What Are The Benefits Of Vibration Training?

Whole-body vibration training is performed on a machine, designed specifically for the process, which uses low-to-moderate vibrations to improve strength and power, while promoting flexibility and muscle recovery. The machine features a vibrating platform upon which you perform exercises like squats or push-ups for up to 90 seconds. You may adjust the frequency and amplitude of the vibration to make the experience more or less intense. Vibration training takes little time and is easy to perform, making it a beneficial training tool.

Elderly Populations

Strength training can improve the quality of life in elderly populations. Older, less-well-conditioned people sometimes find traditional loaded-resistance exercises too challenging, however, due to strength, coordination, or joint problems. Vibration training allows seniors to work on their strength without the worry of exacerbating their problems. A study, published in 2007 in the journal "Gait and Posture," showed that 12 months of training on a vibration machine reduced the frequency of falls for older individuals.

Strength

Holding exercises on the vibration-training machine helps build muscle in a short time, reports the Idea Health and Fitness Association. Holding exercises like triceps dips, lunges, and squats for 30 to 90 seconds at a time, once per day, three times per week brings results. A German study, published in 2005, compared the conventional push-up with a push-up on a vibration machine. Researchers found that the vibration machine yielded a 34% improvement in maximal strength, to 24% from the conventional push-up.

Cellulite

Whole-body vibration training promotes circulation, which helps decrease the appearance of cellulite --- subcutaneous fat that makes skin look dimpled and puckered. A 2004 study from Germany's SANADERM Professional Clinic for Skin Illnesses and Allergies found that whole-body vibration training can diminish the degree and severity of cellulite.

Bone Density

Whole-body vibration training is a weight-bearing exercise --- thus helping to build bone health, notes the Mayo Clinic. Improved bone density helps prevent the onset of osteoporosis in vulnerable women.

Flexibility

A study published in the April 2006 issue of "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise" reported that vibration training helped improve flexibility in elite male gymnasts. The platform was shown to enhance stretching exercises performed on land, like a forward fold or pigeon lunge.