Vibration training – Fad or Future?
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I wanted to find out if vibration training is worth checking out. Vibration platforms have become increasigly available and the cost of getting one is now quite low.
After googling around a bit it seems that four types of interest groups that have made research within the field of vibration training:
- Space research – Trying to keep astronaut’s muscles from vanishing due to the loss of gravity. This was what started the interest in vibration training in Russia.
- Top athletes research – Trying to make the allready fit athletes faster, more powerful and more forceful for greater sport results.
- Female aging research – Trying to work against vanishing muscle mass and bone density for older women with the risk of osteoporosis.
- Training equipment manufacturers – Trying to increase their revenue.
Due to the biasing of the research it is quite difficult to find out wheter vibration training is effective for the regular person.
To find out if vibration training is fad or future I have tried sorting articles into articles with a postive, negative and neutral output regarding vibration training. Most of the article seem to have a postive result on strength, power and muscle mass. Some contradictions exists to wheter vibration training will increase speed. For fat burning a vibration platform seems to have no effect.
Personally I now don’t think that vibration training is a fad, but I think traditional resistance training will give almost the same results. I give it half a thumb up.
Web articles from sources I personally trust:
Positive:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/vibration-training-speed-training
Scholary articles (Search pubmed for more info) :
Positive:
Whole-body vibration augments resistance training effects on body composition in postmenopausal women. (2009)
Vibration training: could it enhance the strength, power, or speed of athletes? (2009)
Effect of 6-month whole body vibration training on hip density, muscle strength, and postural control in postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled pilot study.
Whole-body-vibration training increases knee-extension strength and speed of movement in older women.
Strength increase after whole-body vibration compared with resistance training.
Effects of 24 weeks of whole body vibration training on body composition and muscle strength in untrained females.
Whole-body-vibration-induced increase in leg muscle activity during different squat exercises.
Effect of whole body vibration training on lower limb performance in selected high-level ballet students.
Effects of 6 weeks of periodized squat training with or without whole-body vibration on short-term adaptations in jump performance within recreationally resistance trained men.
Negative:
Effects of whole body vibration training on muscle strength and sprint performance in sprint-trained athletes.
Effects of vibration and resistance training on neuromuscular and hormonal measures.
The effects of acute whole body vibration as a recovery modality following high-intensity interval training in well-trained, middle-aged runners. (2009)
Neutral/Observations:
The effects of whole-body vibration on upper- and lower-body EMG during static and dynamic contractions.
The effect of acute applications of whole-body vibration on the iTonic platform on subsequent lower-body power output during the back squat. (2009)
Optimal frequency, displacement, duration, and recovery patterns to maximize power output following acute whole-body vibration. (2009)
Vibration training in elite sport: effective training solution or just another fad?
Whole-body-vibration-induced increase in leg muscle activity during different squat exercises.
Acute effect of whole-body vibration on sprint and jumping performance in elite skeleton athletes.
How to select an exercise bike
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First let me start with an advice: Before getting too involved in technical specs and let your money roll – What is your intentions for getting an exercise bike? My answer for you would be: The right bike for you is the one that will keep you coming back for more exercise. So more functionality is not necessarily better. When that is being said, let’s look into the technical stuff.
Exercise bikes is a stationary bikes, usually for indoors use. They look and behave at various degrees similar to their rolling counterparts. The mechanical behavior of the bike is usually what makes you love it or hate it. Different solutions have been made to make them feel like real bicycles:
- A flywheel is used to add momentum to make the bike feel like it is moving forward. If the flywheel was missing the pedals would stop immediately when you stop pedaling.
- Transmission is usually made via a belt or chain from the pedals to the flywheel. This is to avoid making the feet spin at the same speed as the flywheel, making the momentum of the flywheel even greater.
- Different resistance mechanisms are installed on different bikes. Several are available: Friction bands, breaks, fans, electromagnet or magnetic repulsion are the most common resistance mechanisms.
- Seats and handlebars are adjustable for ride comfort.
Different exercise bikes can be ranked according to how similar they are to regular bikes:
- Real cycles on rollers or trainers. These are special setups that you can fit a regular bike on. Rollers are like the ones you test cars on and trainers lift the back wheel up and add resistance.
- Spin bikes. Spin bikes have transmission and large flywheels. They look and feel like regular bikes and are typically used in spinning exercise classes where uptempo music and a coach set an energetic frame to the spinning session. Resistance is typically adjustable breaks. Workout computers are rarely fitted.
- Upright / regular exercise bikes are usually the best choice for having at home due to high versatility, functionality and low price. They usually have a smaller flywheel. Earlier models usually had friction bands or fans for resistance, second generation had permanent magnets and the latest models have electromagnet resistance.
- Recumbent exercise bikes have a seat so you can sit on the bike like in a chair, with your feet in front of you.
- Mini exercise bikes / portable exercise bikes. Some can be used with a regular chair. Others are foldable for portability. I would not recommend these as they would not feel like a bike and would not add sufficient resistance.
For home use I would opt for the third option: Upright exercise bikes have evolved to good alternatives with low cost and high functionality.
Always test a bike before buying one. The simplest models seem to have a problem with varying resistance, probably due to too few magnets. Check for a smooth ride, that the maximum and minimum resistance levels are acceptable, and how easy you can fine tune the resistance. This is the most important part of the bike.
Almost all newer upright exercise bikes come with a workout computer. You can have a bonanza of functionality on these. The things you have to decide if you want are typically:
- Preset programs. Many bikes adjust resistance according to a program, so you don’t have to think about this.
- Heart rate monitoring. Heart rate is measured via ear clips or handlebars. Simpler models show heart rate. Advanced models couple the heart rate with programs so you can lie within some preset target heart rate. You can skip this option and buy a portable heart rate monitor if you like to.
- Cooling. Some bikes have cooling so you wont feel so sweaty
- Cadence and exercise monitoring. Most bikes measure speed, energy usage etc.
- Entertainment. Some newer bikes have built in games or connectors for mp3-players. I prefer a television in front of me instead.
So there you have it – Now you have everything you need to know before getting your own exercise bike.
McDonalds nutrition – Thriving on fast food
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People got stunned when watching the film “Supersize me” a few years ago. The subject, Morgan Spurlow, dined at McDonald’s restaurants three times a day and we could watch him get in worse and worse shape by each day.
But is McDonalds nutrition such a bad thing? Can you find find healthy food choices at McDonald’s too?
I wanted to put the food to the test by looking at the protein index, which is an indicator of high protein density. You might find it pretty silly to only compare protein content, but when I know that hamburger bread, french fries, ketchup and other servings usually contains much fat and/or high GI carbohydrates I like to compare what is good for you and what is also comparable. I thus focus on high protein sources.
Here is a list of the highest ranking sources of protein at McDonalds, protein index is in paranthesis:
- Premium Ceasar Salad with Grilled Chicken (5.2)
- Premium Bacon Ranch Salad with Grilled Chicken (5.2)
- Premium Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich (4.9)
- Premium Grilled Chicken Ranch BLT Sandwich (4.7)
- Double Quarter Pounder with cheese (4.5)
- Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich (4.3)
- Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (3.9)
- Southern Style Crispy Chicken Sandwich (3.5)
- Double Cheeseburger (3.4)
- Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Quarter Pounder, McDouble (3.3)
When you compare this list with other foods you see that they are OK sources of protein. This is not strange since pure chicken or beef meat is a good source of protein. They highest scores are ranked at levels of tenderloin (4.6) and minced pork meat (4.6). Just remember to avoid the crispy salad variants, the extra ketchup, the soda, the dressings, the french fries and decide whether the hamburger bread is worth keeping. Then you are good to go.
Source: http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/nutritionfacts.pdf
The top 15 natural sources of protein
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I earlier said that it was important to add sufficient proteins when trying to get in shape. I introduced the protein index, which is an indicator to how much and how pure a protein source is.
If you look at a whey protein powder, the protein index is something like 65.
I have looked filtered out 100 natural potential high protein sources and put them into the nutrition part of the calorie countdown excel spreadsheet. The data are from “Le Guide des Aliments” published by Könemann. Here is the list of the top 15 natural protein sources, protein index shown in parenthesis:
- Cod (38)
- Turkey (24)
- Tuna (24)
- Carp (23)
- Moose (21)
- Bluefish (20)
- Sea bass (19)
- Deer (19)
- Rabbit (18)
- Lamb (18)
- Reindeer (17)
- Halibut (17)
- Flounder (17)
- Zander (16)
- Calf (16)
These sources could be considered lean sources of protein. I would not recommend you only stick to low fat sources though – Some high fat fishes like salmon and mackerel are considered very good for you due to the high content of omega 3s.
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