The latest exercise craze is a vibrating step. Is it for real or just another fad, asks Patricia Weston
Have you heard about the latest exercise craze? It's a vibrating step that makes you stronger by stimulating your muscles thousands of times a minute, according to its backers, as if you were compressing your motion during a gym session into a burst of tiny movements. But if the Power Plate sounds a little odd, not to mention uncomfortable, it seems to have a scientific basis.
"The principle behind the machine is that it activates the muscles to contract," says Philip Jakeman, professor of exercise science at the University of Limerick. "Where an exerciser walking or running would exercise at low frequency, the machine works the muscles at high frequency. Therefore it appears to be a quicker way to get the muscle to adapt or work harder."
Ian Beaumont of Power Plate UK says: "A workout that would take an hour to an hour and a half in the gym takes only 12 minutes to do on the machine. It can strengthen muscles, increase flexibility and increase circulation. The greater the muscle mass in the body, the more weight you can lose as a result." He even claims that it reverses the ageing process, improving circulation, stimulating the lymph glands, improving skin tone and breaking down cellulite.
Prof Jakeman has reservations about vibrating the body, however. "When you vibrate something at high frequency you can rattle things around in the body that might not want to be rattled. Kidney stones could become loosened and the eyes can be shaken. I would recommend that people don't abuse the machine and only use it under supervision."
The Power Plate, which is based on technology developed by Soviet scientists to combat cosmonauts' loss of bone density, has yet to be proven therapeutically, but Prof Jakeman points out that this type of therapy has other modern uses. "The Irish Rugby Football Union use vibration machines to potentiate muscles, to prepare them for the activity to come and increase strength," he says.
One user found it a strange experience. "You get this weird feeling in your head when you use it," he says. "It's a bit like one of those machines you'd see on a shopping channel that claim to tone you up in four minutes."
And you won't lose weight or get fit unless you exercise as well. "It is a great thing that has a great effect, but it must be used in conjunction with aerobic activity and strength training," says Padraig Murphy of Westwood, which runs gyms in Dublin. "People have been using it for a massage after exercise and to increase the intensity of their workouts. It's a great machine for a total training result and for rehabilitation, for those recovering from injury to rebuild the muscle."
Michelle O'Melia, a fitness instructor at Boyne Valley Country Club, in Co Louth, says the vibration machine is extremely popular with its members. "We develop a programme that includes 12 to 15 minutes on the vibration machine. The user doesn't just stand on the machine; they can perform exercises such as leg lunges, squats and press-ups.
"The programme would also include aerobic activity, such as walking or running, and some strength training with weights, although using the machine just for strength training gives quicker results, improving strength, flexibility and stability. It's also recommended for people with hip replacements and people who have limited range of movement in their joints. It's an added bonus for elderly exercisers, too. It's not just another gym fad, it's another way of strength training."