I do not think their ” every machine in the world is dangerous except for ours ” will be missed by the industry.

Warranty work ? Who knows , with an actuator driving them and the low forces involved they should not break down much so hopefully not an issue for the consumer.

Remember it is an engineering review only. His knowledge is limited to basic specs not the understanding of how it changes the effectiveness of the workout.

You are right about marketing hype. Early I had reported that someone at Proform stated that the Proform Activator V7 sold by Costco (for $399) is an inferior machine to those sold at Proform’s website ($999 on sale, regular $1299) and others (at similar prices to Proform’s). Well, I checked that statement out with Icon (the manufacturers? or distributors? of the Activator V7). They said that the machine sold at Costco IS THE SAME quality as sold by Proform, etc., etc. As Mr. Spock would say, “FASCINATING!!!” Or would it be, “Most illogical.”

I will not go down the road of explaining the mechanical limitations of the machine, we do not have room here for that, you will just have to trust that I know my stuff.

In regards to bone density, read my work on it first to understand where I am coming from …….

http://www.vibrationtraining.net/2008/06/vibration-training-and-bone-density

Juvent is a fantastic little unit, but for the price and limited use I personally believe it is a little steep. I also have problems with their arrogance which I believe is always an issue that reflects on the full disclosure I expect about units capabilities.

This may also interest you…

Female Born 1971
Diagnosed with Osteopaenia in Lumbar

Department of Medicine
Auckland University Bone Density Scan on 13/12/2006 showed BMD of 1.070 . 9% below average.

Fracture from fall on a boat causes compression fracture in T5, T6, T7. 19/2/2007

Vibration Training + Vibration Therapy on specialized unit with specialized poses. Due to this particular persons personal convictions no bone density drugs where taken.

Note: Re the drugs ,my advice was to follow Doctors orders.

Department Of Medicine
University of Auckland , Bone Density Scan 7/12/2007 showed BMD at 1.136 , and increase of 6.1% on baseline.

This was done on a specialized unit that exceeds 8g.

Again, thanks for your response on the “g” force issue. You recommended the Proform Activator V7 in my situation with my wife. Do you know what the “g” force is on that machine? I called Proform and they have no idea!

Looking at pictures of that machine, how does it have any amplitude to speak of….it “appears” in the pictures that the motor underneath the plate does not rest “on top of” anything, and therefore, how can it be pushing on the plate one stands on? Again, this is only an impression from the pictures I have seen on the internet. Thanks!!!

P.S. My main interest is in bone density issues, so the Juvent may be a very viable candidate for purchase. But your recommendation of the Proform Activator V7 for more general uses does interest me.

(1) I based all my original work on ISO 2631 and no-one else in the industry was interested. I emailed everyone and got little response. Mainly being told to shove off , and “who are you to question us”. Even Juvent, so its a bit funny now they try using it to make any case now. Too late to take them seriously.

(2) The ISO 2631 studies only observed negative impacts on “health” under long term exposure. Not short term ( as in controlled Vibration Training ). I personally concentrated on tank drivers, as they had the highest exposure to a “violent” WBV environment than anything else on record.

(3) Juvent were “only” looking for treatments to bone loss. They do not claim, and have never done studies on Training systems. They have zero reputation in that field.

(4) Recent statements by Juvent saying that theirs is the only machine in the world that is safe smacks of ” marketing” not science. Other units have low amplitude G-Force ratings. They do not mention them, so safety for the public is not their number 1 concern, sales are.

Power Plate did the same thing by saying only their machines were correctly calibrated to not make your eyeballs explode.

Funny and pathetic at the same time.

Consider this…

In some of the ISO 2631 studies negative health effects were seen in only a few short weeks, some were instant and shut down cognitive responses within secs but disappeared within secs. ( Air Force Pilots ).

Vibration Training units far exceeding the 1g mark have been used in tests for over 40 years and commercially available since 1999 with regular users I would say are now in the millions. With no reports of the type of symptoms seen with long term exposure.

Even people with central nervous system illnesses who would be very susceptible to any negative impact have shown no symptoms.

The fact is all the academic/semantic arguments in the world never beats the reality on the street. Even I have had to learn that.