Hi Lloyd, I see: If it comes to Power Plate you act like an ex-husband; washing of dirty clothes and warning all the others against this evil dangerous ex. This shouldn’t be your mission Lloyd! You claim yourself as the leader in vibration training technology and that you are passionate and relentless in your ambition to be the best. So, please let me know why you are not visible in New Zealand? Why only very few people know the benefits of vibration training? Vibration Training is not a subject in Health & Fitness Magazines, TV or any other Media then may be this forum or your YouTube channel. I visited 3 Expos this year in Auckland: Back Pain Expo, Fitness Expo and Health & Living and I have seen 3 other competitors but not Vibra-Train. You missed all the opportunities to explain the benefits of vibration training to the people. If you are the leader in that industry, then you have a responsibility too!

Di is taking a lot about prices. $9 for a 15 minute session, sounds great for your customers, but is it profitable for the business owner? I have a background as a start-up consultant, so let’s do a calculation: You sell a studio for $150,000 + GST = $172,500. As a good investment should be written off after 3 years, this makes $1,105 per week (without any loan interest or fees). Before you can open a studio the owner has to invest money for renovation, furnishing, signs, license, start-up marketing and a few more other things. So there is a minimum of $5,000 (= $96 per week). And the owner has to pay rent, insurances, telephone, broadband, electricity, security, …another $1,100 per week (as a minimum, no money for marketing, advertisement, repairs, cleaning included). And you have to pay your staff or yourself as the owner. Vibra-Train studios are open for around 60h a week. So your wages bill will be $750 per week (as a minimum). That makes outgoings of $3,051 a week (as a minimum).
Vibra-Train has sold often deals like 10 sessions for $35, 20 for $59 and 30 for $79. And with a 50% commission you get only $17.50, $29.50 and $39.50. $39.50 means an hourly wage of $5.27 only. Ok, let’s forget the commission and see it as a marketing investment. With a mix of (hopefully) 50% paying customers and 50% voucher customers you can earn $5.94 per 15 minute session. So you need 514 customers per week, 74 per day or 9 customers per opening hour before the studio makes any profit. From my experience most of the studios have less than 40 customers per day, so you can just pay off your monthly fixed costs.

From my point of view as the leader in that industry and licensor you have the responsibility to make a successful business possible. And cheap session prices are not the key to success!

Afraid of PowerPlate or of losing a few customers?  Not a chance. We used to tell our customers to go down the road and trial PowerPlate if they seriously questioned the difference in the machines or the programs. Apart from that, I couldn’t support PowerPlate due to dishonest marketing.

I’ve never lost a customer because they “can’t” do the program; some find it too challenging for their liking, not their ability.  

Just so you know, there are Assisted/Therapy poses for people who truely can’t do the standard poses due to disability, injury, or health. There’s an advanced program for people who want and are capable of that extra challenge.  Vibra-Train do not write totally individual programs for clients; in my opinion that’s simply a marketing tool that allows extra money to be charged and extra time to be spent with the client. It’s suggestive of interest in the client but tell me, really, how individual is the program?

Have I tried PowerPlate?  Yes, a number of times.  A senior trainer gave me an “individual” program after being told I’d done Vibra-Train for two years.  It consisted of simple 30-second poses, not based on my ability but he said people had to start off small and have the program changed as they progressed.  Even though I proved I had no trouble holding the poses and I asked for more, he told me it would take a year to reach the level of the standard program I was using at Vibra-Train.  I went back once, got nothing out of it and followed up with the full program at Vibra-Train on my way home (Note: I was not a Vibra-Train employee at that time).  I’ve proven myself at Trade Shows being able to hold a squat on whatever PowerPlate was being shown.  

Like Lloyd said, If you are benefiting from your sessions at Power Studio, and are happy (and able) to pay the $ price, keep on with it.

The daily fitness deal I first wrote about – has still not sold even ONE 5 session voucher.

Jackie

My mistake actually labelling the PowerStudio a training academy. I knew it was privately owned just wrote up wrong.  I’ll correct that to say they have run the academy training (led by Erica and Paul) which, fair enough, is the PP training.  And, It’s a PowerPlate authorised centre (not sure what that means now PowerPlate International under administration and a sale in process).  I’m surprised to see any new-ish  PowerPlate machine locations given the history in New Zealand and worldwide and, in my opinion, the disrepute PowerPlate has brought upon the Vibration Training industry.  We’ll play “wait and see”.

Updates for Power Plate North America.  A former Power Plate CEO bought them for 3 Million USD.  The current CEO resigned to join the bidding war to buy it too.  This seems very strange and fishy to me.  I guess thier hoding company JHWhitney was at the end of keeping it in thier investment portfolio. Maybe something to do with the fact that they had 50 percent of revenue in debts outstanding.  Is it me or does it seem really messed up that a company can wipe the slate clean in bankruptcy, get purchased by a former CEO and start up where they left off before.  The way I see it American tax payers end up bailing out the bad debt over time as the bankruptcy courts allow this to happen.  Then those same tax payers get screwed again when they buy one of thier over priced machines. 

you can read more about it here.   http://clubindustry.com/inside_manufacturers/power-plate-international-enters-into-agreement-with-ppi-acquisitions-20121102/index.html

Di, why are you so focused on Power Plate? Why are you investing so much time and energy to follow up the activities from others? Are you afraid to loss a few of your customers? Have you ever thought about the possibility that people could be happy to pay more for their training? May be they are willing to invest a little bit more to get a personal and individual and not a supervised standard program. We have to make so many choices every day; it’s like going to lunch: You can go to the Chinese takeaway and you will get a standard meal for $12.25 only or  you can go to a restaurant with a welcome atmosphere  and friendly well educated staff and eat  a la carte for $60. You will get a lunch at the end – but it is your choice what you get.

Di, I was a Vibra-Train customer at Paul Matthews Road with a 10 session card. I left after 4 sessions, because the frequency of the vibration was too high and program hasn’t allowed any alternations. For me as a beginner, the training was too intensive. Every time I asked to shorten the time for a single position I get the answer: NO, we are not allowed to change time or program. Ok, so I changed - the studio. After my experience with Vibra-Train I was very sceptical regarding vibration training. But Power Studio in Albany (by the way that is not a Power Plate Studio as you claim; they are independent and only work with this equipment) offered a free trial session to me and I’m so happy that I gave vibration training a second chance. The whole experience was so different: The questionnaire at the beginning, the individual program I got, the atmosphere and: the vibration machine. I got a full session and I felt great after I left the studio. I started 5 months ago and I’m still trying 3 sessions per week. My whole body has changed: I lost 19 kg and a lot of cm, I have more energy and have invited a lot of my friends to join the training.

Di, may be you (and Lloyd) are not really good informed about Power Plate: They have not opened a new studio nor have plans for this. So don’t be afraid. And only the studio is new in Albany, the trainers have worked in a similar studio for many years. So maybe you should be a little bit more careful with your assumptions?
And the article in the last post from Lloyd about the Power Plate machines is 5 years old. I’m sure even Power Plate has learned and the machines are better no then in 2008. I never heard about Power Plate before I started my training at Vibra-Train, but I found them through your forum, many thanks for that!

Compare this

A local daily deal company is offering a 50% off PowerPlate deal

5x   personal training vibration sessions - $150       (that means the regular price is $300 or NZ$60 a session). The sessions are advertised as 25 minutes.

The Vibra-Train studio where I work has a regular price of

11x   supervised vibration training sessions - $100     (that’s just a little over $9 a session). Sessions take around 15 minutes.

I’m going to be fair now and tell you my studio has permanently reduced prices so let’s compare prices with the Vibra-Train studio located closest to where the PowerPlate sessions are held.

That Vibra-Train studio has a regular price of 11 sessions for $135 – so that’s $12.25 a session and includes the full training program and anti-cellulite massage. Compare that with the $60 price just up the road!

The only other “difference” advertised is that PowerPlate sessions are said to be Personal Training. I take this to mean an Instructor is with you.  Vibra-Train provides Fully Supervised Training.  This ranges from one-on-one personal training through to one instructor supervising a room of, maybe, 5 people.  Note:  using the whole body work-out Standard Safety Program Vibra-Train customers soon learn the positions and most don’t require an instructor standing beside them every second.  Those that do, get that at no extra cost.  Those who are capable and ready are given advanced poses again at no extra cost.   And I haven’t said anything about the difference in quality of the machine brands!

I’m not surprised at what PowerPlate is charging though – that’s normal marketing for them.

I’m also not surprised that they haven’t sold even ONE voucher in the 24 hours the deal has been available.

(The PowerPlate Studio offering this deal is a fairly new, relaunch of their training academy. An attempt maybe to get the brand going again in NZ  - Not like that’s going to happen with PowerPlate International and others worldwide now under administration.  Add in the breakdown and fast wear and tear of their machines – see the previous two posts in this forum. What is this PP studio going to do  when their machines need parts or repair?)

Lloyd is absolutely correct.  Many articles Lloyd wrote on the site he mentions below were plagiarized by Ted.  Ted took credit for the work Lloyd did by putting his name on the articles as the author.  And many comments were just completely wiped out.

John T. Weatherly

Just looked at the Vibrogym site and under research with the heading "strength" they have the word strength spelled wrong.  Really makes you wonder about quality when people are so lazy they cannot proofread and correct spelling mistakes on their own website.  And the word is spelled wrong under the "research" section.

John T. Weatherly

My Challenge to Monty Betham

You put down Vibra-Train – Now come in for a session and see what it’s really like.

I’m totally sick of hearing about other trainers who put down Vibra-Train and vibration training in general.  Almost none have ever fronted up and come into the studio. The occasional one that does come in gets their ‘arse’ kicked so hard by the machines that they shut their mouths up very fast.

Last week in New Zealand we saw the final in a Kardashian styleTV series called “The Ridges”. This last episode showed the KFC Grandfather of All Fight Nights fight between Jaime Ridge and Rosanna Arkle.  Earlier, back in episode 2, we watched a discussion between Jaime and her trainer/coach Monty Betham.  Monty tells us, ““when she said her fitness regime consisted of yoga and vibra-train I was very worried”.

That and other comments I’ve been hearing have seriously annoyed me. 

http://www.vibeplus.com/2012/10/24/the-ridges-tv-series-heres-a-challenge-to-trainer-monty-betham/

So there’s my reply and my challenge to Monty Betham to Man Up and Front Up – I’m really looking forward to having him visit the studio to do a full, regular, Vibra-Train session.

Here’s a reminder of what a REAL Vibration Training Machine is capable of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi_Dxunqpro

Check it out

After Mark Verstegen and his cohorts at Athletes Performance kicked me off their website several years ago for just asking questions about Power Plate on their website, none of them would answer or return calls.  This includes Mark, Craig Friedman, and a man they called "Ace" who was helping run their website at the time.  They are "partners" with Power Plate.  Before the Power Plate incident, I used to correspond with Mark and thought he was ok.  It seems everybody associated with Power Plate is as "dodgy" as can be.

John T. Weatherly

Reply to Jon regarding PP bankruptcy, indeed very likely, PP is going bankrupt in Europe at the speed of light, France is gone, just discovered Belgium is bankrupt as wel since a couple of weeksl, hit Power Plate bankruptcy in Google and you'll get loads of hits

Hi, does anyone know how would the vibration training be best aplied for injured and spastic muscles. What would be the best direction of vibration, frequency and machine...

Wow, Can’t believe what I have heard and read about Monty Betham making judgment on something that he has not tried, what’s up with that? I was always taught that a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an opinion….

After running my own vibration training studio for the past 6 years, 3 of them as Vibra-Train, I find it amusing and offensive that people are too lazy to check out a true result based workout.

Hell some of my best advocates are qualified personal trainers that are in business for them self.

Come on Monty be a man and go meet Lloyd and give it a go, I promise you would be welcomed and surprised.