The Power Plate is a vibration machine that has revolutionized the fitness sector, but is it right for you?
The Power Plate is a vibration machine that can give you good vibrations, but not everybody agrees. Lovers of the vibration training include Sting and Madonna, Sting takes his on tour and Madonna so the rumours go, even takes phone calls on her Power Plate. Looking at these two toned mega-stars could be evidence enough that a vibration machine can really work. Whether you are taking weight gain supplements to bulk up or fat burners to slim down, vibration machines can work wonders when trying to achieve your body goals.
Vibration Machine – The Technophobe
Sceptics have put the Power Plate vibration machine to the test for the consumer and lifestyle pages of the broadsheets. In the Times in 2007, a husband and wife team, Philip and Rosie Millard put the cases for and against the vibration machine. The husband was a self proclaimed technophobe. He swapped the gym mat for a vibration machine to do his regular sit ups and crunches to see if it made a difference. The vibrations through the body create an instability that makes the muscles contract at speed, ensuring they work harder faster. The vibration machine is not just used in the gym to help buff up bodies, but by sufferers of multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis and arthritis as it helps bone density – factors that are convincingly beneficial even to the biggest sceptic.
Vibration Machine – ‘It’s perfect!’
Critics of the vibration machine says it steals away the feeling and buzz you get from doing a hard work-out in the gym, aimed at those who need high-speed solutions to fit into executive lives. Some users also worry about uncomfortable vibrations in their body from the vibration machine training. But although it does take some getting used to, a vibration machine is easy and safe to use, and there are plenty of trainers on hand to help with expert tips and advice. Although Mr Millard preferred his exercise mat to the vibration machine, his wife felt it was her kind of exercise: standing on a vibration plate didn’t entail ‘scary, sweaty group things’. And the promise of toned muscles in just 15 minutes was a huge part of the appeal for her. The fact a vibration machine cut out the need for hard work means the vibration machine can actually be fun. “An invisible, easy workout in the time taken to blow-dry your hair. It’s perfect,” wrote Mrs Millard.

