A vibration plate is an often overlooked but extremely beneficial piece of equipment if you’re looking to get in shape. We all know the benefits of treadmills, dumbbells and machines – they burn fat, tone muscles and increase our strength and stamina. But did you know that a vibration plate can do all this in a much more efficient, low-key way? If you weren’t familiar, now’s the time. A vibration plate works simply by – you guessed it – vibrating! You stand or sit on the plate and let the high speed vibrations do their thing. You can perform some exercises on the plate while it vibrates as well; whether it’s squats or raises, you’ll find that your muscles feel more engaged and challenged than ever before.
Why Use a Vibration Plate?
The concept of using vibration for health benefits gradually moved from unproven speculation to actual science thanks to its use by Russian astronauts to help simulate the weight of gravity. The astronaut’s bodies responded to this as they would to exercise, which helped them keep bone density and muscular tissue that they would have otherwise lost from month’s of bobbing about in zero-gravity outer space.
From there, vibration as a form of exercise has gone from strength to strength, and the invention of the vibration plate has been a tremendous gain for people’s health and wellbeing. When you stand on a vibration plate, your muscles will relax and contract a lot in a very short space of time. It may not seem like it, but they’re working hard! Your body will then try and stabilise these muscles by engaging muscle fibres each time the vibrations make your muscles move. This is why performing any exercise (or even just standing still) on a vibration plate is a lot more challenging than performing an exercise on solid ground. If you like exercising but can’t get to the gym, or if you like working up a sweat but don’t want to go for a run, a vibration plate is your convenient solution.
How to Get Started
Any simple exercise can be performed on the vibration plate. Simply switch it on, and get yourself into your desired position. You only really need to use the plate for 10 minutes at a time every day (if you’re trying to maintain a challenging position on the plate, you’ll be glad of this) as it’s all your muscles need! Other than that, it’s completely up to you how you use it or what benefits you use it for.
Benefits
You might not think it, but there are so many benefits to using a vibration plate. These include, but are not limited to:
Burning Calories
It’s estimated that 10 minutes a day performing vibration plate exercises is equal to that of 40 minutes of jogging or 30 minutes of swimming and will burn up to 2000 calories!
Balance
Seeing as your body has to try and regain its balance whenever thousands of its muscle fibres are constantly vibrating every second, it’s fair to say that your balance is put to the test. Although you might find it challenging at first, repeated use of the vibration plate will find your balance improving as the muscles around your joints strengthen over time!
Stronger Muscles
Following on from the last point, muscle fibres strengthening over time leads to muscle growth and increased muscle density – you may find yourself looking more muscular without ever having to hit the gym!
Lower Blood Pressure
Repeated studies have continuously shown that after exercises on a vibration plate, the subject’s blood pressure was significantly lower than before they began, and hardening of arteries was also reduced. This is good news for your ticker, whether you’re in your twenties or in your golden years!
Decreased Stress!
Yes, the science backs it; vibrating reduces stress! Well, technically it reduces cortisol, a stress hormone produced by our adrenal glands. We need it for dealing with stressful situations, but too much of it can be really damaging for us, causing higher blood pressure, weight gain, lack of sleep, and contributing to lots of nasty diseases. The very act of vibration actually feels really good, and helps boost feel-good hormones like serotonin that make you feel fantastic and lower your levels of cortisol!
The RELIFE VP318 Vibration Plate Exercise Machine
Here at relife sports, we have our own special vibration plate available for purchase that is a perfect addition to any home gym or living room! The vibration plate functions like any other, but with the addition of two loop bands and a wearable remote control that allows you to have total control and function. The little vibration plate is quiet and small, so it won’t take up any space in your home or cause any more noise than necessary.
It comes with 3 training channels that simulate the equivalent calorie burning of walking, jogging or running so you can choose how intense you want your workout to be. An LED display allows you to choose these modes and also factors such as your speed, time elapsed and calories burned, all in real time.
Some great ideas for exercises include:
- Quad Stretches
- Lunges
- Plank
- Leg/Abominable Crunches
- Squats
Many exercises can be performed with just your body, but to fully utilise the relife vibration plate, we recommend making use of the ropes that come equipped to enhance your vibration plate exercise. This way, you can incorporate exercises like shoulder extensions, or just adding extra work to strengthen your upper body during the workout!
Summary
Vibration plates may not seem like a big deal at first glance, but they’re undeniably a fantastic way to build muscle, burn fat and keep yourself in shape while also reducing stress, blood pressure and improving your overall stamina. Our relife vibration plate machine does all that and even more with its strong stability, intelligent noise reduction and user-friendly ergonomic design. You’ll find them on our website, relifesports.com – if you’re looking for an all-in-one fitness solution, this is it!
