A newer concept that was actually pioneered at NASA as a way for their astronauts to stay in better physical condition while up in space, and to prevent the muscle atrophy that often goes along with being in zero gravity for prolonged periods of time is causing quite a stir in the fitness and exercise world, along with a hefty dose of criticism and doubt, as any new exercise fad does.

The “Power Plate” is a vibrating machine, and is one of the higher end options in the vibrating exercise fad, that one stands on when working out. The vibrations supposedly can decrease the amount of time your work out by up to two thirds, without dminishing results, and arguably even speeding your results up in less time. Ideal for the wroking parent of professionals who have a lot of time, right?

Well, some are claiming that one should use caution, since the technology is a fairly new one still, and long term side effects of using vibrations to tone muscle can possibly have a negative effect on the back muscles, causing cartilage damage, and also may have negative effects on the brain, as yet undiscovered of course, but hypothetically possible, nevertheless.

People who use it are fans though. They love the fact that they can still get a good, muscle sculpting, fat shaving workout in their day in only two thirds of the time, and they’re also grateful for the fast results, and some say better results that working out with vibration technology can bring.

Celebs are of course in on the trend too, because it is causing quite the stir in Hollywood. I’d say try it if you’re curious, but the thing that does bother me about this is that it uses shaking, and shaking is bad for the brain. Think of a boxer. A boxer’s head takes many traumas.

Granted, this is a swift blow to the head several times in contrast to gentler vibrations, but nonetheless, almost a similar concept, and boxers notoriously suffer from neurological disorders because of the multitude of times their brain has been “shaken”. Like I said, it’s a far fetched analogy, but it really makes you wonder if long term this might cause some sort of brain issues.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 at 12:34 pm and is filed under Fitness Equipment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.