Help LIke many other severely overweight and unfit people I need advice before I even consider any sort of  excercise, particularly when it involves the purchase of an expensive piece of equipment. I have bought things in the past, opened the box and found a leaflet saying I should not use this without a doctors advice, or should not use it at all, a foot spa. Can you advise me on the suitablitiy of vibration therapy exercise for a 69 year old obese lady with diabetic neuropathy which makes my feet so painful that walking is difficult, arrythmia, angina, kidney damage due to the diabetes. I have a venous return problem in my legs and am told not to massage them. I have broken both ankles at different times, the left one being particulary painful from time to time. I have been unable to find any exercixse classes for larger ladies and gyms are full of skinny people so I would be embarrassed to go and work out in one. I would swim but the local pool does not have a fat ladies session and what fat lady wants to don a swimsuit and go in a pool with kids Why is it that those of us who really need help with fitness training cannot get it. My doctor is a dead loss, I know what constitutes a healthy diet and am trying to stick to it, but being fairly immobile the weight does not come off, so what happens, I get discouraged, think blow this, and have a bar of chocolate. People tell me go for a walk but my feet are so painflul this is not an option. Anyone out there got any solutions It would be of particular interest if anyone had had the same sort of problems a s most of the fitness instructors Ihave talked to have never been anything but 150 percent fit and have no idea what it is to be plagued by illness or disability.Sorry, boys and girls, unless you have been there you do not know. Reading about it in a a textbook is  not a good training.

I spoke earlier today with someone who attended the NSCA Conference in Vegas.  It appears it is fading away.  This person said it seems more for personal trainers now instead of for strength and conditioning coaches and training athletes.  The NSCA has gotten away from the foundation it was started on which was for strength and conditioning coaches who worked with competitive athletes and not personal trainers working with the general population.

John T. Weatherly

I just checked the exhibitors list for the NSCA Conference in Vegas next week and Power Plate does not appear to be showing up.  Hmmm, Power Plate had been a corporate partner or "sponsor" for the NSCA.  So, apparently Power Plate North America is in trouble like Power Plate in other parts of the world or else the NSCA finally got wise and dumped Power Plate.

John T. Weatherly

Casey, I checked things out for you.

Revibe, Alberta is operating again as a vibration training studio.  If you are near them give them a call.

BUT – be aware – as Lloyd said, in the past they trained people in their studio using LINEAL, Vibrogym machines. 

Then they started selling PIVOTAL,  Hypervibe machines directly to the public and through trade shows and fairs and at that time they started telling people that Lineal machines were very dangerous (they’re not – it was simply marketing talk). On the Hypervibe website it makes claims about Lineal versus Pivotal – pushing Pivotal as the only safe option (again, simply marketing. You are very welcome to contact me if want to discuss this).

NOW: When you go to see the machines please ask them (given what they have said anti – lineal machines)

WHY DO THEY HAVE  LINEAL, VIBROGYM MACHINES IN THEIR NEW STUDIO?

 (I’ve seen a picture showing both pivotal Hypervibe and  lineal Vibrogym machines in the room, with the Vibrogym turned on.  Based on their reply you can decide if you trust them and want to buy off them.

So from what I can tell, the Galileo machines are very good.  I read somewhere that the DKN Technology machines are also very good, but not as expensive.  What do you know about these, and what do you know about the different models  XG10, XG5 Pro, and the XG3.  I am planning on using it for a good workout and stretching benefits, not therapy.

Hello Lloyd

Might I be of assistance to Casey here in Canada should she need direction to studios. Feel free to reach out via our site MotionHeath.ca

Sorry dont know what happened to my message. Was reading online about  Revibe studio in Canada. What do you know about them 

Lloyd,

I like the comment about the obesity epidmic. Unfortunately we live in a strange time where people expect to be helped without thinking twice about helping themselves. Most government systems and programs are designed to protect people from themselves.  In a country likes the United States we tend to take the ready... fire... aim approach.  We are now reeling from the side effects caused by the additives and hormones in our foods.  All of which have been allowed by the FDA"food and drug Admin".

 The problem is big business spending money to keep the decision makers at bay.  They can afford to fight a bill against their products that allows them to continue using harmful ingredients to produce cheaper products. Think of this anology.... Samsung has no problem paying Apple a  billion dollars for a patent infringement which allowed them to make 10 billion dollars.  Its cheaper for big brand food companies to pay out the cancer law suits than it is to produce better quality foods. The big fat obese picture of course is wieghing out evils that eat at thier bottom line ....NO PUNS INTENDED THERE.....okay okay one more .....here it comes..  The only people CUTTING THE FAT are the food companies looking for bigger profits.  The fat being truly healthy ingredients that increase product costs.

Just like the vibration world there is so much misinformation and deceptive marketing that lead the average consumer to beleive that they can continue eating crappy products.  There also comes a point where socio economic factors play into this.  If you are on a tight budget then you buy cheaper food.  In my country... USA.. the cheap stuff is grocery store junk and fast food.  Its become such a problem that the U.S. government is now limiting the amount of junk food that can be purchased with  government subsidized food stamps . In some many words they realized that they were indirectly promoting obesity by subsizing food cards for those on welfare. Quite frankly I am amazed that they just realized that their programs would backfire on them.   

Heres a thought. What if we decided to limit health insurance contingent on body weight proportionate to ones average size give or take a few kilos.  Be it socialized healthcare or privatized.  If we told people that they will have to come out of pocket more if they dont meet certain health criteria on thier own. Its simple really stay in better shape or pay more or possibly be uninsurable.  We all know that obesity leads to a myriad of illnesses.  It eventually becomes a burden on the health care system and drives the cost up for everyone else.  I am frankly sick of paying for someones healthcare who cant figure out how to eat sensibly .  They should all be singled out and grouped in a separate plan that forces them to compensate for thier hazardous eating habits.  

What do you think

That was stated well Lloyd.  Back in my early college years which has been some time ago now, there was a focus on disease prevention with exercise, nutrition, integrating corporate fitness programs, cardiac rehab etc.  Most universities teach all of this stuff and it has not worked for the general public.  The general population seems to be fatter and in worse shape than ever.   My main interest has always been sports science to improve athletic performance but I was inundated in my univeristy training with exercise for disease prevention, rehab, etc.  It has not worked for the general public.

John T. Weatherly

Vibration Training  What's the real deal? ( published 25/12/2005 )

Vibration Training  eh? Sound like an infomercial on steroids doesn’t it, a get rich quick scheme for those who missed out on the Pilates rush. Well you are kinda right , there are plenty of folks who now think this may be their meal ticket. The kind of people who didn’t even know this existed a year ago. But now claim it’s a miracle cure for just about everything and they are ALL experts. Fantastic .Makes you want to run out and jump onto anything that vibrates  . But unfortunately its not that simple, or I would be advising everyone to go stand on their lawn mower.

The truth is Vibra- Train was launched in New Zealand by myself, but not to make a quick buck. I am a mortician by trade and was alarmed at the increasing rate of morbid obesity and type2 diabetes. And instead of sitting around and whinging about it, decided to actually do something. And that something was Vibration Training.

Now morbid obesity is a hard one to tackle, everyone keeps telling them the same thing, go on a diet, exercise more, go on a diet, did I mention exercise more?

Well call me stupid BUT ITS NOT WORKING. We have more professional nutritionists, more diet books, more gyms and more home exercise tools than ever in the history of man. But a higher obesity rate? Now I may just be a mortician but the message is definitely being lost in translation or I wouldn’t be writing this column. What most of the “experts” were failing to do was really put themselves in an overweight persons shoes. What is it like when you feel your weight has already gone too far and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. And also failing to understand, that people only take advice and act on it when they are feeling confident about themselves.

I saw Vibration Training as a way for people to exercise in a new way that they had no preconceptions about. What I mean is this, when you mention “diet” to most people it usually means “go without”. It has a negative connotation attached to it before you even finish the advice. When you mention exercise to someone who hasn’t done it in years, automatically images of puffing and wheezing your way through a workout or even a walk come to mind. And that’s not even mentioning the embarrassment factor. And you don’t have to be obese to feel like this. As we get older everything seems more like an effort. And no one wants to look as though they are dying right? But with Vibration Training we get around all that and do something completely different, that is also more effective. .

The thing about all the above exercise formats is that they use voluntary movement to burn off energy. Is there another way? You bet there is. Its not new and when I finish explaining it to you, you will wonder why it hasn’t been done before. It goes like this, a voluntary reflex is what we use to walk, jump, run etc. During this movement you use about 40% of your muscle cells. You think about it and you move, simple right? But think about this, when someone pushes you, you automatically push back to stop yourself from falling over. How does that happen? As with most things that are normal, we seldom look at it closely. Its called an “Involuntary Stretch Reflex” and its what we use to balance. Our body has an automatic response built into it to try and equal the force being pushed against it ( an eccentric contraction ) . The important thing to note here is your body will recruit approx 100% of you muscle cells during this moment, no expense is spared to stop yourself from falling over. And your muscles are also able to move a lot quicker in this response mode than you ever though possible.

Now the good thing about involuntary responses is firstly, they are involuntary, you don’t have to try. And the second is they are always intact no matter how out of shape you are. So to recap, it happens without me having to try and I am already fit enough to do it? What’s the catch you ask, well its kind of hard in its own way..

But here’s for the good news, the more out of shape you are, the faster the results. Again its exactly the opposite than most training methods we are taught. Now you are wondering around about now, if this is so good, why have I not heard of it before. Simple, lack of education. Involuntary reflexes and Vibration Training is not part of any curriculum in any University, anywhere. So I had to spend 3yrs chasing up this knowledge myself before we opened. I also build machines for athletes and people who are in wheelchairs. So you are not just dealing with one of those people who are jumping on this bandwagon to make a quick buck, If you come into Vibra-Train you will be dealing with the people who brought it here. You will be put on a machine of the best quality . You will be doing a program I designed. And you won’t regret it. Remember I am a mortician, I deal in absolutes, you are either dead or alive. There is no “results may vary” in my vocabulary. If you come to my studios, you do as you are told, you will get results.

And I promise I wont give you any diets or life-style advice. , you already have that in droves . But you watch what happens when you start looking and feeling better. Maybe , just maybe it makes changing those things a bit easier.

Rachel,

Dhyana from GravityHQ here.  Where abouts are you based?  I would love to help you out with a demo of our machine.

It is very much a case of having the right machine of course, but even more about having the right support for your personal use once you have it.  There is a safe and correct way to be guided to using the higher speeds without discomfort, and not all sellers have the experience to know the ins and outs of this when demonstrating use.

For others out there trying out pivotal machines, remember that they are not linear, and where you place your feet on the plate makes a big difference to how deeply your muscle will react and how comfortable injured or weaker joints will be while it is moving. (Especially up in the higher speeds) and also how much your head and neck will be affected.

Anyone is welcome to ask questions about this from me at info@gravityHQ.co.nz

Hope that helps

I gave the hyper vibe a go today however I would like to check out the gravityhq and cv9 as seen these are recommended to compare. The hyper vibe seemed pretty good, I think they had it on too high for me but I could certainly feel it.  Unfortunately they didn't know much about it and the guy who is to be the expert is yet to be trained.  If there is someone who can tell me where I can check out the cv9 or gravityhq in Chch and what they retail for.  Thanks

Hi there vibration training lovers,

I am Dhyana of GravityHQ.

We make the Gravity Revolution, a premium speed pivotal vibration training machine that is suitable for both training and Rehab work.

We are based here in NZ and like Lloyd, we believe that included with any machine purchase, the correct support on how to use a true machine at home is really necessary for safe results at home.

Along with a few other legitimate manufacturers, and Lloyd, we hope to create an environment of learning for home users of WBV so that the industry as a whole becomes a real and beneficial tool for health and fitness in the home. 

If used correctly, WBV creates support for joints, balance, circulation and weight control through muscle activation (like any correct exercise but with speedier results).

I stress the “if used correctly” comment. For example if you do a squat on a machine, correct form of the exercise not only adds value to the outcome, it ensures the safety of the joints throughout the movement.

To this end, when you purchase our high level Gravity Revolution, you will also receive (along with a safe exercise chart) elite access to a physio designed site that includes videos, articles and specific workout designs that will help ensure you get real and safe results for whatever condition you are getting the machine for.

We are displaying our machine at the Mystery Creek Field Days for the next two days.  I encourage anyone who is looking for a serious machine and has tried other brands to come along and compare the machine, the advice and the type of support you can expect when you purchase.  Or you can email us on info@gravityHQ.co.nz

I also encourage questions in this forum and I look forward to sharing my experience with health and training along with the other professionals who share their valuable knowledge of this exciting training and wonderful opportunity to take home health to the next level.

Have a great day everyone

Rachel, I have a CV9 in the studio where I work. Because I work mostly with lineal VibraTrain machines I only let people use the CV9 for therapy eg people who have had a stroke or have major balance problems.

BUT I use the CV9 myself sometimes  using the workout program and I find it really challenging. If I couldn't use a VibraTrain it's the machine I would use. I've trialled Hypervibe once or twice a few years ago and it's okay too but there's no doubt in my mind which one I'd buy. Think about backup and after sales support. We can help you with questions but for any machine support you have to go to the supplier. Cardio tech for the CV9, a well established exercise equipment provider. I'd personally chase up the managing director I'd you had an problems they didn't fix fast and Id get them fixed. Hypervibe is also Australia based and you can expect support also.

There's another option well worth looking into, a new machine called GravityHQ  it's a NZ company and from what I know the machine would be equal to either of the two above with NZ support.

like Lloyd says, get your head around a program first. The machine . Platform size, force, quality etc had to work with the program you plan to use.

Thank you Lloyd. I guess like everything you want everything.  I have seen what the health station has done for my friend and I've read about the hyper vibe,  I guess I don't want to just keep reading and do nothing.  I see elite fitness sell hyper vibe which I could try in store however do you know who the supplier , retailer, for cv9. I want to feel good on the inside and out and do something with stress and have good sleeps.  Get rid of stress weight and feel toned and healthy.  Would I be wasting my time with the vm2