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Reflexive
stretch
The vibration platform generates powerful
vibrations three to four times the force of gravity (3 & 4 ‘G’).
These mechanical vibrations exert a strain on the muscles, causing the
body to respond with a stretch reflex. This involuntary, automatic,
effortless and unavoidable stretch reflex makes the muscles contract. In
conventional training, the impetus to contract the muscles is voluntary,
but in vibration training, the contraction is the result of the stretch
reflex. This is the difference between conventional and vibration
training.
100%
contraction of muscle
fibers
When you consciously tense up a muscle, you can
activate at the most 40 - 45% of its muscle fibers. The stretch reflex,
however, activates 100% of the muscle fibers, thus giving the muscle the
most intense workout possible. The frequency of the stretch reflex can
be adjusted from 30 to 50 times per second.
Vibration training is training that takes advantage
of this automatic stretch reflex. The vibratory stimulus will help you
with your position or movement and make the exercise easier to execute.
Hormonal
boost of 150-300%
During training the body produces certain hormones.
Vibration training appears to stimulate the brain to such an extent that
it produces 150-300% more of these hormones – muscle-building
hormones, that is!
The hormones that are secreted include:
Testosterone, which contributes especially to
muscle development;
Growth hormone, which stimulates the absorption of
amino acids (needed for muscle development), the production of muscle
fuel and the growth of long bones;
Adrenaline, which stimulates the autonomic nervous
system, resulting among other things in a raised heartbeat and the
release of additional fatty acids for burning.
Note: In general, it can be stated that there is
increased release of regenerative and repair hormones.
Lowered cortisol levels, a hormone that is released
under stress. Vibration training lowers the level of cortisol and thus
decreases stress. This also happens with conventional training, but
because of the increased elimination of cortisol during vibration
training, the user feels more relaxed.
serotonin is not a hormone but a neurotransmitter
that helps to relay nerve messages across important nerve connections. Serotonin
is known to produce a feeling of euphoria during and after
training.
Due
to these three effects, ten minutes of vibration training equals 1˝
hours of intensive power training.
Increases blood flow and loosens adhesions
Massage is known to increase blood flow and loosen
adhesions. Vibration and friction are two techniques applied during
massage.
During vibration training the force exerted on the
body is two to four times that of gravity. This gives the body a
thorough shaking, not just during massage exercises on the vibration
platform but also during the other exercises. This results in:
Significantly improved blood flow to the tissues of
the muscles being exercised. Normally training produces constriction of
the blood vessels in the skin and dilation of those in the muscles.
During vibration training, all the blood vessels become dilated.
Increased lymph drainage to the lymph nodes,
sometimes considered the body’s sewage system. This is caused by the
muscle pumping, i.e. contracting in a reflexive response to the
vibratory stimulus.
The loosening of minor adhesions in the tendons,
muscles, fascia, skin layers, etc. The vibrations are absorbed to
different degrees by different tissues. Soft tissue absorbs more
vibration than hard tissue. This means that there are small differences
in vibration frequency in the various tissues, causing friction between
these tissues and loosening minor adhesions between them.
Increases
bone density
Because older people tend to become more sedentary
as they age and also have lowered hormone production, they may suffer
from osteoporosis (brittle bones). Lower levels of exercise lead to
weakened muscles, reduced blood flow and a decrease in the weight
bearing down on the bones. Testosterone, growth hormone and estrogen play a particularly important role in bone formation. Vibration training
will improve the above functions and hormone levels, leading to an
increase in the supply of calcium to the bones and stronger bones.
Any
negative effects?
Various studies have been conducted to determine
the negative effects of vibration on occupational groups that are
exposed frequently and for relatively long periods to vibrations,
including helicopter pilots, road construction workers, professional
rally riders, marathon runners, etc.
The results of these studies show that vibration is
only damaging if the body is subjected to vibration for more than
four hours a day.
The body is superbly equipped to absorb shocks. The
shocks that occur during racing, for example, displace the facial skin
of young athletes several centimeters. This is clearly visible in slow
motion shots. Such shocks pose no danger to the vascular walls, the
brain or other organs. Many people jog and doing so subject their bodies
to millions of shocks that are much more powerful than the vibrations of
the vibration platform.
The average vibration training on the vibration
platform takes ten minutes of exercise at an amplitude (displacement) of
2-4 mm and a frequency of 40 vibrations/second. Vibrations of one minute
are interspersed with intervals of at least one minute of rest, which
reduces the intensity.
Our experience with more than 4,000,000 vibration
minutes has taught us that vibration training under the guidance of
well-trained instructors is one of the safest training methods
available. Because vibration training is a new form of power training,
it is naturally met with skepticism. It is ironic, though, when you know
that more scientific research has been conducted on vibration training
equipment than on any other power training equipment.
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