Vibration plates are a main component of whole body vibration machines, which use mechanical vibration to make your muscles contract rapidly. When used in conjunction with certain changes in your diet, these machines can contribute to calorie burning and weight loss. In fact, the combination of dietary changes and whole body vibration may help you control your weight better than the combination of dietary changes and conventional exercise.
Basics
To use a whole body vibration machine, you stand or sit on its base, or plate, and turn the machine on. Once it's activated, the machine will produce a series of rapid vibrations that destabilize the position of your body. In order to fight this destabilizing effect, the muscles in your body will naturally contract repeatedly. In addition to triggering calorie burning, claimed health benefits of using a whole vibration machine include strengthening your bones, toning your muscles, improving balance and fighting the effects of disorders such as Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.
Vibration Without Other Changes
On its own, whole vibration training will cause you to burn off a limited amount of calories, according to MayoClinic.com. However, the amount of calories you can lose this way is relatively small when compared to the calorie burning produced by conventional forms of aerobic exercise such as swimming or walking. Use of a whole vibration machine can also potentially harm your health if you have back problems or certain other conditions. For these reasons, MayoClinic.com recommends that you avoid vibration training for weight loss or combine it with conventional aerobic and muscle-building exercises.
Vibration, Diet and Calisthenics
If you control your food intake and perform calisthenic exercises such as pushups, lunges and squats while on a whole vibration machine, you may be able to lose more weight than you would if you controlled your intake and performed traditional aerobic and muscle-building exercises, according to a study released in 2009 at the European Congress on Obesity. In this study, traditional exercisers dropped an average of 7 percent of their body weight and maintained a 6.9 percent loss over a six-month follow-up period. Vibration machine exercisers, on the other hand, dropped an average of 11 percent of their body weight and maintained a 10.5 percent loss throughout the follow-up period.
Considerations
Whole body vibration machines are not built to a common standard, and can have considerable variations in both the number of times they vibrate per minute and the depth of each individual vibration, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) reports. In addition, there is no current consensus on which vibration frequencies work best or how long you should exercise on any given machine. For these reasons, the ACE recommends that you use whole body vibration as an exercise supplement, rather than as a replacement for other types of exercise. Seek your doctor's advice before you use a vibration machine.
References
- American Council on Exercise - Ask the Expert: I Am Hearing a Lot About Whole Body Vibration Training...; Jessica Matthews; March 3, 2010
- Science Daily: Vibration Plate Machines May Aid Weight Loss And Trim Abdominal Fat; Vissers, et al.; Artesis University College, University of Antwerp; European Association for the Study of Obesity; May 8, 2009
- MayoClinic.com: Whole Body Vibration; An Effective Workout?; Edward R. Laskowski, M.D.; May 2, 2009
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