Why is the Vibration Training market so Hard to Understand?
This is a question I am being asked constantly now with most people getting very confused as to what to buy, why and from whom. I will quickly explain below the concerns I have and how the confusion surrounding this industry is deliberate and why I am so hard on those selling dodgy machines.
- If a machine is not built to a good standard not only will it not work for long (reports of broken units coming in hard and fast lately), but it may not work at all. Combine that with the injury risks from uncontrolled 3D units or machines running at incorrect Fq. It’s just not worth it.
- Simply creating a “Vibration” is not Vibration Training. If it was that simple then we would have had this science up and running 100 years ago - correct? The only people you will hear say otherwise are the same marketers or manufacturers that would sell you fake Aids drugs.
- If a machine is built to the level of a proper Vibration Training device - then the correct postures needed when in contact with the unit become so important that unsupervised use actually becomes irresponsible (education of the buyer is very important here).
- If the program does not match the unit even the best machine can become an injury trap.
Why is this not told to you….
To some involved in this industry, taking your money is just a game, with the fact they are selling you a health product to be used on your body not even considered. They risk some capital - you risk your spine - and the expanding obesity crisis comes second to their expanding bank accounts.
This is the game they are playing with you and why it looks so confusing from the outside.
In chess you have 3 stages to a game.
(1) Opening
(2) Middle game
(3) End game
Opening…
In the opening players set up their defenses and potential attacks. If a photo of the game around move 10 was shown to most other players they could basically work out whats going on even if they had not witnessed the game up until that point.
Our opening was the “real” industry building good quality units, testing units, doing R&D or opening places to access them safely.
Middle Game…
This is where you will see pieces scattered all around the board in what appears to be a random order. A photo of a middle game would tell an outside player little as to other’s strategies and past movements.
This is YOU the consumer at the moment , looking at a middle game and wondering why it looks so disorganized.
This is where the marketers like to step into the game - making off the confusion and doing their utmost to make out they are a part of the “real” industry, relying on the presumption you will just get tired of hearing conflicting information and flow like water to the nearest/cheapest dealer.
Their mantra of “but at least at this price you aren’t risking much” sounds logical, except for the risk to your future health that is not being discussed.
The dishonest marketers/manufacturers (about 160 out of 180 at last count) have relied on this confusion period to be of 5yrs minimum from the introduction of Vibration Training to your country, so they can make back their investments. They fully understand the risks to you.
My aim is this - to shorten the “Middle Game” buy releasing so much marketing free information to the consumer as to collapse their plan and give them a very expensive lesson at the same time. And yes I am aware how aggressive and condescending this sounds.
The end game is yet to come…
A group of us have made it our relentless endeavor to have a clean industry where the end game has no losers but those who should not have been playing with your health in the first place.
If you are still confused, my advice is to wait for us to finish our work.
In the mean time education is your only weapon. Keep reading, keep asking…
61 Comments
- Di Heap
April 10th, 2008Can an individual or a group take an action against a company/importer who then re-exports product with incorrect origin stated? Does this go thru a government agency or is it a private action?
Is the importer/re-exporter able to relab the origin legally because of a loophole in NZ law.. i.e a small extra part is added? How can we find out what is legal?
Is the action against them as simple as a newspaper advert telling about this. Will this be effective and is this allowable?
My suggestion is to get the information out there in every way possible.. tell people, put on websites, in magazines as part of an advert about vibration training.
It has already been taken care of. We should see a change in the advert within days.
I know not all of you have this information , so I will fill you in ( those of you who remember this may want to back me up so people know I am not being over dramatic ).
When I first introduced my machines into Vibra-Train studios in 2005 I was attacked by a group of salesreps from Vibro-Gym . The attack was vicious and clearly stated my 3mm amplitude was a dangerous setting and you dont need Fq adjustments of 1Hz.
They bad mouthed me to gyms and all potential buyers of equipment , saying I was crazy and not educated enough to make machines.
Considering the new Vibro-Gym Evolution is going to do those exact settings I have asked for an offical comment.
Time to front up guys.
I had a very interesting conversation with someone at Galileo tonight.
It seems they are interested in being a part of the alliance of the I.V.T.R.B.
- Keith
May 8th, 2008…. and if PP apply?
I do not think Power Plate would sign the Code of Conduct.
As everything they do goes against what the I.V.T.R.B. stands for.
Now for all you people involved in the industry , I am trying to finalize some terms that will be used by the IVTRB to help people understand the different types of training available.
Important note : These terms also had to have safety ideas built into them at a self explanatory level. This is the starting point for trainer education.
(1) Low Force Dynamic Vibration Training
(2) Low Force Static Vibration Training
(3) High Force Static Vibration Training
(4) Pivotal Static Vibration Training
The idea is simple , it will be clearly stated on the website if its not listed its not deemed safe by the IVTRB for general use.
Example…
There is no High Force Dynamic because once you go to a high force machine only the static safety program is recommended.
There is no Dynamic Pivotal , because no dynamic work is safe on a pivotal unit.
I think we all have personal ideas on what even constitutes as Vibration Training , such as if a unit is going below a certain speed is it still vibrating ?
These kind of thresholds will be voted on by members at a later date , but in the mean time some feedback on those basic terms would be good.
Well done Lloyd. The terms appear clear and concise.
The tide is turning….
In the last few months here in N.Z. I have seen quite a large shift in our customer base. More people are walking in to “do” Vibration Training rather than the previous tire kickers who come in to “try” Vibration Training.
Doctor and Physio referrals have also climbed to a point were I would hazard to say it is now accepted as a valid form of exercise by health professionals.
Another positive/negative is that a massive company called the Warehouse is now selling cheap crappy Chinese machines. Negative they are selling them , positive it is now mainstream enough for this to happen.
- Read this please
August 20th, 2008I came in to see Lloyd a few weeks back with a problem I am having with a Power Plate machine I cant get fixed. He suggested I post something about the situation .
I purchased the machine off a person who is also not in a not good position now to help me . I will post parts of his own message up from another site to help explain.
—– —— ——– ———->
Hello there everyone my name in Jakub Malinowski ,I operate under the Agreement to operate which was signed by me and the owner of Power Plate NZ.
I’ve been involved with Vibration Training ( WBV) almost from the day since it got to New Zealand. I’ve meet almost everyone involved in the industry starting from Mr. Shaw. Power Plate and so on.The real reason why I’m writing this now is to advise and warn people who are interested in training on the machines or even buying a business to do your own research and don’t believe everything your told by the sellers!
To anyone that’s reading this. INVESTIGATE. go around and try different brands before deciding which one you like, talk to the owners of currently running studios and then make up you mind.
END
—– —– —– —– —–>
From what I have been told lots of people have been effected like this. I am going to have a break now and come back next year to try again , with another brand. Thanks.
Note to those in our industry….
Allot of people in our profession are getting paid to give answers on certain aspects of Vibration Training. Even the competition ( the ones that are meant to hate me ) come here to read the articles , because they get nothing useful from their own sources , I know that because I get told.
But twice now I have heard about people, who email me about conversations on here from time to time , deny they even know the site exists when asked if they read it by someone.
Which explains why they never contribute !!!
Come on peoples , if you need advice that’s what we are here for , but to give nothing back in return and insult the entire idea of this forum by denying you use it is really not cool.
What are you afraid of , that you don’t know it all ? well join the bunch. Its our collective knowledge that makes this forum great.
Think about that.
Could users please try to put their questions into the relevant topics instead of whatever happens to be open.
Or its very confusing for the other readers who try to come here to gain advice on one particular topic.
The CP forum saga….
Erica Minter ( related to Mark Minter President of Power Plate ) recently jumped on CorePerformance in disguise to try and stick up for Power Plate , after being outed she added this ……..
“As with everyone who gets involved in this ground-breaking technology, no matter the brand they support, I am passionate about it”
And…
“To set the record straight there are currently 18 co-branded Power Plate Authorized Centers in New Zealand”
A few points to make here…..
(a) In 2005 when I sent a private letter to her warning her of quality issues with machines she sent it to Mark so they could try and put an injunction on me. So I could not warn the public.
It is now common knowledge there was an issue with quality coming out of China , so I was right.
Erica in no way tried to help me or apologize for making a mistake. She put profit before truth. Maybe that is a kind of “passion” , but not my kind.
(b) A hair dressers or beauty therapist with a machine is not a Vibration Training studio.
Lloyd, I do remember you showing me that letter when I was looking into the brands of machines,any differences between them in quality, performance, and results. Also somewhere I’ve seen a paper with specs of an older steel PP machine yet it was attached to the sale of a newer plastic model.
Then when I was visiting PowerPlate studios that were for sale very cheaply last year and talking to others in the Industry I learnt more about quality issues with machines made in China so it wasn’t just words you’d told me, it was the truth!
I watched the demise of PowerPlate in New Zealand. For their own reasons they destroyed their Studio Network and left some Owners in deep doodoo, others rebranding or selling. They now have a list of authorised centres - a few are vibration studios but most seem to be beautians and spa’s.
I have posted a reply on the CP forum about this.
Lloyd
More than ever before I understand why you go after Powerplate so strongly to bring past issues to account and into the open for the truth to be known. Some people have accused you of personal vendetta and of being a little over-the-top and I admit to thinking this was a little of it.. BUT.. The more I investigate (I have spare time at present), the more I look at my own purpose statement for first investigating this Industry - that Vibration Training be a Safe and Effective form of Exercise Training for all types of people, including the obese/very overweight, the very unfit, older folk, athletes and eveyone inbetween; and how/if I might possibly be involved in the industry..
the more I insist that the truth be told and past lies exposed. Maybe the idiom is true “a leopard can’t change his spots” and some companies have to cease trading. Or maybe they can come up with new product that performs well to specs.
You know how much I’d like to see real competition in this Industry, giving the public a choice of machines and brands, maybe even for different purposes. I’d have welcomed PowerPlate coming in here even if it meant fielding the fire, answering my questions - how can 3D Vibration possibly be good for the human body? How can plastic, even reinforced hard plastic, machines create the required force for sports level results? How can I trust that their machines are safe and effective for me to use? Maybe they can provide answers that will convince me?
After all I’ve asked you those same questions and more about Vibra-Train machines and you’ve given me detailed answers that I can understand.
To correct the above: I’ve asked you so many questions about Vibra-Train machines and your safety-first program. (Vibra-Train machines don’t have 3D vibration and are steel, not plastic - sorry)
Thanks for putting that up on CP. I think Power Plate need to be explained the risks of jumping online and trying to defend the un-defendable.
When an apology would go a long way to moving issues forward.
- John Weatherly
October 15th, 2008At first - and I originally “met” Lloyd on the CP forum - I thought Lloyd may have been a little over the top too. But, Lloyd (and I) basically busted AP personnel on their own site talking out of their rear ends about a Bosco et al. study and hormones giving people the impression it was done on PowerPlate or at least not saying for viewers that the study was done on NEMES. This thread was shut down (as have been others on vibration on this site). But, new vibration threads keep popping up. I find it interesting that Di was required to say who she was on the site and Erica (related to the CEO of PowerPlate) and currently employed by PowerPlate wasn’t? This is very peculiar to say the least. Geez, I’ve told who I am on the site on various threads many times. Mark Verstegen knows who I am. I’ve given them references of mine etc. I’m not hiding anything yet they let people like Erica come on there without saying up front she’s related to a PowerPlate bigshot and even currently works for PowerPlate? Doesn’t make sense to me!
And why can’t we have studies comparing different brands/models of vibration equipment? This should be a no-brainer to protect the public!
VIBRATIONTRAINING.NET
Google rating for “vibration training” first week of 2009.
U.S. = #1
U.K. = #3
Australia = #1
N.Z. = #4
- John Weatherly
January 6th, 2009Keep up the great work! Gee, #1 in U.S. Lloyd. I tell everybody that asks or says anything about vibration about http://www.vibrationtraining.net.
April 9th, 2008
The sellers of the Fit-X here trying to lie to the consumer…
http://www.world-slim.com/vibration-platforms-pro/fit-x-vibrating-plate-prod-35.html