What's it all about?

What is vibration training?

Vibration training is not a new concept and is not a fad! This type of training has been around for over 30 years; it was originally researched as a treatment for osteoporosis and muscle wastage in cosmonauts. As the trials continued however, it was found to influence the body in many other ways. Vibration training can do something for everybody. It works with the body in four totally separate ways to give health benefits that would normally only arise from working for hours in the gym. On a VibroGym this only takes 12 minutes.

Weight loss, muscle tone and athletic ability

To understand how vibration training works it is important to comprehend how conventional exercise is performed. A voluntary strech relflex is when a muscle or limb is voluntarily moved by thinking about it (walking, throwing, jumping, etc). An elecrical impluse it sent from the brain via the Central Nervous System (CNS) towards the muscle causing the fibres to twitch, hence there is movement. An involuntary stretch reflex occurs when external force is applied to the CNS causing the muscle to spasm (Myostatic reflex). For example, when struck just below the kneecap the foot shoots up (patella reflex). This involuntary reflex is what happens when vibration training.

Adding a vibration stimulus to the CNS causes every muscle to twitch at the rate of vibration. So, when the VibroGym is set at 40Hz (vibrations per second), muscles are forced to move at the same speed. This rapid movement in the muscle causes the body to burn large amounts ot energy (Kcal), hence emptying the fat cells of their stored carbohydrate (one 12 minute workout on the VibroGym can burn up to 500Kcal). This high energy use is because up to 100% of muscle fibres are recruited with vibration training compared to 40-60% during conventional exercise. Whilst training at 40Hz muscles will be forced to change length 2,400 times per minute, increasing the amount of information received by the brain.

Lymphatic Drainage

Lymphatic Drainage is vital for the body. Lymph nodes in upper legs and armpits tend to be known because these may swell and hurt during illness. However, there are many more of these embedded deep in our muscles that we never feel, but they are essential for cleansing our bodies. During a muscle contraction these tiny balloons of fluid are squeezed, forcing the fluid to move slightly. This is an essential process for moving excess fluid from the skin so that built up toxins can be removed. This is an important part of your immune system also and due to the involuntary nature of the muscle contraction this lymphatic drainage will help remove toxins at a rate of 10-50 times per second. As a bonus this treatment will also help you look better as poor lymphatic drainage is a major contributor to cellulite.

Bone Density

Bone structure becomes weaker with age as more cells are lost daily than are created. Hormones play a significant part in the rate at which this happens, but there are treatments other than drugs that can help. Pain sensors in bones send an electrical signal to the brain telling the body to send the appropriate amount of minerals to the injured area. This process continues throughout life but due to lifestyle changes this system of repair is used less reducing the amount of signals being sent to the brain. By slowing down and becoming less active, production of hormones in the body is reduced and contributes to the deterioration. Vibration training helps by vibrating your bones which enables sensors to send signals to the brain again, helping to maintain bone density and even increase strength in the weaker bones. In an average vibration session between 10 and 30 thousand separate electrical signals are sent to the brain leading to increased hormone output.

Balancing hormones naturally

As mentioned earlier, when a bone received a shock a small electrical signal is sent to the brain where that piece of information is stored. The same thing happens to everything that your body goes goes through in a 24 hour period. Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and deep sleep is generally your healing sleep and it is when you recharge our batteries. REM sleep is where important hormonal changes happen. The hypothalmus and pituitary gland are control centres in the brain that record information sent to the brain and activate when you're asleep. Only when you're in REM sleep can these glands function properly and release the necessary hormones. Exercise tells these glands to produce the hormones required to repair and strengthen the body. Hormone levels can drop significantly leading to all kinds of problems (lack of energy, bad sleep, and slowing metabolism) by becoming less active. Just 12 minutes on the VibroGym will release the same amount of growth promoting hormones as one hour of conventional training.