Lloyd Shaw - Vibra-Train - February 2012

For about five years I’ve watched Lloyd Shaw follow the IVTRB Safety Program on Vibra-Train brand vibration machines – three times a week, every week. Well not quite, there’s been a few times he’s taken a break, just a week off, usually just one or two sessions. A short amount of time off any exercise training program is good, it allows the body to completely rest and still growth and gain continues.

I’ve posted a few pics of Lloyd in previous articles, Click here to see them .

Lloyd’s been following the Safety program for six years now. If you clicked through to the older pics you”ll see that Lloyd has lost size  – he no longer carries the bulk he had a year ago. This is an interesting change, he still eats burgers but I think he’s been a little more careful with food quality lately. I rarely see the pizza delivery man at the studio now. Nothing else has changed; Lloyd still eats when he’s hungry – and that’s an important point, he doesn’t overeat. He also doesn’t take supplements or steroids (never has). His protein intake is increased by a serving of pure pasteurized eggwhite (Eggcel) most days along with a few Vitamin C tablets and some Magnesium. He maintains a healthy gut and elimination with a spoonful of a fibre mix.

And this is the result, a slimmer, healthy body, with excellent muscle definition. Body Composition Analysis Machine test results put Lloyd in the highest category for muscle quality. His body fat level absolutely normal, right on the line.

When I think of the owners and marketers of many of the well known vibration machine brands I sometimes wonder what sort of results they are personally getting – from vibration training alone (its the only exercise Lloyd Shaw does).

I could name many who are young to mid aged guys. My challenge is – show us what you’ve got, show us a picture and tell us your program.

Lloyd Shaw’s program – click through to YouTube

When she arrived at the Vibra-Train, Auckland City studio mid-afternoon I asked her, “How are you?” She replied, “I’m alive!” Now I know that this really means, “leave me alone, I’ve had a stressful day” and as she knows the program well I did just that; I left her alone watching from a distance, as is my job, making sure she maintained each position correctly.

After the first position, she complained aloud that she disliked any exercise but knew how necessary it was, and so she came in regularly to train.

Fast forward to position number 3 – that’s just three 60 second poses on the machine and a minute or two of rest between – and she commented how alive she felt. I was still across the room but quietly smiling as that’s exactly how I feel when I do my own session.

I still left her alone; she doesn’t need hands-on training as she’s been a customer for a long time but everyone is supervised (watched over).  Forward again to position 7, the anti-cellulite massage. As she was sitting on the machine Vibra-Train’s owner, Lloyd Shaw, walked into the room and spoke to the customer asking “how are you today?”, just making polite conversation.

Her reply – “I feel great! I’m really energised and I’m thinking what to cook for dinner tonight for my family”.

I couldn’t resist making comment on how different her response was from what she had said when she arrived 10 minutes earlier. Despite being short, sharp, hard work Vibra-Train really does make you feel better!

• How long do I keep doing this?
• Can I stop once I’ve achieved my goal?
• It’s too hard to get to a studio and I’ve lost weight now, so I can stop, right?

It’s something we tell customers when they do their first session; this is training you need to do for the rest of your life.

Why?

It’s the benefits – fitness and strength, circulation improvement, toning and weight control, bone density, hormonal balance, and so much more.

What other way can we achieve these benefits, safely and effectively, in our 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, and into our 60’s, 70’s and 80’s also.  The oldest customer at the studio I work at is in his mid 80’s and he does exactly the same program as everyone else; in fact he does more. His age and his medical conditions do not in any way stop him.

Some customers come in regularly for many months, even for a few years, and then they stop coming. When asked they give terrible reasons for this; it’s not boredom (they enjoy their sessions), it’s not that they are not challenged enough as they know we always have ways to make the program harder if they really have mastered it, it’s not even the cost.  Sometimes people just decide to do something else (another fitness method) but more often they’ve become lazy and stopped all exercise and come up with excuses like, “I’m too busy now”. I heard this just yesterday, from a 40’s aged woman who works for a corporate just across the road from the studio.  I asked her, what about coming at lunchtime or even in a bathroom break as the basic, (results based) safety program can be completed in just 15 minutes.  She still replied that she really didn’t have time.

Some of the customers who have stopped coming in are personal trainers and fitness instructors who work at the gym up the road and others who have their own small fitness centres close to the Vibra-Train studio.  Some of these even brought in their own clients last year as they realised how much benefit they got from adding vibration training to their prescribed gym programs and in the case of clients with injuries or disabilities they’d learnt that vibration therapy really helps.  Now, they also, tell me they just don’t have time, they are very busy with clients!

I even make that same excuse some days as I do my own training after I finish my shift (which can stretch out many hours longer than my set hours) and after I’ve caught up with personal and business communications and more.  I sometimes feel too tired to train. But I’ve learnt that except the rare times I am truly fatigued it’s very easy to eat a banana (bananas are like secret weapons due to the way they rapidly enter the blood stream, raising sugar levels and energy alike) and Just Do It!

At the supermarket and on the street I sometimes see people who have stopped coming. Very often they don’t look “good”; 30’s – 50’s aged women tend to put on fat, it’s like that last muffin went straight to the hips. Even the fitness people, the trainers look fatter, less toned.  I know they might spend hours lifting weights and running or swimming but I can truthfully say, they looked better when they added in vibration training – for these people it’s the “icing on the cake”, the little extra that piles on additional benefits.

Guys are no exception to this “not looking so good” situation. Some of the guys who start vibration training do so because they’ve given up whatever sport or youth activity they used to be involved in and so they’ve lost muscle strength and gained fat. They spend months getting fit again and then stop – it doesn’t make sense does it because they rapidly de-train and end up looking flabbier than ever.

So, what about this idea – Vibration Training for the rest of your life – is it attainable?

What about increasing age and maybe illness? Well if you exercise regularly, you generally get less age related illnesses and you keep your strength and maintain your mobility so yes, you can still train.  If for whatever reason you do become less able there are vibration machines available that allow for this, you would then do vibration therapy which keeps your circulation efficient and maintains bone density and more.

Its personal choice really; go to a vibration studio and train under the supervision of an instructor or you can buy a high quality home machine and use it regularly,

Or you can, as so many do, use vibration training to get fit and strong, then go into “cruise mode” and stop attending sessions, or if you have a home machine sell it on so someone else can benefit. You can pretend you are so strong that you don’t need to exercise anymore but the truth will catch up with you quite quickly –

You need to keep training for the rest of your life!

If you really don’t like using a vibration machine then find a fitness method that you enjoy and that works for you; something you are happy to keep doing every week of your life.

Lloyd Shaw at the start of the Vibra-Train test

Picture 1: shows Lloyd Shaw in 2004. Back then he loved his gym workouts – 1 and 1/2 hour sessions six days a week.  Add in cardio sessions three times a week also, sprints and swimming.

He looks good but decidedly chubby. His muscle definition was better than the average gym goer but there’s no way he would take off his shirt and pose back then. And look at his arms; there’s muscle there but they have a covering of fat.

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Lloyd Shaw Vibra-Train

Picture 2: Two years into a self test, using only Vibra-Train brand machines and the Vibra-Train Safety Program for workouts; this picture shows a very cut look. It was taken on impulse and looked so good the background was added for use as a poster. Lloyd’s only gym visits were once every few months to check out his strength which was increasing.

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Picture 3: Fast forward to 2011. The picture below of Lloyd Shaw taken April 7th, 2011 – a slimmer profile showing amazing abs and a completely balanced look.

Lloyd Shaw Vibration Training Muscles April 2011

The picture is completely unedited and was taken on a whim. I thought it was so good I had to publish it.

It’s now 5 years since Lloyd Shaw began his “Vibra-Train as only exercise” test using himself as the test subject. This look was achieved solely using Vibra-Train brand Vibration Machines. I know Lloyd well and can attest that his diet isn’t always great (too much fastfood) although he has cleaned it up somewhat this year.

Individual results vary of course; some people are badly hampered by hormonal or overweight/fat issues, stress or injury.  Some people respond very quickly to this form of exercise while for others their body goes through other changes first but for everyone results begin to show after just a few weeks and are ongoing.

Here’s Lloyd Shaw’s  personal Vibration Training Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PikfQv7uwwo

and the Vibra-Train Safety Program:

Vibration Training Safety Program for Lineal Machines

For the older adult exercise improves balance and stability and so lessens the risk of falling over. This is something that its hard to even visualise when we are younger and rushing here and there with no thought of our legs not holding us up but its a fact of aging that people lose some of that ability to balance.

There are several reasons for this; one is proprioception - the awareness of where one’s limbs are in relation to 3-D space. Our brain and our body responds to the surfaces and even the air around us and when we are standing or walking keeps us balanced and not leaning too far forward, back, sideways or toppling over. The brain responds and controls part of this and there’s also our kinesthetic sense which also involves reflexes, muscle memory and hand/eye coordination.

A second reason is that muscles can become rigid as a person ages and less able to respond rapidly to changes in environment.  Exercise helps  them stay flexible.  There is also movement of joints, range of motion, and agility; all of which deteriorate somewhat as we age.

This all sounds quite negative but there is a lot we can do to improve balance and coordination in older people or better still, to prevent some of the decline in the first place.

Exercise!

Of course this has to be easily available, not too demanding (although it has to push the person as that’s how we adapt), and suited to the abilities of the individual.  Older people are greatly encouraged to take walks and to engage in a resistance training program (weights) maybe at their local fitness centre.  How much physical exercise a person can do depends on how low or high their risk of falling is, on their general health and fitness level, and also on personal preferences.

This is where Vibration Training is like a “wonder drug”. It improves balance effectively and stabilises and strengthens the muscles supporting the joints. It has a positive effect on mind/body communication along with improving circulation and decreasing pain. The greatest thing, in my opinion and experience, is that almost everyone can participate. There’s supervised training and/or therapy available in Vibration Training studios in some countries and there’s home machines of varying types and intensit available worldwide.

Both pivotal (see-saw motion) and lineal (upright movement) machines are effective for improving balance. There may be reasons of availability, injury, general health or preference to choose one type over the other.

More information is available at www.vibration-training-advice.com where there is also a forum for asking specific questions after reading the articles.

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

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

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.

I also enjoy travel – usually this is just a quick weekend away; an “escape” from home and work and all the stresses of daily life.  A two or three day weekend out of town is excellent for relaxation, for trying new activities, going to a show, or sightseeing.

Last weekend I was in Sydney where I went to a show, “West Side Story”, and did some shopping.  It wasn’t really a rest travelling from Auckland early Saturday and back Sunday night but it was a very much needed break.

So where do Vibration Machines feature in my short weekends away?

There’s the increased fitness and strength to power me through up to 24 hours from when I get up at 3am until I get to bed in Sydney the following night.  With a two hour time difference and lots to do and see I can be active for a very long time with my only rests being the waiting time at Auckland International Airport and onboard the aircraft for three hours.  Once I arrive it’s all go!

The Vibration Training benefit I appreciate the most when I travel is that of increased circulation. I try to train immediately before I travel, at least the afternoon before.  Then I can sit for long periods of time without discomfort in my legs and my risk of d.v.t. is decreased.  I try to stand up at least once during a 3 1/2 hour flight but having a window seat can prevent this; it’s easier to stay put than clamber over two other people to stand.

If I have travelled over three hours by car or aircraft my first stop apon arrival is the local Vibra-Train or VibroGym Vibration Training Studio.  There I work through the Safety Program which again gets my blood circulation stimulated and my mind alert and ready to go (Shopping !)

Unfortunately The Vibra-Train studio in Sydney is too far out of town to visit on a weekend trip and there’s no alternative.  I hope that one day we’ll see High-Force, Lineal Vibration Machines available for use at Airports with Instructors to guide travellers through the session.  Premium Speed Pivotal machines would also be useful as they can be used to mimic the natural walking gait and relieve the backache that comes with long periods of immobility.

So here’s a business idea that someone might want to run with – a Vibration Training Studio within an airport complex – There’s certainly enough people about to make it commercially viable if the owners do the setup right and provide suitably experienced Instructors to work with customers.

It’s no good criticising a person who is obese, that solves nothing!  How they got that way isn’t the issue. We do need to look at the causes and move to prevention but for those already obese, they need help to lose fat and regain control over their lives.

Last night I watched a New Zealand TV documentary about the need to provide stomach stapling operations.  They have a high sucess rate and are life-saving for manyof the people who have them.  The program profiled some of the people who are unable to get this operation because they live in parts of New Zealand where the district health board does not provide it and no matter how much they plead neighbouring health boards will not agree to help them.  This “sucks!”; to use a local slang term. These people are not able to get the potentially life saving help they need.

Well I have some good news for people who need help to lose fat; all who are overweight, clinically obese (as I was just a few years ago), and those who have become morbidly obese – Vibration Training can help. It’s really effective as a start to exercise and then ongoing to provide strength and fitness.  Depending on the quality and type of machine used results vary and I recommend that people try to get into a specialised studio but not every area has Vibration Training studios.  Home machines though can be great as a start if you buy the right one and there’s lots of help and information available.

A good place to get info is www.vibration-training-advice.com There are many articles for consumers and also more detailed ones for those in the fitness or health industries and anyone who wants to understand more. There’s also a forum where questions can be asked so that info in the articles can be explained if needed.

Of course, my website also has many simple, short articles that provide entry level information.

Vibration Training is safe and effective for overweight and obese people.  It is however essential to get the help of a trainer who works with these machines or to learn about the positions and safety before using the machine at home.  Never be afraid to ask for help and don’t just rely on the page of instructions that may come with the machine you might buy.

For upright vibration/lineal machines the Vibra-Train Safety Program is the standard.  If the program is too difficult or a simpler start is wanted, the user can do an assisted squat, holding onto whatever handlebars the machine has, and simply repeat that position a number of times. It’s all about getting started, increasing blood flow and mobility.

For pivotal/see-saw motion machines there’s no standard program; the user can simply stand on the machine, perform a slight or deeper squat or other positions that they are able to hold.

Read the websites, ask for help and get started. Some Vibration Studios even offer sponsored or subsidised sessions for people with morbid obesity or other life-threatening conditions.  The first step can be just a phone call.