Power Plate Vibration training

[Robert V]

http://www.powerplateusa.com/

This new apparatus appeared in my gym. It is called the Power Plate. I had no idea what it did. I asked the people who worked there and they were not sure. Only one trainer was trained on it.

It only had a diagram of the movements you could do. After a few minutes of examination, I figured out that it is simply a machine with a platform you stand on and it vibrated. You do various bodyweight type exercises on it.

Well, I used my nemesis :twisted: , the flat-footed squat as my movement. I did about six sets of 30-45 seconds of squats, super-setted with some medicine ball push-ups for cardio effect.

I ended the session by just sitting on vibrating platform in a FF squat for about a minute.

Well, today I could barely walk. I almost cancelled my yoga class.

My body is use to such squatting workouts and I always to a good amount of stretching afterwards. As a matter of fact, my "warm up and cool down" takes longer than the actual workout. But I'm hardly ever sore.

I thought the vibrations would relax my muscles and I would not be sore, coupled with static stretches for "cool-down". Yet, the last time my quads were this sore was when I was a powerlifter.

They claim a deeper "stretch"...more relaxed...abate tension, which I understood from the Russian Vibration training I learned about here.

But they also made claims of strength gains. That I don't get, yet those few bodyweight squats really worked my quads.

What am I missing here?

Does anyone have any experience with this or explanations?

[Jarlo Ilano]

Mel Siff talked about this in his Supertraining book. Its kind of late right now, but I can look it up and quote from it tomorrow. I do remember though that he mentioned a significant increase in muscle strength just from using the device.

I think you may have been sore because the speed of the vibrations is much different than what we generate when we do the PYB vibrations.

Sorry I cannot add more. Very interesting though.

[Jarlo Ilano]

Robert,

From Mel Siff's Supertraining.

Page 223

"In other applications, short periods of low frequency mechanical vibration (10-35 Hz) on the body have been shown to induce faster recovery, have a positive effect on different body systems, modulate muscle activity, elicit a higher stable state of strength and power, lower arterial pressure, and enhance oxidate processes."

I think this corresponds to the vibrations we do to release muscle tension.

"...it has been found that powerful whole body vibrations imposed at 26 Hz through the lower extremities produces marked increases in jumping power."

This is a higher rate than I think we do by ourselves, this may be why you were so sore afterwards.

Looking at the website it seems that the plates have frequency settings above 30 Hz.

Hope that sheds some light on your experience.