What Are Vibration Platforms And Do They Work?

Vibration machines are the new craze in the United States where you can stand, lie, or sit and get either a full body workout or spot workout treatment. For example, if you want to tone just your core, your back, or your entire body, vibration machines make the promise to make this possible in the least amount of time.

Vibration machines claim to give you the workout that you desire in as little as 15 minutes a session for no more than three times a day. In these times where our days are filled with transporting children to activities, working outside the home, and running a household it can sometimes be almost impossible to comprehend a workout.

Vibration machines are designed with the concept of working out, but not working out. In essence, this means that you don’t need to spend countless hours on the road running or in the gym putting strain on your body. You can simply relax and let the vibration machines do the work for you. There are two main vibration machines:

Whole-Body Vibration Machines

Whole-body vibration machines are presently the most popular in the United States today, which originated in Russia. Russians used this concept of full body vibration to originally train their cosmonauts for muscle tone. Before hitting the United States, it was first caught on in the European and Japanese countries.

The concept of this machine is that you stand on a platform with your knees bent at an almost 30 degree angle. The platform than begins to vibrate quickly at 30 times per second. The trick of this machine is to stimulate a sense of your body falling. What this causes is your body to respond with stress and force your muscles to contract.

The contraction of your muscles is said to build strength and flexibility in your muscles, as well as the conditioning of your core muscles. This all achieved in a fraction of the time it would take you to exercise individual muscles.

Chi Vibration Machines

The Chi vibration machines work while you are lying down on a comfortable solid surface, such as the floor or a treatment table designed for the use of this machine. When attached to this machine, it will literally vibrate your entire body from your ankles to the top of your head.

Your ankles are placed on a box that vibrates your entire body. This total body vibration of just 15 minutes is said to be equal to a 30 minute aerobic walk where the muscles of your entire body are stimulated to move as if you were involved in a rigorous exercise routine.

Vibration machines have now even become popular in local gyms, where you can have a quick session without the grueling hours of working out and sweating. It claims to be a means to use a machine to tone your body without you having to put the excursion into the workout.

Whether this new craze is just that – a craze or whether it truly works to tone your body is best left to your individual body make-up. It could be worth the try, as even a little workout is better than nothing at all.

When deciding if a vibration machine is right for you or if it really works in accordance to its numerous claims, some research needs to be done on both the benefits, as well as some of the false promises that it may portray.

At its first introduction, you may love the idea of working out in less time and with little effort to receive the toned and fit body that you desire. When new exercise systems are introduced in the market, not much time is taken in viewing the long-term effects, so it is essential that you receive all the information possible.

Getting in shape in a minimal amount of time is very intriguing, but is less necessarily better? That is a question with a lot of controversy surrounding the vibration machines. There are some studies that support the benefits, and there are some that don’t.

Try It Yourself

In order to truly know if vibration machines really work, you need to try it for yourself. You can listen to both the pros and cons from two sides of the argument on vibration machines; however, everyone has a different body and responds differently to exercise.

Before taking the plunge into investing in a $500 or more vibration machine, see if one is available at your local gym. This is the best place where you can learn how to use the machine and see if your body responds to the claimed benefits.

If your body responds, great – get that gym membership or buy your own machine. If you notice no improvement – return to your old fashioned aerobic and strength training exercises. This way you have lost nothing, but gained some knowledge.

Decide on Your Weight Loss Goals

Before deciding on whether a vibration machine can work for you or not, set your fitness weight loss goals. If you don’t have fitness goals, there is no means for you to determine what form of exercise is best for you.

If your goal is to strengthen your body in minimal time and gain muscle tone, vibration machines may be for you. These machines are set up to vibrate between 20 to 50 times per second. That’s a lot of stimulation for your muscles, especially your core and back muscles. We know that muscle burns more than fat, so this could be a great option.

If your goal is to shed excessive weight and fat, then this may not be the right type of exercise for you at the moment. More studies show that those who are already physically fit or need physical therapy benefit more from vibrational machines in comparison to those who have a lot of weight to lose.

Wanting to shed excess body fat as a primary goal is best left to high and low intensity workout intervals. A steady interval on a vibration machine is not supported for full calorie (fat) burning. Yes it tones muscles, but fat needs to be lost first. A vibration machine may be a good supplement to your workout, but not the only means to weight reduction.

Simply stated, there is no easy way to lose body fat and tone your muscles. There must be some type of effort put in to create a fit and healthy body.