Just over two years ago Power Plate began to call their new machines “Acceleration Trainers”.

Now they have trademarked the term “Acceleration Training” for exclusive use in their marketing around the world and especially in North America.

So What does Acceleration Training Mean?

Don’t be fooled by the semantics, Acceleration Training is just yet another term for Vibration Training. Since the market began to saturate with all kinds of VT models and Power Plate knock offs, the marketers at Power Plate knew they had to come up with at term that would separate them from  the rest of the pack.

That’s all it is, just a word, and the technology isn’t any different. If you read Power Plate’s press releases, they themselves, when using The Term “Acceleration Training” use parentheses with a.k.a Vibration Training inside them.

Although the overall industry accepted term is “Vibration Training”, marketers of other machines  have coined many other terms as well.

• Whole Body Vibration
• Whole Body Vibration Training
• Vibrating Exercise Machine
• Vibrating Platform
• Vibration Fitness Training
• Vibration Plate Training
• Bio-Oscillation Training

These are just a few of the many terms out there. So don’t be confused or fooled. Look at the machines specs and track record instead of getting allured by it’s fancy name.

The good and bad of positive research.

This new study is going to be used by every single company that sells something that vibrates up, down, sideways or tilts fast enough to be called a vibration and even though some companies would be justified in using it to support the effectiveness of their product, about 99% of the industry have NO claim to the positive outcomes shown in that report.

Here are the Power Plate facts

The study was done on a newer Power Plate machine designed to take heavier loads. It was a fiberglass Lineal machine and would be considered to be at the upper end of the “Medium Energy Lineal ” as per our review categories.

No one except Power Plate and other companies on that same/similar level and above can rightfully use this study in any kind of advertising. I think this is logical to most, but we will soon see how many people in our industry come up with justifications for twisting it for their own marketing purposes. I am quite sure I will be slamming a few companies in the very near future for exactly that, but for now we get to Power Plate’s problem.

Now of course we can not ask Power Plate to name their equals and above because that would be paramount to “sales” suicide. However, Power Plate at the same time must differentiate themselves or lose sales to much lesser and probably cheaper units. A catch 22 if there ever was one. So what are you going to do as a consumer to get around this? Everyone’s either going to lie or not say anything at all. So here is the ONLY answer…..

The old fashioned try before you buy

Yes it might seem simple, but so many people forget this common piece of advice. Trust that your body knows the “difference” in quality when it feels it, you do not need a PHD to feel something, after all, your body is very in tune with its surrounding and gives feedback you instinctively understand. No big word or fancy sales speech to worry about. Go where you can try a Power Plate (a larger model like used in the study, not a home unit), then find somewhere you can try other machines. As always the more the merrier.

A 1 minute basic squat ( as per the safety program here) is the perfect position to do these tests and don’t let the salesperson talk to you or distract you during this. Tell them to put it on a good workout setting and vibrate off. Even after only 3 units you will get the idea.

Important note: No one in the study we are aware of had any injuries or physical limitations that would stop them from doing a basic squat, so if you do have one it is not advised you try this test (“its too hard” is not a physical limitation, that’s a mental one).

Having tested the machines and made an informed decision, buy the product and use it with a calorie restricted diet if you want the kind of results seen in the research, please note that buying a lighter home model for economic reasons will also vary the outcome. The whole point of this is to understand machines are NOT all the same, even if built by the same company. I am sure a number of companies that sell larger machines like those used in the research will attach it to their cheaper home models, this is also unethical without clearly disclosing it and would put them in the same bracket as the marketers who would attach it to anything that moves.

We just received a press release concerning a six month study presented on Friday at the European Congress on Obesity that showed participants who used Vibration Training as well as a low Calorie diet had more weight loss then those using conventional exercise with the same low Calorie diet.

Here is and outline of the study

The study was conducted over a six month period, after which subjects returned to their daily lives and reported back for retesting at 12 months. In terms of weight loss:

• The “Power Plate®” group lost 11 percent of their body weight and maintained a 10.5 percent loss
• The diet and conventional fitness group lost 7 percent and maintained a 6.9 percent loss
• The diet only group lost 6 percent, and maintained less than 5 percent loss

Even more promising was the reduction of visceral fat:

• The “Power Plate®” group lost 47.8 sq. cm. (18.8 in.), and maintained a loss of 47.7 sq. cm (18.7 in.)
• The diet and conventional fitness group lost only 17.6 sq. cm. (6.93 in.), and maintained only a 1.6 sq. cm (.63 in) loss
• The diet only group lost 24.3 sq. cm. (9.57 in.) and maintained only 7.5 sq. cm. (2.95 in.) loss

“We are extremely encouraged by the results of this study, especially in terms of the reduction of visceral fat,” said Guss Van Der Meer, Founder of Power Plate®. “Obesity is a major concern both in the United States and worldwide and we are excited that Power Plate® exercise may provide a low-impact way for people to lose weight and belly fat.”

This study was funded by the Artesis University College of Antwerp and has not been peer reviewed as of yet. It does show promising results for the industry, in general, even though this study was conducted using Power Plate machines.

It is sure tempting to save a few bucks by buying a product that is mass produced and widely distributed, but, is it worth it?

If a consumer were to purchase a piece of equipment and use it occasionally in their home then the product may hold up for some time. However, If the consumer is serious about using the vibration trainer on a regular basis than he/she should consider the phrase ” you get what you pay for”.

This Power Plate Machine was used in a commercial setting for three weeks. The wear and tear is quite evident.

• The buttons started to cave in.



• The Anti- skid surface on the bottom plate was wearing off.

• The overall appearance of the machine looked old.

Of course this machine was used commercially and not in the home so accelerated wear and tear would be expected. However, this amount of damage was done in just three weeks. I imagine that under normal conditions ( the machine being used about once a day) this type of machine might last six months before it begins to exhibit similar damage.

In conclusion, we have all been tempted when making a purchase to save a few dollars and buy a mass produced product that in most cases has been advertised extensively, but we may need to stop and consider what we are actually getting for our money.

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.

A new study has been published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (reference).

The study looked at 6 weeks of Whole Body Vibration training and it’s impact on sprint performance and explosive strength.

Conclusions:

WBV training period of 6 wk, through the muscle contractions it provokes, produced significant positive changes is selected kinematical characteristics of sprint running (step length, step rate and running velocity) and selected explosive strength characteristics (jump height, total number of jumps performed in a period of 30 s) in non experienced sprinters.

The research used a Power Plate machine and 24 young healthy volunteers.

See the full PDF here.