I have never tried a Power Plate, but something about it just reminds me of those vibrating belt machines from the 1950s. You know, where you put the vibrating belt around your bum and it was supposed to jiggle all the fat off.

Basically, there are two major players in vibrational exercise these days, one being the Power Plate, which is a small standing platform that vibrates really fast with a handle (it kind of looks like a floor polisher or a vacuum cleaner on steroids). The other Whole Body Vibration, made by Soloflex, is an over sized vibrating skateboard with no handles. You can pretty much do any move on these machines, from squats to yoga poses, from push-ups to standing hammer curls. The workout is closer to weightlifting than aerobics, like strength, core and balance training all rolled into one.

The list of claimed benefits from this type of workout is rather long: improves flexibility and strength, reduces pain and stress, builds muscle and reverses osteoporosis, but the most praised benefit by far is the decrease in workout time. Getting all shook up while doing alternating lunges really taxes your muscles. NASA is even investigating vibrational strength training as a means of reducing muscle atrophy and bone loss that accompany long trips in space.

Interested in the downside of this kind of workout? Then read more

However, some researchers are not completely sold on these vibration workouts. The major concern being that high-amplitude vibration can be dangerous over time since it sends jarring waves throughout the body. This jarring motion could create low back pain, cartilage damage, blurred vision from retinal tears, hearing loss and even brain damage (gray matter being shaken too hard in the skull). Soloflex even recommends using the device only 30 minutes a day. More than that and you exceed industry standards for safe vibrations in the workplace. I never thought I would hear OSHA rules applied to fitness machines.

Keeping all this in mind, I still want to try a vibrational work out, do you? Let me know in the comments below.