Acceleration Training and Power Plate
Power Plate are now selling their machines all across the USA - thanks to a deal with Brookstone. Brookstone have over 300 outlets selling everything from furniture to kitchen appliances.
Specifically, the Powerplate my5 will be sold - retailing at US$4,500.
Acceleration Training?
Power Plate are calling the machine an “Acceleration Training Machine”. The phrase acceleration training has a small “TM” appearing next to it indicating a trademark. A search of the US Trademark database reveals nothing.
The term “acceleration training” is confusing - and implies explosive performance or even plyometric exercises.
Only time will tell whether the phrase will catch on.
52 Comments
TC…..
You must be aware that some people are not on the level when asking questions on this forum, they in the past have been personal trainers etc… that want to test our willingness to oversell the product .
All we need to do is continue to tell the truth and answer all questions.
Had a look at Power Plate’s technical data today. It looks like they have responded to almost every argument against them.
1) Machine Weight - pro5 has become 150 kg. (I think it was 1ighter before).
2) Loading Capacity - pro5 has become capable to bear up to 182 kg. (It was 150 kg. before, I remember).
3) Tri-planar Vibration - Whole industry knows this is a cosmetical term to cover their incapability in controlling vibration in vertical displacement. Now they state clearly how much percentage of vibration are in X, Y, Z directions. Sounds quite scientific now.
4) Frequency Increment - Its scale has become 1 Hz per step. (It was 5 Hz each step before).
5) Safety - Power Plate claims their machines are now MDD Approved (European Medical Device Directive) Class 1 device. Although it is easy to meet the requirement for MDD Class 1. Laymen do not know that and a MDD approval sounds a label of sure quality.
So, has Power Plate really improved their machines for better quality or they just simply adjusted the numbers on their technical specification sheet?
TC
- John Weatherly
July 31st, 2008Thanks for the info TC. That’s really interesting. Maybe they have improved quality? If so, this is a positive step for the entire industry in my view. And it could be, at least in part, related to pressure (i.e., like this site which is why I feel it is so valuable)from the outside to remedy the situation.
Old news to me….
(1) Power Plate put heavier steel base to make the machine heavier, it does not increase performance. Cheap way to make the specs look better.
(2) Load capacity ? For them that means when the isolators hit the ground or the machine blows up. They will still not let the machine be independently tested to see at which weight does it lose its basic function and become useless.
(3) They released these fugures in 2006 , by simply getting the sideways movement measured then saying…
” thats what its meant to do ” .
(4) About time , you should always have full range of Fq. A no brainer and the fact it took them 4 years to catch up to others puts them at the back of the class.
(5) MDD Class 1. So they have the same class rating as a band-aid. Im impressed. My underpants are tight , synthetic and germ proof , maybe I should go for one as well.
So to recap….
To be fair they have done 1 solid thing to help our industry , take away the silly massive 5-10hz jumps in the controls.
Does this make up for the multiple unethical things they have done this year . Im my opinion NO.
Hi Lloyd,
Can you explain further regarding point #2 - Loading Capacity? I do not fully catch your meaning and I think so do some other readers.
TC
Ok some manufacturers use 2 misleading specs to sell machines.
(1) At what weight do the isolators collapse and hit the ground. ( The things that hold the machine up and let it move independent of the base )
(2) At what weight does the electrical feedback on the motors get so bad they overheat and cut the machine off , until it cools down again.
But long before those thing happen a cheaply constructed unit will have lost all its amplitude and pressure in each vibration leaving you with a therapy session instead of a workout.
Eg.. The motors are spinning fast but its not going up and down anymore.
On the Power Plate it was found to be just 80Kg and that was on an $18,000 unit , not the cheaper home machine.
Thanks, Lloyd.
What is your experience with Airdaptive? In common physic sense, if we dampen the force down, it also reduce the energy going up. However, someone who tried Airdaptive still report it produced strong vibration. Would it be the randomized vibration misleading exerciser’s judgement?
TC
The air adaptive system only really takes away the “resistance” from the standard isolators used , hence it will stop the reduction in power, but the actual amplitude may drop.
The isolators from their other units also get hard after a while and even more power is lost, you will find in the small print that they recommend them to be replaced every 6 months to fix that problem, but no-one ever does.
Note: Wavexercise actually developed the air adapive system .
- Steve Bug
September 4th, 2008You just keep on coming up everywhere and i really enjoyed the sentence praise the Lloyd. Shows really again how great you are ?
Where would we be these days in WBV if Power Plate hasnt started the whole legacy ?
Every company who sells WBV platforms can be happy that Power Plate has started; otherwise there would be no business for you guys
Galileo ( Pivotal ) and Nemes ( Lineal ) were up and running long before Power Plate was even a dream.
Maybe you should read a bit more than Power Plates own marketing material. The fact is PP have set us back years in being taken seriously by being dishonest on so many levels . The list is very, very long.
You cant really think that is good for any industry , let alone a new one ?
February 24th, 2008
Hello Hira,
How can you start using something you have no idea what it is??
Power Plate is a brand name and it is a machine for Vibration Training. For those and you who are not yet familiar with this training technique, you may find it hard to understand how can vibration help in physcial training. It is due to our preconception of vibration and association with vibrating massagers.
I would prefer to refer this training technique as Hyper-Gravity Stimulation Training (HGST) or Muscular-skeletal Mechanical Stimulation. Then we can refer the machines used for this training as gravity accelerator. The vibration of these gravity accelerator is the mechanism to generate hyper-gravity load. We apply the hyper-gravity load to induce rapid muscular activities under involuntary reflex mechanism. The fundamental is to over-load our body during the training. It is therefore same principle as conventional way of physcial exercises. This particular training is just another type of exercises which can help to achieve your goal faster and easier, perhaps safer as well.
If you exercise with HGST 15~20 minutes each session and 3 sessions per week. You shall subjectively feel the change of your body in the 2nd week. In about a month time, you should be able to quantify the effect with a measurement tape or a weight scale.
Are you using a home unit or are you doing it in a commercial centre under instructor’s supervision?
TC