Whole Body Vibration Training

First of all, what the heck is whole body vibration training?

Whole body vibration training is the use of a vibration plate on which you stand on, sending vibrations throughout your body in order to elicit improved performance. It is proposed, and has been shown, to bring improvements in power output that equate to increases in vertical jump height and muscular performance.

So how does this work?

You simply stand on the plate and it vibrates. The vibration from the plate stimulates receptors in your muscles, known as muscle spindles, which are responsible for the stretch-shortening cycle. This stretch-shortening reflex/cycle is one of the mechanisms responsible for producing muscular power output. It therefore makes sense that stimulating these sensors with vibration primes your nervous system for athletic activities that require high levels of power output. 

Whether or not vibration training truly works, force plates can range in cost from about $150 - >$2,000. In my opinion, that’s quite a bit of money for something that you stand on while it sits on the ground, and doesn’t really contribute anything else to your training space. There might be other equipment that’s more worth your money. There are also other ways to accomplish the task of improving power output, such as plyometric training or dynamic lifting methods. 

Do whole body vibration plates work? Probably to some degree, as the research suggests. Are they the most practical? Mehh, I think your gym space and money would be better spent on other endeavors. 

Feel free to jump into the discussion in the comment section below.

Ryan Goodell, CSCS

1.           Dabbs NC, Svoboda SM. Is Whole-Body Vibration Training Effective? Strength & Conditioning Journal. 2016;38(4):72-74.

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How the Aerobic System Aids in Recovery

People who lift regularly often fall into a rhythm, only performing strength exercises and weight training. This rhythm can hinder progress for a variety of reasons. One reason is that you will have an underdeveloped aerobic system in relation to your other athletic/performance attributes. What many often don’t realize is that having a good aerobic system aids in the recovery process between bouts of weight training over long periods of time. 

Here is an interesting way to think about the process: when we train, we create micro damage to our muscles. Technically speaking, each time you train you are damaging your body a small amount. This sounds somewhat sadistic, depending on how you think about it. People willingly damage their muscles a little bit in order to reap the benefits of the body’s adaptation to this damage.

Now, cue your recovery system. A large component of your body’s recovery system relies on its ability to get blood flow to the area of need, the damaged muscle. Those who train via weightlifting often have a bit of muscle tissue. Lifting weights is, by nature, an anaerobic activity. Therefore, you do not get the nice effects of angiogenesis (blood vessel growth) that you would get from training aerobically. This results in the creation of muscle that is relatively anaerobic in nature, but very strong and powerful. All muscles, however, need to recover. Muscles get what they need for recovery through blood flow that carries nutrient building blocks to repair damage done to the system. I’m not saying you need to turn into a cardio bunny, but adding an aerobic conditioning component to your training regimen would be a good idea.

Some aerobic activities include:

Walking up an incline on a treadmill

Running

Interval training

Riding a bike

Hiking

Playing a game of basketball

…And many more

All of these activities have one thing in common: they elevate your heart rate for an extended period of time. This kind of activity taps into your aerobic system and causes your body to adapt. One of these adaptions is increased blood flow, mediated through angiogenesis. Once you tap into this process your muscles will be getting adequate blood flow to recover more optimally between sets and between bouts of strength training. The better you can recover, the harder you’ll be able to train. 

Even if you are a strength athlete-a powerlifter, for example-you can benefit from aerobic training. You probably won’t need to be going for long runs, which could encroach on some of your strength gains, but a lower intensity activity such as walking on an inclined treadmill will achieve the desired effect. This lower intensity aerobic work will then give you the ability to hit the weights hard on the next training day.

 I like to get my heart rate to sit between 120-140 generally when doing my aerobic work. If you’re not that strict about your training, just get your heart rate elevated for 20-30 minutes while performing an aerobic activity. Recover better, train smarter, and do some aerobic work every once and a while.

Ryan Goodell, CSCS

For consultation/personal training/coaching inquiries email: ryangoodell@weightsandstuff.com

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Internal vs. External Cues

There’s a slight difference between learning a movement and actually performing it. Learning a movement can take a great deal of concentration, depending on its complexity. As you learn a movement or perform an activity, external and internal cues can help. These cues are generally given by a coach, trainer, or training partner, and they can either aid your performance or hinder it. 

But what are cues? And what are external and internal cues? 

When referring to “cues,” we mean the verbal cues that you receive when performing a lift. A good example of this is the mental image of a lifter, and his spotting bro, benching at the gym. One bro is performing his “epic” set of bench with 135, while techno/house music is blasting through his headphones, as his fellow gym bro yells “PUSH! PRESS! ALL YOU, BRO!” so the rest of the gym can hear. While extreme, this example describes a form of cueing. Even though the gym bro probably can’t hear his friend’s encouragement due to the high volume of pump-up music blasting into his ears, yelling “push and press” are a way of cueing.

There are two kinds of cueing, however, and while they may seem similar, they act in slightly different ways. 

External cues are results-driven. When cueing externally you are giving someone cues that take their focus “outside” of their body. An example of this is saying “stand up tall” when someone is squatting or “press to the ceiling” when they’re benching. By giving cues like this, you are taking the lifter’s mental attention and helping to focus it on the result of the lift. Giving and receiving external cues has also been shown to contribute to higher levels of force production when performing a lift.¹

Internal cues concentrate specifically on the movement of the body. For example, this could mean cues such as “bend the knees,” “squeeze the bar,” and “hinge the hips.” Internal cues direct the lifter’s attention intrinsically and can be great when teaching movements. Through this method, a lifter or athlete can gain body awareness and begin to understand how a movement should feel, in order to self-correct as they gain proficiency.  

If you are attempting to cue for max performance, however, internal cues may be a hindrance. It has been shown that when receiving internal cues, there is a greater increase of muscle co-contraction.¹ Co-contraction means that the prime movers are being counteracted by their muscular opposite. Think trying to flex the elbow but your tricep is also firing, so then the bicep has to work harder to complete the movement. That is co-contraction. In terms of efficiency, if your primary movers for a lift are already attempting to perform the movement, and then you add the resistance of your opposing muscle group co-contracting, you’re increasing the energy required to complete the lift. That is valuable energy that could be contributing to better efficiency when performing a lift or sporting activity such as jumping.

Although they’re similar, external and internal cues perform different tasks, depending on the outcome you would like to achieve. There is a time and a place for the both of them, but it is important to distinguish when to use the correct cues to optimize the result you want.

Ryan Goodell, CSCS

1.           Kompf J. Enhancing Skill and Performance in Resistance Training. Strength & Conditioning Journal. 2016;38(4):28-35.

For consultation/personal training/coaching inquiries email: ryangoodell@weightsandstuff.com

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