A friend commented on Facebook that they wished there was a Vibra-Train studio in their town so that they could join with us to “shake ya booty”.
I laughed, of course, but then thought that others might read that post and it might cause some confusion, so decided to write a brief blog on the different types of vibration machines and how they work. In doing so I’ll answer the question; do vibration machines “shake ya booty”?
We girls love these quirky, laughable terms and we immediately identify with their meaning. There are many types of dance-sport and dance exercise where “shake ya booty” is an entirely appropriate term. You get a real good shake all over and especially your butt.
But what about a vibration training session? Is it true that it “shakes ya booty” and if it doesn’t then how does it work? You need movement to really be exercising, right?
There are two main types of vibration machines:
Pivotal: Simply put, these machines move the user from side to side, balancing on a pivot or rod; they move you like a see-saw but side to side rather than up and down. Most are low speed, and correctly termed massage or therapy machines. They gently help with blood circulation and relaxation and provide just enough stimulation to relax sore muscles, and to maintain or improve bone density. They aren’t training machines (no matter what amazing promises unethical marketers make). Also the downside of the massager/therapy machine is that most aren’t built to high quality specs and so they can’t cope with a user’s weight being over about 60kg/130lbs without degraded performance.
Low Speed Pivotal
These low speed pivotal machines are the ones most often seen on TV advertorials and looking at people on these machines is very funny – they definitely have a wobble and you might broadly stretch that to say the look is “shake ya booty” - but unless it’s simple massage results you’re wanting; they simply don’t perform.
There are a few brands of pivotal machine classified as High Speed Pivotal (Hypervibe Performance and Cardiotech CV9 are two that spring to mind). These are training machines for fitness and strength training. You can see the user’s body moving rapidly from side to side but you really wouldn’t say of these “shake ya booty”. That’s not really the look you see even though the person feels they are shaking.
High Energy Lineal
Lineal: Machines that move the user up and down so rapidly that when looking at the person in a squat position on the machine, they don’t appear to be moving at all. From appearance you’d never say they are “shaking their booty” but ask someone using the machine and they’ll tell you their whole body is feeling the rapid vibration force. They feel like they are shaking; not just their booty but all over, and more than shaking, they feel strong contraction in the muscle groups targeted by the specific pose they are in.
So, vibration training isn’t really shake ya booty?
It depends on what machine you are using (and some of us who are a little bigger don’t want to look like a wobbly jelly anyway).
It’s results that count – vibration is by definition “shaking” – but how much of that shows outwardly is no indication of what’s really going on.
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 
I spent the weekend in Melbourne with my son, Brad, and enjoyed a little sightseeing and visiting friends. It was a rather subdued experience with news of bushfire casualties and damage still being updated but the response to helping survivors there is fantastic.
