These findings are in line with two other studies. DiLoreto et al (“Effects of Whole Body Vibration Exercise on the Endocrine System of Healthy Men,” 2004) saw no increase in testosterone or HGH levels in 10 men who stood on a WBV platform for 25 minutes and Bosco (“Hormonal Responses to Whole Body Vibration in Men,” 2000) observed an increased in HGH and smaller increase in testosterone for subjects who squatted on a vibrating platform.
The findings of these researchers in this review of current and reliable studies stand in stark contrast to the claims made by companies marketing WBV platforms.
With regard to improving an athlete’s strength the authors of this review analyzed five studies; three studies observed strength benefits and two studies found no benefits. The authors of this review found a variety of study design inconsistencies that call into question the positive results.
The first study looked at sprinters; one group engaged in their regular training and performed dynamic exercises on a WBV platform while the control group just performed regular sprint training. The authors of this review wrote, “It could be expected that the WBV group would have a small strength gain compared with the control group purely because of the extra 27-53 minutes of training that this group performed each week.” Since the control group did not perform any strength training exercises the design of the study virtually guaranteed the WBV group would show an improvement in strength.
The authors also point out the obvious problem with the method of strength measurement used in this study. “Transferability of WBV training to the testing protocol in this study is questionable because they comprised different movements.” The sprinters performed squat exercises and were tested with leg-extension exercises.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Phillip Winn
Somehow I don't think this is going to slow down the claims. :-(
2 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Great Article...
Yea, and I don't think it's going to pacify the proponents that comment here either.
3 - Anomo
Phillip the answer is No!
With uneducated and inexperienced people writing this stuff, including the researchers who conducted the tests it will not stop those who can tell a good machine apart from a useless one from moving forward. Just like any piece of machinery they are all different.
Look at this. Lets guess which machines were gifted to be studied ?
You will find that the above failures have been predicted and concerns already voiced by industry leaders. SAL was contacted by one personally years ago but he hides this from the reader, why is that?
Your opinion piece only proves to back up there are people out there YEARS ahead of you in your concerns, that they did NOT want it kept a secret from the consumer and you can already go online and read plenty about it. You seem to be just following behind them trying to prove then right, hence looking relevant.
EPIC FAIL
4 - Anomo
Brian.
When Sal starts to tell the whole story and inform us of everything he knows it may pacify us and prove he has an honest agenda.
But while he continues to keep things from people and refuses to answer question, he remains a problem for people seeking the truth. Open and honest is the only way.
Allot of the people who comment on here you give a hard time have attacked WBV companies for false advertising.
How do you reconcile that?
5 - mike hair
Hi Sal,
Can you please answer for me this question...
if you bought a pair of expensive running shoes that were fitted to you for the purpose of running and then you bought a cheap pair from an importer to compare, as an athelete would you expect the same or different results? my asumption would be the results would differ. All machinery is not equal and people who have tried a descent vibration training unit have seen the results.
It is no different whether it be a car or gym equipment.
Although we do not condone people pushing them as a one stop shop for everything, dodgy marketers continue to do so.
My objective is not to prove that vibration training works, i already know it does, (providing you have the right equipment), it is to ask you why you have not printed the whole story.....
It seems the stuff you write about was already pointed out to you a few years ago by Lloyd Shaw who is also against dodgy marketers and researchers who use cheap imitation machines that rip off the public and are not true training devices.
Sal, you asked for evidence and Lloyd Shaw sent you an entire envelope of everything he had at the time , including failed engineering tests from Power Plate and court documents to back up his concerns.
[Personal contact info deleted]
6 - Di Heap
Sal,
Wow, another nice try but you must have run out of negative things to say as this article says nothing that those in the industry didn't already know - the New Zealand studies failed - they were doomed to failure because the machines used were low energy therapy devices NOT Training machines.
BUT Sal, you already knew this. You knew of these studies and others 2 1/2 years ago. I remember Lloyd Shaw showing me emails you sent thanking him for sending you emailed documents and I know he also posted you an envelope with copies of court documents about PowerPlate and more.
If you really believe that ALL Vibration Training, Therapy, and Vibration Machines "cannot possibly work" as you've said before, then why wait till now to write up this article? You were sent so much proof of failed studies that you could have presented much earlier. Why keep it from the public?
Sal, you know that all Vibration Machines are NOT the same!
Those of us who work in this Industry have been called dishonest. Lloyd Shaw, as the major spokesperson for the Industry, has been called a snake-oil salesman and worse. Yet Sal, you still refuse to trial a High Energy Lineal Platform, to experience first hand, IF quality vibration machines could, maybe, produce a training effect. You're still hiding behind your trial of a "$20 little vibrating motor stuck to the underside of a stepper". That's not a real machine!
Surely that's dishonesty.
7 - Anomo
[Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor. Any more along these lines and you will leave me no alternative but to get out the mighty Banning Hammer, which I hate doing. Comments Editor]
8 - Anomo
[Personal attack deleted]
9 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
I always find it interesting when people don't have any facts to prove their stance that they then resort to personal attacks & insults. Really, it just shows their ignorance.
Sal presented an article with scientific findings about the ineffectiveness of WBV training and I found it to be very informative. I realize now why people in the BC community like Di Heap haven't done as much because they have no scientific findings to back up their claims.
10 - Di Heap
Brian, you’re right. Scientific Studies have in the most part failed to produce positive results. Because:
1.Their approach - without talking to those who design the machines and instruct people daily in their use the researchers make up their own positions and times then say, Well that didn't work as expected. They even print up minor results, as noted in the article, as success when it's just a taste of the possibilities. Researchers have often never seen a machine before and don't know what to do with it. These are powerful machines with very definite specs and exacting program positions " at least the High Energy ones are.
2.Researchers are often students working under a supervisor. They have little funds to use for their project so they gratefully accept anything given. They've tended to be given lower quality machines so results are poor. You already know that in any fitness program that using the correct equipment and correct technique is essential to give good results.
3. Program/positions MUST be matched to the type of machine being used.
A quick lesson in machine types. For simplicity I’ll say there's two major ways machines work - one type produces Lineal (upright) vibration, the other is pivotal (see-saw). Different frequencies, different amplitudes MUST be used for each type. Add in variances such as the purpose of the brand or machine and you have - High Energy machines for Training purposes through to Low Energy machines, some of which are great for Rehab/Therapy as they gently provide the need to rebalance while doing other exercise (like the soloflex machine Sal used). There’s also the gentle controlled see-saw effect that helps with walking ability and relieves lower back pain (rehab for elderly and others). Then there's "as seen on TV" machines. Most are cheaply made plastic copies where the vibration is so uncontrolled it goes up/down/left/right = waste of money etc. Some Researchers have even used these machines - which is incredulous and, as you have already been told, those who care about the public have done all they can to expose this and stop it recurring.
How much proof do you want? Did you read my article on Teneka Hyndman, a highly qualified personal trainer, who added Vibration Training to her regime and won major Body Building comps. Do you want to know about the middle-aged, strong but flabby lady who came into the studio here 4 weeks ago and has really pushed herself hard, coming in three times a week. She's looking great, alreadyvlosing the flab, toning up, losing weight. No Scientific proof is needed - she can see the results!
The academic community will provide the proofs you need - eventually - until then we'll keep on helping people improve their fitness with results they can see.
11 - Wayne Campbell
We run a studio with top of the range workout machines. Not the cheap "therapy" units that were used in the study referred to by Sal above.
Our studio has been going for 4 years.
We have many clients that have been training with us since we first opened. Of course we have many more that come and go, such is the nature of the health and fitness industry. Many that do go eventually come back.
We have some elite athletes such as cage fighters, rugby players, Olympic athletes training with us, however the vast majority are people who for whatever reason be it physical or whatever cant or wont train at gyms or do other forms of exercise.
These people are looking for ways to improve their health and or feel better about themselves.
We see people lose weight, tone and strengthen, we get feedback from people who have had increases in bone density, pain relief from arthritis and more. These people attribute these outcomes to vibration training. They CHOSE to come back and train. At the end of the day - their outcomes are the most important thing to them - regardless of science.
As they say - "the proof is in the pudding"
12 - Di Heap
Sal, It's been almost 3 years since your first article against Vibration Training and Machines. How can the public continue to trust your opinion when you blatently refuse to trial a High Energy Training Machine, one suited to your strength and abilities.
What have you got to lose? Unless, maybe you are scared that it might be real exercise, that it might actually feel like hard-out training!
13 - Di Heap
Also Sal, will you please be polite enough to reply (just as we have replied when you have asked questions)
Have you had information for three years, sent by Lloyd Shaw, evidence of failed studies, failed PowerPlate machine test results and more.
14 - Anomo
[Entire comment deleted. I am not willing to see any more challenging or questioning of people's motivation or thinking. You can make your points about your own opinions and rebut those of others. Comments Editor]
15 - Di Heap
[Entire comment deleted]
16 - Anomo
Brian.
The kind of machines Di Heap uses have only been around for a short time. The older less useful units have been around since the 90s.
I have tried both and they are NOT comparable. It is like comparing picking up a 5kg weight to a 50kg weight.
So it would be obvious to anyone who understands the way academic tests are done there is going to be a lag in proven tests.
I would say it will be about 15 years before any scientific consensus is settled upon.
That does not make her wrong.
17 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
I would say it will be about 15 years before any scientific consensus is settled upon.
That does not make her wrong.
No, that makes it a theory,but, you guys constantly make claims that WBV is fact & the only way you can achieve proper results is by using an expensive "pro" model. I just don't buy your argument & I won't till I read some positive scientific evidence. Nor, am I going to waste my valuable time doing something that has no proven results!
18 - Di Heap
Nor, am I going to waste my valuable time doing something that has no proven results!
This epitomises the attitude I see in some who comment here. Not only will you not use something unless it has scientifically proven results, you wont even try it once!
If you apply the same principle to the rest of your life you will be missing many exciting times.
19 - Anomo
And who is going to prove those results over a period of time Brian so you feel satisfied it is not a waste of your time?
The same type of people responsible for moving any technology forward, that's who, not you. They say only about 1% of the population are industrious enough think for themselves and willing to fight the other 99% to drag them forward. It has always been like this and it always will be.
This is no different, people dedicated to finding new ways to improve health will fix any issues that are stopping vibration training reaching its potential, and prove their theories over time to the masses. Just like ALL science. And you get to sit back and say "hey I tried to stop then from doing that" I think that puts you smack dab in the 99%. But it is Ok because you can't stop progress. But good luck to your little group trying.
20 - Anomo
This reminds me of the flat earth agrument.
The Vibe Tribe.
Our calculations, our eyesight, due to seeing the curve in the earth, and our logic say the Earth is round.
The Sceptic Sals.
I will believe the earth is round if you sail all the way around it and live, while I sit on my behind and watch. If you are right I will not burn you at the stake.
21 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
You guys crack me up! I'm starting to see a trend with your responses. If at first the confusing jargon doesn't work then go for the guilt trip...HA!
You make it sound like these companies are pioneering something but they've had 15-20 years to prove the benefits. It didn't take the Wright Brothers that long to prove that flying was possible.
Unfortunately, for you folks, Seeing is Believing.
So, give me a break with this anti-technology/humanitarian propaganda -Fucking Bullshit! I'm not against advancements in technology but they have to work and, so far, your WBV training sounds no more than an over exaggerated supplement! With your whacked-out mentality, maybe, I should try all those diet pills too..Right?! I could be missing out on the Good Life. ROTFLMAO!
22 - Wayne Campbell
Brian, your comments have no credibility or substance. You only believe Sals flawed and misleading opinion pieces and this is what you base you comments on.
23 - Anomo
Brian.
Good machines have only been around a few short years, engineering issues stopped then from being built till then. And what don't you understand about how long it takes to satisfy academia. 50 positive reports done to a high standard, not some of the crap we have seen to date, over the wide ranging things vibration effect would not be enough. It will take time and hundreds of reports done by real academics on real machines.
But that does not discount peoples experiences now. If you and Sal lack experience, go look in the mirror for someone to blame. And sorry I do not believe you are so important or busy to not have 10 mins to try this out. Because once would be enough.
Remember I had to explain to you earlier in another argument about basic exercise and having to FEEL fatigue to comprehend it, no matter how many reports you read.
I had to point that most logical conclusions out to you. LOL
So I think you are in no position to judge anyone's IQ or work ethic.
24 - Anomo
Your Wright Brothers comment is the crack up. The Wright Brothers were the ones that finally got it right. Man had been trying forever to do it.
[Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor]
25 - Anomo
“It could be expected that the WBV group would have a small strength gain compared with the control group purely because of the extra 27-53 minutes of training that this group performed each week.” Since the control group did not perform any strength training exercises the design of the study virtually guaranteed the WBV group would show an improvement in strength."
That makes no sense, as Sal has stated un-categorically in the past that this type of training is completely USELESS. So if that was true wouldn't they have seen ZERO effects no matter how much it was being used. Especially the 3-7 minute sessions a day they were doing.
Even if you discount the control group the vibration training group still got an increase just by adding this to their regular training.
But the author is right about the illogical testing parameters. Why give leg extensions to a group doing squats all week ? No wonder these academic pen pushers waste everyone's time by testing crappy machines.
But here is a good point, why does SAL continue to say this science has no future because of the mixed tests results, rather than say the mixed tests results are a results of random machines, being used in random studies by random minded individuals who are clueless to what they are doing and hence giving the science no base to have a future.
When I see a study where the research team has gone out of their way to get the BEST units for whatever effect they are looking for, instead of just something that vibrates. Then follow some methods and comparisons we can clearly understand, I too will stop being frustrated.
I wont even mind saying I am wrong if that happens and it comes up negative.