Does Power Plate Work?

I knew I needed to blog about this when Ellen Degeneres had the Power Plate on her show.  She invited an audience member to come on stage and try out the Power Plates.  After standing in a semi-squat position and holding onto the handles while the machine vibrated aggressively, the audience member did not seem to give it rave reviews.  Flashback to the vibrating "fat" shakers from I Love Lucy anyone?   Doing more research, I learned that various elite athletes like LeBron James, superstars Madonna and Heidi Klum and high end fitness chains like Equinox are now using the $10,000 Power Plate. 

ACE Fitness Matters writer Jim Gerard reports that the Power Plate owners make the extravagant claim that working out for just 12 minutes 2-3 times per week can help you build muscle and lose fat, decrease pain and improve injured muscles.  Hmmm....sounds too good to be true and in most cases, this means it is too good to be true!

People in favor of the vibration technology believe that the Power Plate "multiplies the gravitational forces on your body while you are excercising, forcing your muscles to contract may more times and with greater intensity than under normal conditions".   The plate itself is big - large enough for you to stand on it and perform squats, lunges, push-ups and many other resistance exercises. 

More research needs to be done comparing Power Plate trained and traditional training groups.  To date, there have been a couple of small studies looking at athlete’s vertical height.  The results showed only a slight improvement.  I do not think there is enough real research to convince anyone to buy a Power Plate or invest time/training on this equipment.  Researcher Phillip Clifford of the Medical College of Wisconsin was asked why many pro teams are using this new tool.  He stated that trainers and team physicians are not experts in exercise physiology and that athletes will do anything if they think it will give them a competitive edge.  Many things done in professional sports have no scientific basis.  

I would not let Power Plate get you all shook up.....stick to your regular routine!