A vibration plate which is also known as a ‘power plate’ is an exercise machine that sends high-speed vibrations through all the muscles in the body. The way they work is by stimulating the muscles at a higher rate than usual, during a normal workout the muscles throughout your body will relax or contract 1-2 times per second. However, with the multi-direction of vibrations that come from a vibration plate energy is transmitted through your body which helps to stimulate the muscles. The stimulation from the energy transmitting through your body results in your muscle contracting anywhere between 20-40 times per second.
Now you are wondering if vibration plates really work, in this article, we have highlighted how you can use vibration plates effectively as well as key benefits from using vibration plates. Some people believe that incorporating vibration plates into your workouts will speed up the toning or weight loss process, however, this isn’t entirely the case. The benefits we have highlighted do include these factors, but it isn’t necessarily a sped-up process.
Having the time to work out can be one of the biggest hurdles to finding motivation in the gym but where vibrations plates cause the muscles to relax more than usual, the body has to work much harder to hold a position. This means the workout is intensified meaning that you can cut your workout down from an hour to 20 minutes by including vibration plates to achieve the same goal.
Another benefit to vibration plates is that you are not limited to any particular workout, the majority of plate brands will have a variety of settings to meet all fitness level requirements. The best way to get started is by trying a simple squat hold movement and testing the different setting levels on the vibration plate.
Once you have started using this in your workout you can try out more advanced movements or ask a gym instructor for some guidance on where you can progress from there.
Vibration plates can help to tone muscle, however, many people believe this is an easy fix to defining the muscles of your body. In order to tone up muscles, you would repeatably put pressure on muscles by holding a certain position or completing a particular exercise this is exactly how it works with a vibration plate.
If you repeatably use a vibration plate by standing with your knees bent you can expect to see results in toning your legs and core. Therefore toning is considered a key benefit to using vibrations plates.
Vibration plates are also known to help aid weight loss, certain vibration plate workouts can be effective to weight loss with just 10 minutes a day. The reason is that the vibration plate intensifies your workout, which helps you work towards your weight loss goal in shorter sessions. Due to the plates being more intense, it helps speed up your metabolism, which burns fat and aids weight loss.
Incorporating a vibration plate into your workout routine provides you with the opportunity ti work several main muscles at once from one machine. Depending on various different exercises which can be completed on a vibration plate, you can target your full body or alternatively focus on particular areas.
A vibration plate gives you the chance to hit an intense and effective full-body workout in a shorter time period. This is useful if you are looking to squeeze a workout in before or after work or even on a lunch break!
During normal exercise your muscles contract one or two times per second, the use of a vibration plate when exercising can result in your muscles contracting 30 to 40 times per second. Unlike other types of exercise which would only work 40% of your muscle fibres, vibration plates can work up to 90% of your muscle fibres which help strengthen muscles and develop additional muscle tissue. The impact of this leads to increase muscle density and strength from using vibration plates during your workout.
Vibration plates help improve flexibility as it challenges your body to remain balanced, as such your core is then using more effort to keep a strong position on the plate by contracting your midriff and lower back muscles.
When working on improved core strength, flexibility is a key benefit from this as it leads to better balance in your day to day life. If you work on improving flexibility you will also seek the benefits of improved posture which reduces back pain.
Vibration plates can be useful to incorporate into your workout as a finisher to help aid the bodies recovery stage. If your muscles ache or feel sore from a workout standing or resting your limbs on a vibration plate will accelerate the blood flow and reduce lactic acid out of your system. Similarly, this can also be used to improve recovery time from an illness, the increased blood flow and stimulated muscles will increase recovery speed.
Vibration plates can benefit from blood circulation, weight and fat loss, and muscle toning which helps to reduce the appearance of cellulite. That being said, combining this with a healthy diet and regular cardio, will all work together nicely to reduce the appearance of cellulite.
Although vibration plate exercises work the full-body, they can have a particularly strong core workout for the body. Similar to how you would plan to work on your core in the gym you can use positions such as plank or sit-ups on the plate. The vibration plate will benefit your working core through strength and stability as the muscles are working harder than usual to control your balance and stability.
In conclusion vibration plates can be highly beneficial for the numerous reasons above to start adding into your workout routine. Combining the impact of vibration plates alongside healthy eating, regular exercises and improved routine you are likely to see accelerated results from vibration plates. That being said, everybody is different and people vary in what deems to be successful results, personal trainers are good people to discuss the use of vibration plates with to gain a better understanding of the form of exercise as a whole.