Russian Invention Blasts Away Excess Belly Pounds Twice as Fast...

by Joseph Mercola

Recently by Joseph Mercola: Are You or Your Family Eating Toxic Food Dyes?

It's not every day I come across an advancement this exciting in the field of fitness and health. The Power Plate represents a large leap in technology that can potentially transform your approach to fitness, as you can see from my interview with the President of Power Plate Mark de Gorter, above.

I realize that juggling busy schedules, family commitments, and work frequently makes it challenging to stick to an exercise routine. This is why I continue to search for options that make it easier for you to achieve your fitness goals.

I've been exercising longer than most as I started in 1968 and never stopped. However, the past four years I have been intensively researching Acceleration Training, and I'm finally ready to present the information to YOU – and very excited about the opportunity to do so!

I believe this truly innovative approach will forever change how you look at exercise, as well as give you OPTIONS you never imagined possible!

In fact, this new fitness technology may just turn your workout into a playout.

Why Fitness is More Important Now than Ever Before

With two out of three adults in the U.S. now overweight or obese, the need for an effective fitness solution is more urgent than ever.

Many people gain weight as they age, and sometimes it's so gradual that it slips by unnoticed – until you suddenly can't slip into your Levis, that is.

A Harvard research study discovered that women tend to gain an average of 20 pounds over 16 years as they approach middle age. And if you don't stay physically active, you start losing muscle mass around age 40. You burn fewer calories as your body shifts from building more muscle to storing more fat.

You can blame it on "somatopause" – the decline of your body's hormone production as you age, which includes dwindling production of human growth hormone (HGH).

Somatopause affects 80 million baby boomers in the U.S. and millions more around the world, causing:

• Weight gain
• Energy loss
• Wrinkling skin
• Muscle loss
• Bone strength loss
• Increased body fat

Visceral fat (aka, belly fat or abdominal fat) is the fat that builds up around your internal organs and may be the most dangerous fat in your body.

Visceral fat, together with elevated blood pressure, unstable blood sugar and unhealthy levels of cholesterol make up what we call "metabolic syndrome," which in turn increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

Nearly one in four people in the U.S. have type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes, and it is my experience that most can be reversed with the appropriate diet and exercise regimen.

In addition to improving the way you look and feel, exercise can improve parts of your body you CAN'T see or feel – including the molecular, enzymatic, hormonal, and chemical balance in your body, which may help slow down or derail many of the diseases caused by a sedentary lifestyle, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Fitness is important for many other reasons, including keeping your brain sharp, lifting your mood, fending off disease, and slowing down aging.

Peak Fitness – Maximum Results With Minimum Effort

Creating a successful exercise program requires that it be time efficient. Let's face it – who has time to spend hours at the gym every day?

This is why I was so happy to learn of the Peak Fitness program in 2010 from Phil Campbell. Peak Fitness includes Peak 8, a series of powerful anaerobic exercises that can be completed in a fraction of the time of traditional workouts.

But I am always looking to further improve the Peak Fitness program, and now I have found technology that will kick it up several notches, radically increasing your chances for success!

What Gets in Your Way of Exercise?

Life has a way of throwing hurdles into your fitness efforts. Chances are, the things getting in your way probably match some of the most commonly reported obstacles, such as:

• Too busy or not enough time
• Don’t know what to do to get started safely
• Stiff, painful joints and muscles making exercise uncomfortable
• Not enough energy or stamina to keep going
• Lack of motivation and discipline
• Lack of progress and frustration with slow results

It may be that all you need is a little tweaking of your current regimen to transform it from an "exercise in frustration" into a dynamite fitness program that will blow your socks off!

Ask yourself this question...

What if you could train like an athlete in less than 90 minutes per week?

Acceleration Training: Star Trek Health Technology in the 21^st Century

The research on Whole Body Vibrational Training (WBVT, aka Acceleration Training) is nothing short of incredible. WBVT achieves what no other form of exercise can, in a very short period of time.

You are probably wondering like I did when I first heard of it exactly what it is. To understand what makes this technology unique, we have to start with physics. What does physics have to do with exercise, you may ask?

Everything!

Ok, before you scamper off, I PROMISE to make this really simple.

Thinking way back to your high school physics class, you may recall Newton's Three Laws of Motion. In order to understand how the Power Plate works, you must understand Newton's simple but powerful Second Law:

F = M x A

The force (F) on an object is a function of its mass (M) and its acceleration (F).

When thinking about your workout routine, you can think of force as your amount of work done. You might not realize it – or maybe never even thought about it – but every time you lift weights, you are employing this fundamental law of physics.

In order to gain benefit from your workout, you must increase the forces on your body by increasing one of the two variables, mass or acceleration:

1. When you lift weights, you tinker with the equation by increasing mass (the mass of your body plus any weights you use).
2. Acceleration Training tinkers with the equation by increasing acceleration. The vibrations are actually very rapid small movements of the platform–mainly up and down. The changes of directions of the platform result in strong acceleration and decelerating forces, 25 to 50 times per second. The mass is simply your body, and vibration is the acceleration.

By increasing either (or both) of these variables, you increase the amount of force on your body, which is what puts the WORK in your workout.

Understanding the Gravity of the Situation

Gravity is another form of acceleration. Gravity is the ONE form of acceleration we are all subject to, every moment of our lives.

Gravity is what causes your muscles to develop – your muscles allow you to counter the effects of gravity, so that you can move. If Earth had no gravity, you wouldn't develop muscles. That's why astronauts lose significant muscle mass in space.

Vibration is simply adding more GRAVITY to your body, or increasing "G forces."

The benefits of G forces are the reason why rebounding on a mini-trampoline is so beneficial for you. Rebounding subjects your body to gravitational pulls ranging from zero G at the top of each bounce to 2 to 3 Gs at the bottom, depending on how high you jump.

But the Power Plate is significantly better than a rebounder at generating those gravitational forces and can generate forces from 2 to 6 Gs depending on the settings used.

How the Power Plate Works

The Power Plate works by vibrating in three-dimensions, or three planes: vertical, horizontal and sagittal (front to back). If you have ever been in an earthquake, you have experienced this sort of complex motion – right and left, front and back, and up and down – it's very hard to stand up in an earthquake! But the Power Plate moves very quickly (25 to 50 times per second) across very small distances (one to two millimeters), so you aren't knocked off balance, but just enough that your muscles must accommodate.

When the Power Plate vibrates up and down, your muscle tone improves.

Left to right and front to back movements improves your balance and coordination.

So the net result is a dramatic improvement in strength and power, flexibility, balance, tone and leanness – for starters.

When you stand on the vibrating Power Plate, each muscle in your body reacts in a continuous flow of micro adjustments, contracting reflexively. Just like when your leg automatically jerks after your physician taps it with his reflex hammer, your muscles react automatically to the Power Plate's vibrations – 25 to 50 times per second.

Stimulating your muscles and nerves this way results in more work being done by your body in a shorter period of time – with FAR greater recruitment of your muscle fibers.

Think about it...

If you apply 30 Hertz (30 cycles per second) for 30 seconds, you are triggering/stimulating your neuromuscular system a total of 900 times in just half a minute. This means you can train to athlete status with about 12-25 minutes of Acceleration Training, three days a week.

Selecting Your Own Vibration Zone

Since every person begins from a different level of fitness and exercise tolerance, the Power Plate folks have made their equipment adjustable to your needs.

The Power Plate models have varying degrees of adjustability, in terms of frequency and amplitude settings:

1. Frequency settings range from 25 Hertz to 50 Hertz (cycles per second).
2. Amplitude refers to how far the plate moves during each cycle, ranging from 1 mm (low) to 2 mm (high).

Combinations of these frequencies and amplitudes make it possible for six force/intensity settings, which effectively apply between 1.0 G and 6.4 G forces to your body. So, even at the lowest setting, you are almost doubling your body weight in terms of applied forces.

History of Acceleration Training

I believe the best form of Acceleration Training on the market today is the Power Plate.

The Power Plate doesn't replace Peak 8 exercises, but offers a powerful adjunct to them. Essentially, vibration makes it possible to utilize the force of gravity to exercise with less weight and time and achieve superior results then you previously have, in a surprising number of ways, as your body responds to this form of exercise.

The technology was initially developed by the Soviets while preparing their cosmonauts for space back in the 1960s. You probably realize that one of the problems with space travel is muscle atrophy (severe muscle wasting) among the astronauts. This, along with bone loss, typically occurs when astronauts spend extended time in a zero gravity environment.

The Russians found a successful way to combat this – so successful, in fact, that their cosmonauts were able to endure an average of 400 consecutive days in space, compared with only 130 days for American astronauts. The Soviets had discovered the secret of how to make gravity work for them.

From there, the technology progressed and was eventually adapted for the training of Olympic athletes overseas, as well as training professional sports teams.

Acceleration Training has only recently made its way to the United States, and I am excited to be sharing it with you.

Want Weight Loss that Sticks?

Many of you who've battled the bulge know that the hardest part of a weight management program is keeping it off. We've all heard countless tales of people losing tens – or even hundreds of pounds – only to have it creep back on with infuriating ease, even faster than the first time.

What if I could show you a way to shed excess weight that is 54 percent more effective than conventional approaches, while increasing your likelihood of KEEPING it off?

That is exactly what Acceleration Training has been shown to do.

A study at the University of Antwerp in Belgium found that the Power Plate was 54 percent more effective than traditional aerobics and strength training in producing weight loss. And those who used the Power Plate were far less likely to gain it back.

But the Power Plate does much more than that.

How Acceleration Training Tackles Your Belly Fat

Excess visceral fat is associated with heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. An excess of this fat can occur in anyone – thin, chubby, or anywhere in between.

Acceleration Training has been found to effectively combat this problem.

One animal study showed that this type of training actually caused a 27 percent drop in the creation of new fat cells. And a study involving 79 obese adults showed that vibration has a similar effect in humans:

• Subjects using a combination of vibration training and a low calorie diet lost twice as much visceral fat after six months as those following a low calorie diet with traditional cardio and weight training.
• The decrease in visceral fat remained at the same level in the vibration group after 12 months, whereas the other diet and exercise groups returned to their normal baseline levels over those 12 months.

The researchers suggested that the maintenance of visceral fat loss in the Acceleration Training group might be related to hormonal changes – specifically, increased production of growth hormone.

Growth hormone is extremely important to your metabolism, among other things.

Overall, this latest human study suggests that Acceleration Training holds great promise for helping you achieve and sustain long-term weight loss and reduce potentially dangerous visceral fat.

Saying "Sayonara" to Cellulite

Cellulite is simply pockets of fat that have collected in an area (often, the buttocks, thighs and upper arms), causing your skin to bulge. If your lymph circulation becomes sluggish, toxins accumulate in these fat cells. The dimpling effect occurs when the connective fibers in your skin pull down in areas where body fat pushes up.

Acceleration Training improves your lymph circulation, helping break down cellulite from the inside out.

Acceleration Training works as a "mechanical massage" to your body. Without any physical touch, thousands of muscle contractions pump the lymphatic fluid out of problem areas, reducing fluid congestion in your tissues. This helps to flush out toxins and ease the load on your immune system.

This mechanism has been scientifically shown to actually help rid your body of excess pounds and unsightly cellulite.

In a 2004 German study, Acceleration Training alone reduced cellulite on subjects' thighs and buttocks by 25.7 percent. When cardio exercises were added to Acceleration Training, cellulite dropped by 32.3 percent.

Liposuction, creams, and wraps only temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite. Without continual treatment, cellulite just reappears.

Even After an Hour at the Gym, You Might NOT Have Worked Your Heart

According to fitness expert Phil Campbell and author of Ready Set Go, getting cardiovascular benefits requires working all three types of muscle fibers and their associated energy systems.

Here's a quick review:

• Slow twitch (red muscle): Activated by traditional strength training and cardio exercises
• Fast twitch (white muscle): Activated by Peak 8 exercises
• Super-fast (white muscle): Consists of fast twitch AND super-fast fibers, activated by Peak 8 exercises

Unfortunately, most traditional cardio and strength training exercises work only red muscle fibers, completely missing your white muscle fibers, which then atrophy. If your fitness routine doesn't work your white muscle, you aren't really working your heart.

Your heart has two different processes: the aerobic and the anaerobic.

Traditional strength training and cardio exercises work only the aerobic process and the slow twitch (red) muscle fibers. On the other hand, Peak 8 type exercises work your aerobic AND your anaerobic processes, which is what you need for optimal cardiovascular benefit.

This is why you may not see the results you desire – even when you're spending an hour on the treadmill several times a week. You're only working HALF of your muscle fibers!

Now, WBVT also works all three types of muscle fibers, and it does so more effectively and efficiently than straight cardio or weight lifting. You can accomplish more from 15 minutes on the Power Plate than from an HOUR of traditional strength training.

Acceleration Training Turns Your Body Into a Fat-Burning Engine

When you work your fast and super-fast muscle fibers, your body releases exercise-induced growth hormones at levels that actually mimic taking HGH injections. In fact, certain types of anaerobic exercise stimulate as much as a 530 percent increase in growth hormone! The higher your HGH serum level, the healthier, leaner and stronger you will be.

HGH declines rapidly after age 21. And the amount of HGH you secrete depends on how much lean body mass and belly fat you have. The more belly fat you have, the less HGH your body produces.

Therefore, one major goal of any fitness program should be getting your body to pump up its HGH production. Acceleration Training can help with that.

By stimulating your super-fast muscle fibers, you boost your HGH production, which increases your metabolism and helps you burn fat.

What's truly exceptional about Acceleration Training technology is, it engages up to 98 percent of your muscle fibers – including the fast and super-fast muscle fibers.

So, with a Power Plate, you get greater rewards and shorter workouts because you're working muscle fibers every second.

If This Sounds Too Good to Be True...

If turning you into a fat-burning furnace, boosting your HGH, and blasting away cellulite isn't enough for you, Acceleration Training has been shown to offer even more significant health benefits:

• Immediate improvement in blood circulation
• Increased muscle strength and flexibility
• Improved range of motion
• Improved proprioception and balance
• Increased bone density
• Reduced pain and soreness
• Faster recovery from injury

What if your fitness routine could also relieve pain and reverse or prevent osteoporosis?

As it turns out, the Power Plate can help with those things as well. If, as you read this, you are thinking this sounds "too good to be true," you are not alone. I wouldn't have believed it myself had I not seen the studies to back it up.

Add Better Bones, Faster Healing and Less Pain to the List of WBVT Benefits

As you may recall, one of the primary concerns leading to the development of this technology was preventing the loss of bone mass astronauts experience in zero gravity conditions. Acceleration Training addresses this by actually building bone density and bone strength.

The vibrations apparently stimulate the cell nucleus, which in turn triggers the release of osteoblasts to build bone.

A study involving 90 postmenopausal women aged 58 to 70 showed a 1.5 percent net increase in bone mineral density after 24 weeks of WBVT. The researchers concluded that Acceleration Training might be a solution to reversing bone loss and eliminating osteoporosis. Improving balance and posture, while increasing bone strength, would likely reduce falls and fractures among the elderly.

But this technology represents a breakthrough for the elderly and disabled in another important way.

Acceleration Training is so gentle that even the most frail can tolerate it. As Mark de Gorter (president of the Power Plate company) said, "My 85-year-old father won't lift weights anymore but he'll use this equipment."

This technology seems to also show promise for relieving chronic pain. One study found that 6-weeks of WBVT safely reduced pain and fatigue in women with fibromyalgia.

And the Power Plate appears to accelerate healing from injuries. You can actually safely exercise (passively) an injured body part, without risking further damage, which promotes faster healing and recovery. This is very difficult to do with other modes of exercise.

Exercise Doesn't Have to Be Hard!

I truly believe Acceleration Training technology represents a revolution in fitness science.

The Power Plate, along with Peak 8, proves that exercise doesn't have to be difficult and time consuming. Near-total muscle fiber recruitment translates into a higher-intensity workout, unlike anything you've ever experienced. The Power Plate can offer you a complete, full-body workout – incorporating flexibility, balance, strength and even massage – in 30 minutes or less.

Obviously, if you have health challenges such as heart disease or high blood pressure, you will want to consult with your health care provider before starting a new fitness program.

I have more information on this exciting new advancement in health and fitness technology coming soon – so please stay tuned!

Warning: Beware of Cheap Imitations

The Power Plate is the leader in the field. It was developed by the Dutch Olympic Coach who was inspired by the Soviet space program and he effectively used it for his Olympic athletes. He really is the creator of this technology for the public.

There are a variety of cheap machines on the market being sold under different names. Typically, such machines are notoriously poor with faulty electronics, cheap bearings and buttons, and shoddy welds that often fail.

Beware of skinny support posts, platforms that are too small or unstable, weak motors and units with insufficient power to support the vibration capacity.

The Power Plate equipment moves in all three planes and it is made of the highest quality materials and designed to give you many long years of effective training. In fact it has patents which prevent other companies from copying its radical innovations.

There are many cheaper imitations of the Power Plate that seek to copy it but few produce the same benefits. So before you decide to purchase acceleration equipment make sure you at least evaluate the Power Plate, and if reviewing another product, ask to see the scientific validation conducted with the product in question.

March 9, 2011

Copyright © 2011 Dr. Joseph Mercola

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