There’s a studio near to her home so I direct her there. She says she has been into the studio where I work but not for a few years and she’s retired now and wants to spend some time improving her fitness. She asks me if she will need a special program now that she’s 60 and “old”.

My first reaction is to laugh as I don’t see 60 as old but I stifle that as I realise that she’s totally serious and besides most gyms have senior citizens programs for 60 years and above. There’s good reason for that, taking care of aging muscles and your heart can require going a little easier but health and fitness professionals recommend you continue exercise all your life. When discussing forms of excercise with customers or people coming into the studio for a trial visit Lloyd Shaw of Vibra-Train says,“Don’t begin any exercise you can’t continue for the rest of your life”.

This year we’ve had quite a lot of older people come into the Auckland City Vibra-Train Studio and from the phone call enquiries I’ve taken I’d say other studios have also.

So do these older people use a special training program?

The short answer is No! the Vibra-Train Safety Program was designed to take into account the worse case scenario – it’s safe and very effective for just about everyone and just about everyone who comes into the studio where I work does the same program. There are ways we extend the program for those who are proficient and hold excellent position on the machines; they can do some positions for longer or use a higher level machine. And there are ways to make it easier for those who would otherwise find it all too difficult. This is not necessarily seniors; most do the regular program.

Vibra-Train has the only vibration machines in the world with vibrating side handlebars.

These are so amazing; they allow people with hip, knee and ankle problems and people who are obese and need extra support to use the machines in squat positions in a totally safe, controlled way.

So, you might ask, what about the person who is unsteady on their feet, those who are wheelchair bound or even what if someone is just plain scared of the vibration feeling of the machines? The handlebars allow many people to use the machines well supported in a squat position. This might be the only position a less-abled person does on their first few visits. Repeated three of four times it gives plenty of stimulation to muscles throughout the whole body – remember the handlebars vibrate as well as the platform. It also gives improved blood circulation, relaxation and much more, so much that some people walk in stooped over and walk out straightened up.

The wheelchair bound and the few people who really are unsure of the feeling of the machines are able to sit in front of a machine and by placing their feet on the front edge of the platform (with or without a rubber mat under them) they receive stimulation to their legs and buttocks. This brings real benefits to those who have little or no active leg control (but that’s for another time).

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Posted in Benefits, Experiences, Programs, Vibration Training

Tags: Customers Disabilities Experiences Therapy Users Vibra-Train

I have Diabetes Can I do Vibration Training?

February 3rd, 2011

This is a question I am asked quite often when people call the Vibra-Train studio where I work. Can people with diabetes do Vibration Training? The simple answer is YES, you can do vibration training if you have diabetes but let’s look into it a bit deeper.

People with Type-2 Diabetes are encouraged to exercise yet many don’t even try. One of the reasons is that they are often overweight and get painful knees, hips, or back if they try to run or even walk for more than a short distance. Gyms can seem very daunting despite their advertising and often very sucessful transformation/weightloss programs. And really, many people are just lazy – they don’t want to exercise, especially if it means they have to make any sort of effort beyond pressing the buttons on the TV remote and lifting the glass of Coke to their lips.

Training on high force vibration machines is safe and effective for Type-2 diabetics. At the Vibra-Train brand studios there are machines with side handlebars to hold onto; the person’s knees and hips are well supported. Vibration Training causes a rapid drop in blood glucose levels and so can be used to manage glycemic control. It’s highly effective strength and fitness training and by raising the metabolism and building muscle strength body fat is decreased.

It also helps with muscle uptake and storage of glucose and can sometimes mean the difference between “medicinal” or “lifestyle” control of type 2 diabetes and, very importantly, it helps those with impaired glucose tolerance (pre-diabetes). My own experience has been exactly this. My blood sugar at fasting or spot checks is now absolutely normal.

Some Vibra-Train customers are Type-1 diabetics. This requires different management. These customers always eat before training (it’s the Number One on the “Rules @ Vibra-Train” list for everyone anyway). They test their blood sugar before and after and tell me just 10-12 minutes of training using the Vibra-Train Safety Program really eats through their blood glucose. We ask these customers to make sure they bring a snack with them and whatever other supplies they might need. Some vibration training companies list Type-1 Diabetes as a contra-indication to training but I can’t see any problem with it as long as the person has some stability and control over their condition. Obviously their doctor will advise them if exercise is not suitable for them at any time.

I have a current customer who has fairly recently been diagnosed with sudden onset, adult, Type-1 diabetes. This is less common but it happens. She told me that she was incorrectly diagnosed as Type-2 at first and now that’s been corrected she’s setting into the correct regime of injectable insulin to manage it. She’s enjoying coming in to Vibra-Train’s Auckland City Studio – it’s fast, effective excercise she can do and I’m really interested to watch her progress.

Vibration Training is an excellent addition to lifestyle modification for people with Diabetes.

Please remember to inform your instructor. They will then be more aware of subtle signs that show if you’re feeling dizzy; if your blood sugar drops too suddenly. Also that in the very unlikely event that you do faint, they know to call for medical assistance immediately.

A medical study: Efficiency of vibration exercise for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes patients

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Posted in Benefits, Experiences, Vibration Training, Women, health

Tags: Disabilities Effort Fat-loss Fitness health Results Therapy Users

Vibration Training 2011 – New Customers – Who are They?

January 24th, 2011

I didn’t make any New Year Resolutions but it seems many people did – and the one I’m hearing of the most is to get fitter, gain muscle, get stronger, exercise more, maybe lose some weight, feel better and many other similar desires. They are all about one thing – that the person realises they can acheive better health and fitness.

Many New Year Resolutions are broken by the end of New Years Day or the end of the first week of the year but achieving better health and fitness isn’t so easily set aside as we all know how important it is. Vibration Training is an excellent way to get into a fitness habit and I’m seeing that many people have realised this as there’s newbies in the studio every day. There’s still a habit to establish but that’s quite easy as Vibra-Train can be rather addictive – it’s person versus machine, maintaining perfect position and getting through that whole minute while the machine seems to kick back harder each time.

So who are these new customers? It sounds like hard work, doesn’t it? And, Yes, it is hard work – we have a saying that the sign over the door says Vibra – TRAIN not Vibra – MASSAGE. All exercise is hard work, there’s no short cuts to looking good and feeling great no matter what some advertising might tell you.

This years new customers have been all types of people. Early morning I’m getting fitness instructors and gym trainers, people who are already strong and are adding Vibration Training to their program because it gives them that “edge”, that little bit of extra muscle firmness especially for those who are heading into competitions, boxing, wrestling, body building, even running and endurance events.

Some other new customers have been people who have moved into new buildings near the Vibra-Train studio. Most have relocated but some are new not only to Vibration Training but also have new jobs this year and what better time is there to get into shape and feel better. These people are all different ages, shapes and sizes and I’m really enjoying working with each one to help them make vibration training a fitness habit that they keep on with all year and then more.

All they have to give now is a little time to make the habit and in a few weeks time when they start seeing the results I’m sure they keep on with it. Vibration Training is one New Year Resolution that gives excellent results.

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Posted in Benefits, Experiences, Instructor, Vibra-Train, Vibration Training

Tags: Customers Effort Experiences Fitness Results Vibration Training

Vibration Training 2011 The History of Machine Specs

January 20th, 2011

Just two weeks back at work this year and its been so busy. It’s been all-hands-on-deck in the studio working as an instructor with so many new customers and almost all the regulars back now too. Alongside this there’s the rest of the work and keeping up to date with what’s happening in the larger scene; the rest of the Vibration Machine Industry.

There’s been quite some debate this year about the technical side of the machines, what they’re made of and how they work and especially about fake specs, the issue that had dogged our industry for years.

Lloyd Shaw of Vibra-Train has written an informative article about this. It’s complete with the evidence of engineering reports.

Click here to read it: Timeline of Fake Specs on Vibration Machines

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Posted in Brands, Industry, Marketing, Vibration Training

Tags: Brands Fake Specs Industry Marketing

Vibration Training 2011 – Back to Work

January 19th, 2011

It’s a busy start to the year here at the Auckland City Vibra-Train Studio. We’ve had reduced hours over the Christmas break so some customers have kept up their regular training and others are coming back this week now they are back at work. That’s one of the advantages about real vibration training it’s time sparing so people come in their lunchtimes and some even fit it into their morning or afternoon tea breaks if they work in businesses near the studio.

I work mornings mostly starting at 6.30am and other staff take over for the afternnons and evenings until close at 10pm. Then we also do Saturday and Sundays from 9am to 6pm so there’s never an excuse for people to say they want to come but the hours don’t suit. I’ve had new customers every day which has been both hard work and lots of fun and rewarding. These “newbies” have been all different ages and body types and most have had no previous exercise experience. It seems that Fitness has been a New Years Resolution for many and I’m taking it very seriously to see that these people get the first experience and the ongoing results that turn their fleeting good idea into a full lifestyle change.

In the wider Vibration Training Industry I’m involved in many areas, from discussions and debates about “how things work” to having to refute a lot of misinformation. Also I get emails and online contacts from people all over the world asking for help on various questions, from which home machine would be best for their needs to finding a studio or gym with training vibration machines that will enhance their fitness program. I write articles for various places, make videos for our YouTube Channel and am active in online social media.

People sometimes ask if I have a life outside of Vibration Machines. Yes, I do – I’m just not so sure where I left it right now.

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Posted in Experiences, Instructor, Other, Vibra-Train, Vibration Training

Tags: Customers Instructor New Year

Personal Trainer Infomercial Star Tells it Like it Is

November 10th, 2010

I’ve written before about Teneka Hyndman. She’s a multi-award winner at BodyBuilding shows in New Zealand and is currently in U.S.A. from where she’s just told us she won first place in the “Open Physique” class at the 2010 INBA Natural Universe competition. She’s soon off to Reno to take part in the “Natural Olympia”.

Teneka uses the high-energy lineral vibration machines at Vibra-Train as part of her extensive training program so it was very disappointing to see her endorse a low speed pivotal vibration platform, the Gymform VibroMax and take part in an infomercial just to earn a few dollars. The informercial is still current on New Zealand television and I cringe when I see it. I get phone calls at work and private emails asking me where to buy this machine and I want to simply say, “don’t!” but to be fair it does have some valid uses – it gently increases circulation and tickles the body; that’s about it! It doesn’t make users build muscle, gain amazing fitness and look like the models that are shown on the machines. All television advertorial exageration aside the presentation in this infomercial is very sad as it targets the very people who need help to gain fitness and often to lose large amounts of fat (weight-loss) but the only thing that’s going to get slimmer is their wallet. The same, identical machine, with a different brand name stamp on it, can be bought on auction sites and in clearance stores for less than 25% of the TV price.

When she did the advertorial, initially as a stand in for another fitness model who couldn’t make it that day, Teneka realised right away that the machine she was being filmed on and endorsing, as per the script, was totally different to the Vibra-Train ones she trains on three times a week. She tried at first to justify to herself and to others that maybe, just maybe, all vibration machines did the same job but she knew from the feel of the machine that this wasn’t true.

Now she’s come out and tells it like it really is:

Check it out here: http: Infomercial-fitness-instructor-spills-the-beans

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Posted in Brands, Experiences, Vibration Training, health

Tags: Brands Fat-loss Fitness health Marketing Results Users Women

Fitness Programs for Kids – Running, Vibration Training

November 3rd, 2010

Last Sunday was Auckland Marathon Race day in Auckland, New Zealand. My husband ran the 1/2 marathon event and placed very well, 7th in his age group, and overall coming in just about 200th of 7000 entrants. Congratulations to him!

A new event this year was a Kids Marathon. It was set up as an 8, 10, or 12 week training program in schools for 7-13 year olds culminating in the 2.195km Kids Marathon race at the Auckland Marathon event. Each child finisher received a medal and a downloadable certificate. Every finisher was a winner.

The kids event was set up to help kids develop life-long fitness skills and and it will help prevent obesity as they grow. We’ve all seen the figures – childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in developed countries and figures show that 70% of obese adolescents become obese adults. Anything that can be done to halt those frightening statistics gets my vote.

What about the kids who are already quite overweight or already obese? To say they are unlikey to enjoy a running program is understating the reality!

Some will, of course, do okay. They’ll plod along, literally, and if their diet has some controls they might even lose some fat and gain some fitness and, over a period of time, come to enjoy the running program. Okay, I can almost hear some people laughing because most overweight and certainly all obese kids are not going to take to running – many will hate it! We’ve all found ways to skip school on days there’s a class or event we really dislike so I’m imagining this happening on “running class” days for some kids.

Maybe kids running training classes will be optional but being presented as a life changing program I’m doubting that and pretty sure it will be inflicted on all kids regardless of shape, size, and the ability to even run from one lamppost to the next.

It’s good for them, it will help them, they need to do it – Really? isn’t there another way?

I”m really against instilling into young minds that any particular form of exercise is the only way to achieve results . Running isn’t suitable for everyone and can even induce injuries in unfit, overweight people. Diet and metabolism play a part in how much muscle and fat a person has and must be a part of any real fitness program.

There definitely is an alternative form of exercise for overweight kids – it’s called Vibration Training.

Cardio exercise like running isn’t the only way to build fitness and help with fat-loss. Vibration Platforms are being used under the guidance of Dr Robbie Parker at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, N.S.W., Australia for children and adolsecents who are overweight or obese and have insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes.

I believe we will see an increase in the use of Vibration Training for overweight children. It’s fun and very effective. There’s no denying that it’s hard work but the kids like that and I’d put the parents on the machines to show them how hard it is – and anyway, they should be training alongside their kids. I don’t know of any schools with Vibration Machines; they’d need to be high quality, commercial machines that cost lots of money so for now overweight kids get forced to run, like it or not. I hope they wont be needing knee surgery from all that pounding with their heavy weight.

Overweight and obese adolescents and children are welcome to come into Vibra-Train studios. They do have to be able to hold a perfect pose, like a squat, on the machine and have to follow instructions exactly. And we’ll look after your knees. Who knows; you might become so strong you will want to join the running program next year.

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Posted in Benefits, Children and Adolescents, Vibration Training, health

Tags: Adolescents Children Customers Effort Exercise Fat-loss Fitness health Obesity Results Weight-loss

Vibration Training – Fitness Training – Back at it!

October 22nd, 2010

My posts have been infrequent for a few months as I’ve had some health ups and downs. A small operation in late May went wrong and I received what is now politely called a “Treatment Injury”. Basically it means someone stuffed up! This resulted in a more extensive surgery early June, a long period of recovery and a lot of pain. I’m left with some internal injuries still and expect to have more surgery again quite soon to complete my treatment.

What has this meant for me? Have I been able to vibra train? What about my fitness? What about my weight, has it zoomed upward?

After any big operation there’s a recovery time during which exercise is generally limited to short walks and no lifting or stretching. I had no choice with that but after a few weeks I was eager to regain my strength so I visited my workplace and was allowed to sit on a chair in front of the Vibration Machine with my feet resting just on the edge of a rubber mat on the platform, my legs bent at about 110 degree angle at the knees. The machine was turned on for three minutes.

This position requires zero effort and gently increases blood circulation so you feel quite awake. It can even stimulate some small amount of muscle contraction in the legs and buttocks. Obviously that’s all good for healing but a lot of care is needed even with this minimal effort position and one person will respond differently to another. It’s unusual but I found It gave me a discomfort in the pelvic region where I’d had surgery and I had to wait a few more weeks.

By then I was wanting to get back onto the machines and do some real training – Again I had to be guided by my healing progress. Using 3 layers of rubber mat on the machine platform I was able to do the special “ski the slopes” position. It was great for me as by using the side vibrating handlebars (only on Vibra-Train brand machines) I was able to get an upper body workout while gently working out my lower body; cutting the amount of vibration by using the mats on the platform and by using arm pressure, pushing down on the handlebars with my hands, to take pressure off my legs and pelvic area.

I continued doing only the “ski the slopes” position for 60 seconds, firstly just once, then three times, then up to six times using the lowest force machine in the Vibra-Train studio. Three times a week, just like regular training, I continued this regime for a month and then added in a few other poses. I lessened the mats under my feet from three down to two and over the next weeks progressed to the full Safety Program.

The process seemed slow and as I’m a Vibration Training Instructor I wanted to get back onto the machines very quickly BUT my healing and safety comes first.

It’s taken over three months to get back to strength and full healing and now I am fit it’s a bit sad that I have to face the process all over again but “cest la vie”.

I feel very fortunate to be working with the world’s best Vibration Training Machines here at Vibra-Train, Auckland City.

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Posted in Experiences, Instructor, Programs, Vibra-Train, Vibration Training, health

Tags: Disabilities Experiences Safety Program Therapy Vibra-Train Women

Vibration Training – Where are Vibra-Train Studios?

October 5th, 2010

Vibra-Train Vibra Machine A question that comes up frequently in my website statistics is “Where are the Vibra-Train Studios?”

This site isn’t primarily to promote Vibra-Train ^TMbrand Studios, it’s about all aspects of Vibration Training and Vibration Machines but as its asked so often I’ll answer with a link to the list of Vibra-Train Studios and Vibra-Train Machine Lease Locations. These locations are in New Zealand, Australia, and U.K. and I’m confident they’ll soon be in many other parts of the world as all it takes is for someone to become passionate about this form of fitness training and they can apply to set up a licenced area.

All the info is at: www.vibra-train.com/openstudio.html

and the locations where you can go now to train: www.vibra-train.com/contact.html

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Posted in Brands, Studio, Vibra-Train, Vibration Training

Vibration Machines – Internet Articles

September 20th, 2010

Crazy Fit Massage Machine Type “Vibration Machine” or “Vibration Training” into Google and you’ll find an abundance of articles, equipment sellers, equipment manufacturers, fitness centres, specialised Vibration Training Studios and more.

You’ll find some articles with excellent information for people wanting to train in a studio or to buy a machine for home use but you’ll also read many artices that are thinly veiled, often poorly worded informational advertisements with click-throughs that take you to sites that sell cheap, home machines.

These articles are easy to spot, once you’ve read a few of them, as they promote a particular brand of machine and the same article, word-for-word, often appears on many internet sites at the same time. Even worse, the authors sometimes go by more than one name, so you will find the same, word-for-word, article on different websites, written by Jessica Watson, Jessica Whatson, Shilipi Sharma, and Sanjana Sharma. These are all the same author writing paid articles to promote HyperVibe machines.

If a search engine, like Google, finds many articles about a brand, product or service, that brand’s website goes up in the rankings, (the ideal being to show on Page 1 of a search for that product) and so it gets even more hits and the brand is thus, promoted. Most articles also contain “click throughs” – links to the promoted company or brand’s real website.

If you use Google again and type in the actual brand name of the machine promoted in the advertorial articles you’ll sometimes find other articles exposing the particular brand; sometimes an opinion on the marketing pratices (as in the example of multi-writers above).

Other times (not related to the paragraphs above) it’s the brand of machine advertised and promoted as the “best machine available” or the “only one that does what it does, that others within the vibration training industry take “offense” at. These advertising terms are very common but when attached to low price, low quality brands, they have caused intending buyers to give up and look for other fitness products instead. We know that advertising hyperbole is the norm but I believe more care needs to be taken when advertising a health and fitness product.

I recommend people check out the Vibration-Training-Advice.com website for articles that tell the truth plus a review of machine types and what they can be used for.

My website also exists to educate and, like this article, expose scams and frauds that are, in my opinion, harmful to consumers.

There’s just one problem -

some people seem destined to be “ripped-off”. They read the articles exposing low quality machines, go to the machine review page (I presume as it’s often listed in articles plus it appears in bold on the Vibration-Training-advice website), yet they ask non-sensical questions. Those of us writing the help articles get emails or questions on forums asking the price or where to buy a low quality machine we’ve just given a bad review to or written an explanatory article about. You have to wonder if people really do read the articles or if they presume every brand you write about must be the machine that will give the results they’re looking for.

After two articles exposing the Gymform VibroMax scam and telling readers the real uses of that machine I got the question, “how much do you sell the VibroMax for?”

Let’s make it simple – at this point in time, I do not sell Vibration Machines and If I ever did sell the Gymform VibroMax I’d sell it for a true price (not the exaggerated prices I’ve seen on the TV Infomercials that use models and trainers to promote the machine) and I’d sell it for it’s true use, which in my opinion, definitely isn’t fitness training.