Good Vibrations London
Good Vibrations
2008 Author: Rebecca Small
The biggest topic in fitness right now, be it group fitness, personal training or even rehabilitation, is undoubtedly the ‘Core’.
For some time now, we as an industry have cottoned on to the fact that our core is the key to pretty much everything we do. As such, we have been spending a lot of time learning about the core muscles, their function, their importance, and how we can target them effectively.
The core
Our core muscles consist basically of the abdominal musculature, hip musculature, lumbar spine musculature, thoracic spine musculature and cervical spine musculature. The main role of these muscles is to stabilise the spinal area throughout our body’s movements. While this doesn’t sound too difficult, for the muscles involved, it is not easy. The lumbar region is inherently unstable (just take a look at a skeleton and you will see the least stable area is the lumbar region – the only things holding that area together are the muscles!). Just how hard a job these muscles have is evident in the number of injuries to lower backs (not to mention the upper back, neck and shoulders). In reality the core muscles are the platform upon which all our movements are based. Develop a strong core and we develop greater force production, with a lower risk of injury.
How do we target these muscles effectively?
The deep muscles of the core are notoriously hard to target. This is why people who do suffer an injury to the lower back, be it chronic or acute, often find it very difficult to gain full recovery. As involuntary muscles, they require an outside force to make them work.
One of the most effective ways to deliver that outside force to the core muscles (along with a large range of force-producing global muscles) is to use vibrations. Already well established in mainland Europe, vibration training is just starting to be taken up here in the UK. The idea behind vibration training is really quite simple. By passing a vibration through the body, we can destabilise the spine, forcing the core muscles that support the spine to switch on in an effort to stabilise the spine. Put basically, your core is working to stop the spine from shaking apart! Sounds a bit scary, but in fact it is one of the safest ways to train! It is also one of the most effective ways to target those involuntary muscles.
While the theory is simple, putting it into practice has proved to be a little more difficult. At this point there are really only two methods for producing the vibrations required to target the core. The first is via a vibrating plate that you stand on. 
Known as ‘whole body vibrations’, results from this type of equipment are fantastic. Put simply, you stand on a plate that vibrates. These vibrations pass up through the body, activating the core muscles. You can perform a series of different exercises to target different muscle groups effectively. However, unfortunately ...