We’ve had many first-timers at the Vibra-Train studio where I work. I’m wondering if people are looking forward to summer and know that now is the time to improve their fitness and strength; and look great.

Last week’s customers all had questions about Vibration Training or they had specific desires, several wanting to only work out their upper body, telling me that they did a lot of running and that was all they thought they needed for their legs.

These customers are “the best” – they haven’t just come along because they’ve seen an TV advert for Vibration Training or an article in a magazine and come to try us out for a few visits, kind of like trying the latest flavour of icecream and then off to try some other fitness facility – they’ve come because they’ve already done some research or talked to a friend who’s getting great results – these are serious, long-term, new customers and they want their questions answered.

Those who are regularly walking or running need to understand how different Vibration Training is; how training on high-force, lineal machines builds muscle and is considered a form of resistance training whereas running is for cardio fitness. They soon realise that despite frequent running they must follow the full Safety Program to get the results.  If they vibration train regularly two or three times a week they soon be telling me how much easier their running is becoming because they’ll have increased their overall fitness; those who sprint get faster and those who walk or run longer distances find they have more stamina and don’t tire so soon.  An advantage runners and regular walkers have over other “newbies” is that their leg muscles are strong so they manage the squat positions very well.

We often talk about the different machine types and brands available and the Vibra-Train difference.

I worked on Sunday, and two new customers had specific back injuries that required me to make decisions about their ability to follow the standard safety program.  I have the option of giving them fully assisted (side vibrating handlebars) squats so that their lower back, hips, knees and ankles have even more support and allowing them work through the whole program; or, if necessary, they can do only the side handlebar assisted squats, that’s if their medical condition or severity of injury suggests they will be unable to do the regular program.

I have to make the choice.  I’ve gained experience in this and I can always refer back to Lloyd Shaw, the owner of Vibra-Train if I am really unsure but he expects me to be competent in this by now.  Sometimes I wait and and then decide  from how well they handle Position 1 – The Basic Squat – getting them to use the side handlebars instead of front ones, but even before that very first first position, I’ll be thinking and deciding as they’ve filled in a questionaire and we’ll have discussed their health or injury concerns.

Confidence is the thing -  I can make the right decisions for these customers.  I can decide if they can follow a Training program or is they need to start with Vibration Therapy.  It’s really not hard to decide!  I err on the side of caution but I don’t want to send a customer away disappointed because they could have done more.

So, yesterday’s customers – one had a severe lower back problem and had expected to have surgery but was declined by our national accident insurance system.  Despite her injury being the result of an accident there was an element of degenerative plus overuse issues.  She was hoping her private medical insurance would help pay for the needed surgery and told me she was currently unable to lift up and carry her 18 month old toddler.  It was quickly obvious that she was not able to work through the full program so she did a simple set of side handlebar assisted squats and will come back in few days to tell us how she felt afterwards and then we may increase what she does – She did Vibration Therapy.

The other customer with lower back and knee pain arrived later in the day.  Her injuries resulted from years of working in childcare squatting on the floor while she played with children and picking them up from the ground.  I thought she would be able to do the full Safety Program using the side handlebars for support in the squat positions.  Then as my boss walked into the studio I decided to ask his advice.  Lloyd (my boss) took over and put the customer through the program and I observed.  She did the full program – Vibration Training. I noticed she was putting her body weight onto her toes not balanced onto heels and toes.  This was what was causing her back and knee pain as it was the way she regularly squatted down when playing with young children.  Lloyd pointed this out to her and told her how much she would benefit from the Vibra-Train Safety Program; with an instructor supervising her sessions she would quickly learn to keep her heels down and take the pressure off her knees, also keeping her back neutral and relaxed.

I love it when I see Vibration Training giving such benefits that will change a young person’s life so dramatically. I’m excited to be able to watch this new customer’s progress.

We use a Safety Program specifically designed to give a safe workout with excellent results. Customers are fully supervised and quickly learn the steps to get into and maintain perfect position on the machines.  Over time, however, people tend to cheat a little, usually unintentionally, and their body moves slightly out of position making the workout easier (and less effective) so I still have to watch them.

Early this morning I had many regular customers in the studio; ones that I don’t have to watch too closely.  One couple come regularly every Monday and Thursday morning on their way to their office.  They started at another Vibra-Train studio five years ago and have been coming into the Auckland City Studio for about a year so they know the program very well, so well they could just about do my job and instruct others BUT this morning I, foolishly, left them alone for a few minutes while I cleared rubbish bins in another part of the studio.

Walking back into the room I laughed as I saw them both struggling with a position that involves having a mat on the platform while doing the position.  They had both chosen the wrong mat; one that fits our larger, “Bullet”  machine platform so it overhung the “Vibra” machine platforms they were using.  I asked them to look at the platforms and the mats and both said, “the mat doesn’t fit;  it was hard to hold position”.  They still didn’t realise they’d done anything wrong yet  they had both walked accross the studio and taken mats from beside another machine instead of using the ones right by them, ones that perfectly fit the “Vibra” platforms they were using.

Maybe they’d had a busy weekend and had Monday-itis!

There’s a question/comment field and at times I use this to educate and correct sellers on the specifications and uses of the machine they are trying to sell as there’s so much misinformation. 

Cheap, low energy pivotal (teeter-totter/see-saw) machines are frequently listed as “amazing workout, builds muscle, lose weight. The same machines as in studios, just smaller”.  This is, of course, not true and those machines are Vibration Therapy machines useful for helping increase blood circulation and helping free up movement, depending on the actual machine – some are only useful to use the arms as a clothes hanger, not really much use at all.

Then there are mini lineal/upright Vibration Machines.  These can be quite useful especially for warm up and cool down before sports or going for a walk.  They can even be a good start into exercise and fitness, again it depends on the actual quality and type of machine.  You can’t generally trust the brand name of the machine as these change each week; huge runs of machines come off the production line in China and the same machines get stamped with many different names.

I have little sympathy for people who get duped and buy a home Vibration Machine for a few hundred dollars believing it will be just as good as the heavy, steel platformed, high energy lineal/upright Vibration Machines that are in Vibra-Train Studios.

Even the medium energy PowerPlate machines and FitVibe, Fit-X , and some BodyGreem machines that are found in studios, gyms, and beauty clinics are absolutely superior to the low price home models that are available on auction sites.

There are some workout quality home machines available – they cost more along with other differences and it’s essential that people do some “homework” and learn about the varying types of machines before they buy a home machine, carefully matching their needs and what results they want with the machine they choose to buy.

Expecting a $300 machine from TradeMe that is advertised with the same wording of advantages and results that accompany $20,000 Studio machines, to truely deliver those same results is a little crazy in my opinion.

One point that is made in almost all of the re-sale machines for online auction is that the seller hasn’t used the machine at all or used it only a handful of times.  Why, if it gives great results, don’t they use it? They even tell you sometimes – “I don’t have time to use it”.  This, I find laughable.  Programs for Home Vibration machines take 10 minutes or even up to 30 minutes three times a week.  For the pivotal (think Crazyfit brand or the currently advertised Gymform Vibromax) machines they tell you to stand on the machine for just 10 minutes every day.

(A little info here: make sure you are using the right program and frequency for the machine type you buy for home use)

So, the sellers of machines can’t find 10 minutes three times a week or, for pivotal machines, 10 minutes each day to use their machines so they are trying to sell them to you, telling you of all the supposed, amazing benefits you will get?

I’m going to suggest they are either

• Very lazy, too lazy to exercise at all?
• Involved with other exercise or sport and know that their low quality machine isn’t going to benefit them.
• Have used the machine about ten times and realise they were lied to, that it isn’t going to give the results they want and so they are trying to sell it on to you, complete with those same lies.
• They’ve started going to a Vibration Studio or they are using a machine at their gym and they know their cheap (well they might have paid quite a lot actually) unit is not so good as they thought when they bought it.

There are, of course, genuine sales; people moving overseas or long distance, those who really did use their machines and now have some other activity involvement, those who cannot contine for true medical reasons or pregnancy.  I hope those sellers honestly state the specifications, uses and benefits of the machine they are selling, sadly many exagerate.

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?

If you have a home machine this is a great program to use.  Really you can’t go wrong if you make the effort to follow the step by step instructions and never take shortcuts when getting into position.

I’ve written this short post after reading a blog by a PowerPlate P.R. person who recommends some positions that I consider unsafe depending, of course, on how high force the machine is that’s being used. On PowerPlate they can get away with it as the machines are medium force but please be aware and always use a mat if any body part other then the feet is in contact with the machine platform.

Does Vibration Training work for _ _ _ _ ? You, the reader, need to insert the missing word here.

I’m so passionate about Vibration Training and what I see on a daily basis as an Instructor that I’m inclined to say YES, YES, whatever missing word you insert, Vibration Training works  BUT, in reality, I’m not so naiive.  I’ve even heard a lady ask if doing Vibration Training will cure her body of cancer.  She seemed to think that the vibrations might re-set her body onto a healing path.  Alas, no, while her theory sounds good there are some things that Vibration Training cannot do or if it does we are not willing to take the risks involved to find out.  Vibration Training is not recommended for people with active cancer as it improves blood circulation throughout the whole body and while that carries nutrients it also possibly increases the risk of spread of disease.

Vibration Training is also not recommended for people with pacemakers.  This is in line with keeping away from electro-magnetic currents.  I know the machines I work with at Vibra-Train have sheilded motors, nevertheless this is an industry safeguard so we simply don’t these people to use the machines.  And we don’t allow women who are pregnant to use the machines, not that we have any evidence that it’s dangerous but we simply don’t know.

So, leaving aside these known contra-indications and all the short-term reasons not to train (like influenza, recent surgery, recent broken bones) I can confidently say, Vibration Training is great, it works!

But again, it works for what?

Firstly what do you want to achieve? Is it gentle stimulation of a previously injured body part?  Is it muscle strength and power?  Is it speed or endurance to help with your next sports event? Is it general fitness and feeling good?  Do you want to bulk up yet strip off fat?  Are you a busy mother wanting to simply lose a few pounds of weight and increase your sense of well being?

Your results are determined by various factors -  including the type and quality of the machines you use and the program of positions you use on the machines.  I recommend the Vibra-Train Safety Program for use with lineal (upright) machines in studios and at home.  It can be difficult to do some of the poses if you are using a small, low to the ground home model but as far as possible you can follow the program and I am happy to help with any questions.  An essential accessory for home (and studio) machines is a rubber mat to place onto the machine platform to protect hands, elbows, and sometimes even the feet from the rough or bubbly surface that machines have and to assist with grip and placement.  To choose the right machine type or brand and when deciding to buy a home machine or to use a specific vibration studio or possibly a machine in your local gym or health studio I advise people to get all the information they can get before committing your money.  Read the relevant articles on my website and others and ask lots of questions of salespeople, then check their answers against what you already know and as trite as it sounds, use common sense.  If the claims are beyond belief, they are most likely, untrue.

Then it’s up to you – Follow the safety program three times a week or maybe twice if you already have an intensive weights program that you use.  Eat sensibly without going into excesses of dieting or supplementation.  Your results will be exciting, make sure you track them by a diary entry or a short note in a notebook.

Yes, Vibration Training works – It works very well. Making it work is up to you, the reader, by choosing the right equipment for your needs, following an excellent whole body vibration training program, and being dedicated to your workout sessions.  You can even get away with pizza for dinner occaisionally.

Links: Vibra-Train Safety Program, Vibration-Training-Advice

In fact you could be wasting both your time and your money if you settle for anything less.  The very people who grumble that “it’s too hard to keep in position” are the same ones also grumble when they don’t see the results they are expecting.

No, it’s not “too hard”, but it is “hard” and that hard work pays off with excellent results.  I don’t know of anyone who can’t do the Vibra-Train Safety Program correctly (we are able to assist those with disabilities of course).

Trainers need to take note: It is not cruel or mean to insist that your clients do the workout program exactly.  They are paying to work-out hard and to get great results!  In Vibra-Train studios we remind customers that the sign over the door says Vibra-Train not Vibra-Massage.

Starting six months ago, soon after I began working for Vibra-Train, this customer initially had exciting results.  She had a specific goal; fat-loss and toning, with increased overall strength and she found that vibration training, specifically using Vibra-Train lineal machines, really worked for her.  I looked forward to her studio visits and helping her train hard.

We’d chat about nutrition somedays and I often had to encourage her to eat more, not less, and help her understand that weightloss would not occur in a starvation situation, there being a huge difference in how the human body copes with calorie deficit compared with real calorie deficiency which was what she was doing and so causing her body to protect itself  by laying down fat stores rather than releasing fat to be used as part of her workout energy source.  All too often her energy “batteries” were empty.  But as we progressed this customer, who I’ll call Sue, gained strength, lost fat and a few dress sizes.  She told me how she was wearing designer jeans that she’d kept due to their cost but hadn’t been able to fit for three years.

A vacation with lots of eating-out and the long, hard winter in New Zealand bumped up Sue’s weight a little and she was expecting vibration training, which she’d kept on with three times a week except during her vacation time, to deal with it and get her back on-track and slimmed down for summer.  She wanted a body that would look amazing on the beach and she’d was working well toward it, restricting her calorie intake and occaisionally taking a walk.

So what was going wrong ???

Sue had progressed so well in her ability to do the program that she did it alone while I instructed less able or newer customers.  She was supervised though, as are all our customers, and I corrected her positions occaisionally.  I also noticed that she’d dropped down to the level 2 machines whereas

she’d been using a higher level, and she was doing only the basic program, which is enough for most people, but as she’d pushed herself harder earlier in the year and was holding perfect positions we’d advanced to a higher force machine and also added in a few repeat positions to give her an edge on faster fitness and toning.  Sue had told me the highest level machine (Level 5 Sports model) gave her some pain in an old injury so she prefered the lesser force, levels 2 or 3.

Sue was adamant that vibration training was not working anymore for her.  I talked with Lloyd about her concerns and he reminded me that, for women, hormones play a part in setting our body shape and also asked if Sue was “mixing up” her training by varying the level of machines she was using rather than the same all the time.

I got Sue to do a Body Composition Analysis on our studio BCA machine and, while most results were acceptable, her body fat percentage was high and her resting metabolic rate was low.  Somehow we needed to give her metabolism a “kick-start”.

Sue is now pushing herself very much harder in her training sessions.  She’s using a level 5 Sports machine, not the one that aggravated her old shoulder injury but one that has a very smooth feel, high force with low amplitude.  She’s doubled up on the time spent on some positions, from 60 seconds to 120 seconds.  She’s looking at her diet, and I still advise her to eat more not less as I’m sure that’s the biggest factor in her lack of progress; it’s not how much she eats but learning to eat foods that will give muscle growth and burn calories.  Sue has also started doing water aerobics and so added cardio exercise to her fitness routine.

For Sue, vibration training is definitely playing a part in improving her strength and fitness, she readily says this.  It’s giving her the stamina to take on other activities and now that she’s increased the effort she’s putting into her training I’m confident she will see the results she wants.

It’s important to note that while results are individual I can guarantee muscle growth if a person makes the effort to seriously train three times a week (it can’t work for lazy people!).  Strong muscles support the bones and give great shape to the body, while also increasing the rate of calorie use.  Unless sabotaged by an inadequate diet or overindulgence the body shape changes; slim people gain a healthy look while larger people slim down.  The only other variable is the quality of the vibration machine and with the ones at the studio where I work, there’s no question as they’re the best!

It doesn’t get easier but it does become “comfortable”.  Customers who come in to Vibra-Train’s Auckland City Studio regularly, two or three times a week, sometimes find that they can work through the program fairly easily and they are  getting great benefits but mentally they crave for a change or a challenge.  Other customers continue week after week and get ongoing results; with moans and groans about how hard the program is.  These aren’t looking for a change or challenge but they get it anyway.

Customers of other brands of machines and those with home machines often find that they plateau; they barely maintain their fitness gains and no longer make any real progress.  This is a problem and not always as easily solved.

So, is your vibration workout still working as well as you want?  How can you take it to the next level?

For Vibra-Train customers, we encourage them to “mix it up a bit”.  That is, we direct them to do the program on a different machine to the one they “always” use.   As we have distinctly different models of machine within the same levels we can tell a customer to use a different model of machine.  They will be working at the same vibration force level but their body is “shocked” by having to respond to a machine with a slightly different “feel”.  This simple change can bring about increases in fitness and muscle strength.

If a customer is proficient in keeping perfect position throughout the program including the two minute Super-Squat and wants to advance we can move them up to the Force Level 3 Machine or above that to the Sports Level 5 platform.

Another option for customers wanting to extend their training (and again they must be able to hold perfect position) is to extend the time for some positions from 60 seconds to 120 seconds/2 minutes.  There is no inbetween; it’s straight up to double time!  This can be done firstly in position 1, the Basic Squat and later in other positions.

This increase in time can also be a way that users of other brands of machine and home users might be able to push through a plateau and get further benefits but it is also dependant on the force and quality of the machine being used.

More is Not the answer to all things in Vibration Training and we know that more often “Less is More” – - that is, customers get better fitness and muscle build using a short (10-15 minutes), intense (60 second positions) program on a high force lineal platform (Vibra-Train is the best), three times a week rather than a longer time (30min), short period of 30 second poses, or dynamic movement positions on other machines.

I’ve had new customers come into the studio where I work and tell me of the programs they’ve done at other vibration studios where the machines are lower force than the ones we have.  Some are, at first, incredulous that they will get a really good workout when they see our short, intense program but, as I always promise them, they leave quite exhausted and return a few days later very happy at their change of provider.

I do wonder, if the results they were getting elsewhere were so good, why did they even try us?