Are you prepared for Wrath of the Lich King? WoW Insider has you covered!

Whole-body vibration still shaking things up

Posted: Nov 29th 2007 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Fitness

I stood on a whole-body vibration machine recently. Didn't like it. Couldn't wait to get off the darn thing, in fact. For those who like shaking about on a platform designed to enhance fitness and promote weight loss, though, maybe this vibrating thing is wise step in the direction of overall health. Or is it?

There's no definite evidence that whole body vibration provides any fitness or weight-loss benefits, says Mayo Clinic physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist Edward Laskowski, M.D. It may even be harmful for people with certain medical conditions, such as low back pain, or women who are pregnant.

Manufacturers of vibrating platforms claim that training sessions of only a few minutes twice a week can produce measurable effects. How can this be? How can merely standing still while your body shakes be effective? It can't, says Laskowski, who reports that we can't get the benefits of physical activity without doing any of the work. Passive exercise via vibration just isn't an effective means of increasing your endurance, flexibility, strength, or stability. Maybe, just maybe, it's possible to burn a few extra calories but if you're looking for any measurable weight loss or fitness gains, nothing works as well as good old-fashioned exercise.

Related Headlines

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

| 1 | 2 |


That's Fit Features







How many calories burned? What is my BMI?
More weight loss tools!


Features
AOL Health Bloggers (58)
Ask Fitz! (74)
Ask Laura! (22)
ATIO: Summer Quick Fix Challenge (6)
ATIO: Wednesday Weigh-In (4)
ATIO: Weekly Weight-loss Results (4)
Celebrity Fitzness Report (39)
Daily Fit Tip (405)
Diet Derailers (1)
Fit Beauty (86)
Fit Factor (93)
Fit Gadgets (27)
Fit Links (95)
Fit Mama (10)
Fit Pregnancy (22)
Fitku (13)
FitSpirit (44)
FitTV (6)
Fitzness Fiends (52)
Gut Busters (4)
Healthy Handful (11)
How Many Calories? (104)
Jogging for Normal People (17)
Jumpstart Your Fitness (89)
Life Fit Chat with Laura Lewis (106)
Life Fit with Laura Lewis (57)
Meet the Bloggers (20)
One Small Step (7)
Podcasts (43)
Recipe Rehab (23)
Retro Review (3)
Road To Fitville (16)
Stress Less (34)
Taking Off Ten (13)
That's Fit In The Field (4)
The 5 (42)
The Daily Turn On! (109)
The Good, The Fat and The Hungry (5)
We Love To Gawk At Fit Celebs (57)
We Love To Gawk At Fit Celebs Weekly Roundup (32)
Week In Review (59)
Working In the Workouts (53)
Workplace Fitness (90)
You Are What You Eat (68)
Your Turn (22)
Healthy Living
Alternative Therapies (303)
Book Reviews (98)
Celebrities (836)
Cellulite (226)
Diet and Weight Loss (2405)
Eco-Travel (81)
Emotional Health (1280)
Fit Fashion (82)
Fitness (3638)
Food and Nutrition (4356)
General Health (5496)
Health and Technology (665)
Health in the Media (1269)
HealthWatch (468)
Healthy Aging (748)
Healthy Events (161)
Healthy Habits (2114)
Healthy Home (456)
Healthy Kids (1550)
Healthy Places (249)
Healthy Products (946)
Healthy Recipes (327)
Healthy Relationships (310)
Men's Health (1533)
Natural Beauty (231)
Natural Products (243)
Obesity (300)
Organic (219)
Spirituality and Inspiration (281)
Stress Reduction (543)
Sustainable Community (238)
Vegetarian (291)
Vitamins and Supplements (280)
Women's Health (2071)
Work/Home Balance (190)

RESOURCES

Powered by Blogsmith

Daily Fit Tip

Ever find yourself inspired by a certain phrase, quote, or idea only to forget about it as time goes by? Keep the good mojo going with this simple tip....

 

Featured Stories

Sponsored Links

Most Commented On (60 days)

Recent Comments


Aches, pains? Find out what your symptoms mean:

Sites We Love

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in: