Vibration Training and Flexibility
How does Vibration Training Help with Flexibility ?
To answer this question an understanding of how traditional flexibility is achieved should be noted first, so that the stark contrast between methods can be examined.
By using opposing muscles or body weight, you create constant tension on muscle and tendon tissue causing it to be stretched out over a period of time. This is usually done after warming up the muscle with some light work. Initially when a stretch is forced you will get some resistance, but after 30 seconds or so this subsides, the muscle will relax, and then allow the stretching process to begin. This form of stretching is well proven and is effective, but does have a few flaws which can all be blamed on us.
- Not warming up properly.
- Forcing the stretch.
The second is the most common and repeat damage can cause serious injury. It is important to note that even the best athletes have problems in this area and it is reported that 70% of all injuries in the U.S. Olympic track teams are over-stretch related and not done during the drills or the sport itself.
So is there another way to stretch a muscle? Well yes there is and it’s important to know that without an electrical current running through a muscle, it is very stretchy and has little resistance ( I am a mortician and can confirm that is true).
It’s all about that little bit of resistance you get for the first 30 seconds of a forced stretch. This is called a myotatic reflex and is caused by pressure being put on a nerve which sends and electrical impulse in both directions from the point of pressure contracting all of the surrounding muscle tissue (it is like a built in alarm telling you to not work so hard against your own body).
You see a version of this when someone hits you below the kneecap and your leg kicks up by itself. They use tests like that to determine the health of your central nervous system. A short sharp whack to the nerve directly will produce a sudden large surge of current, while slowly applied pressure such as a stretch will produce a constant light current slowly contracting surrounding muscle.
Here is an Example
If you try to touch your toes with your legs locked, without warming up, you will get halfway down before you will get pulled back up by some invisible force. What is actually happening is the pressure placed on the tissue at the back of your legs ( just behind your knees ) is creating a myotatic reflex that contracts your hamstring and pulls you back up like a bungee cord. However, this local reflex can be overridden by larger systems which I will give you an example of and explain how it works.
Example Without Vibration
Stomp your feet hard and fast on your toes for about 5 seconds. Then without hesitating, drop down legs locked and touch your toes. Relax your entire body when you are down and notice how that “pulling reflex” does not kick in as it did before. Bend your knees when standing back up. Do this 3 times in a row and you will remain flexible for hours.
So what happened? Essentially you over rid the mytotatic signal with a much larger command that went from your brain to your legs to get you to stomp your feet. This blocking effect only lasts about 0.5 of a second which is why you can’t hesitate when dropping down.
With a Vibration Training Platform.
The vibrations set off multiple involuntary reflexes that confuse and override the contraction that pulls you back up. This confusion allows you to stretch out your muscles with little or no resistance. With 2580 involuntary reflexes in a minute at 43Hz, the effect you gained from the manual version is magnified.
Note for Athletes
As with most things in life, the one thing that makes you strong such as a healthy central nervous system giving you natural speed and strength, can also make you prone to injury somewhere else. Therefore, understanding how these systems really work beyond your standard gym education is very important.
Read this article to discover more about your Central Nervous System. http://www.vibra-train.com/sport_strength.html
4 Comments
Hello Lloyd.
Could you help me on suggesting an specific workout for tennis players? (I mean dynamic and static exercises)
Thanks
AndreHi again,
I am just wondering:
About frequencies and amplitude of Vibration platforms.We could leardn from messages here that vertical Vibration is best.
Can we say that Higher frequencies are better with smaller amplitudes, and Lower frequencies are best with higher amplitudes?
And for flexibility, and plyometrics associated (tennis demands a lot), could you recommend and/or share your toughs with us?
Thanks
AndreFor full on plyometrics , you would go for a Pinapple system from Nick Morris.
These are specially designed for Low Energy Dynamic workouts , so you joints dont suffer.
Never move on a high energy platform unless its in the last 3 weeks of an 8 week buildup program. Never part of your standard workout.
For an athlete….
High Energy Static = Explosive power
Low Energy Dynamic = Full range of motion training and drills.
June 15th, 2008
I hope the above article answers a few questions about this subject.
As myotatic reflexes are not understood entirely so are not taught in any standard curriculum, dont be surprised if your personal trainer , physio or any other health professional you ask knows little if anything about them.
The same action can be responsable for such things as knots in a muscle , cramps , spasms and other ambigious muscle problems.