Proform Biovibe Update & Damn That Smoke!
My ProForm Biovibe arrived a little over a month ago but I haven’t had a chance to really put it to it’s paces until this week. I’m here to say this machine rocks.
Normally after a break from weight lifting I come back stronger. I have years of workout log books to prove it. I almost always start a new bodybuilding phase lifting heavier after letting my body take a recuperative break of one to six weeks depending on the situation.
On Monday’s Back and Chest Day I did all five sets of push ups on the machine. I felt more muscle recruitment than my push ups performed on the Bosu, uSurf, and GoFit Disc combined. The next day my chest was more sore than usual (more than my last 10 set workout!) and even my biceps were sore despite not doing biceps the day before (other than the usual recruitment from a chest and back workout).
Yesterday on Leg Day I did all five of my sets of 15 to 25 reps per exercise of squats, lunges, side lunges, and three way calf raises (15 reps per angle) on it and I could tell a difference right away. Particularly on Leg Day it took less sets and reps to get a burn. My calves are tough customers and it’s hard to get them to burn. I have done as many as 10 sets of 60 reps each of 3 different angled exercises (toes straight, toes pointed in, toes pointed out) and I don’t hit a burn until toward the end. I almost didn’t get through all of my pool aerobics workout a few hours after my resistance training. My legs were killing me!
Forget DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), I had AIMS (almost immediate muscle soreness). I just coined that phase but it describes my results of immediate soreness well. As Bruno would say, “Cool!” (Can you tell I’m a member of the “No pain, no gain” camp?)
And on this fine morning I’m toast. I’m having trouble walking because my calves, quads, glutes, and hamstrings are sore as hell. Hey, yippee, muscles were superlatively stimulated and with proper nutrition and rest they should grow. (I slept 10 hours last night).
Today’s workout – ha, ha, ha, like I’ll get a decent one – will be about one hour of pool aerobics. I’ve got to do something to get rid of some of the lactic acid in my muscles even if I don’t burn a lot of calories. The catch is the horrid smoke enveloping our valley. The smoke from the recent California fires has blown into our usually pristine blue skies and remote Stagecoach looks like a bad day in LA. The smoke is so thick you can no longer see our mountains nor beautiful blue sky. And the smoke is irritating our eyes, noses, sinuses, throats, and lungs.
Our usually blue skies...in Winter and Summer.
And yesterday's smoked filled sky...
I digress. (Cough, cough. Rubs itchy eyes and nose).
If you can afford it I highly recommend buying a whole body vibration machine and incorporating it into your resistance program. Make sure to check your choice of products goes at least as high as 50 hertz. The high vibration in conjunction with resistance training increases muscle stimulation. (Please note, just standing on one of these machines doesn’t do much. You must actually perform resistance exercises like squats, lunges, calf raises, push ups, ab crunches, and weighted exercises like back rows, bicep curls and shoulder raises with dumbbells, and so forth while on the machine).
And it’s fun to turn the machine on when a few kittens / cats are sitting on the platform. After confusion as to why the earth is shaking they bale.
The premise behind performing resistance training on a platform that vibrates is wonderfully explained in Iron Man magazine’s article “Good Vibrations”
The some of the research behind it is here:
Whole Body Vibration Wiki
What is Whole Body Vibration Therapy?
Clinical studies have shown that whole body vibration - WBV - substantially improves muscle strength, performance and flexibility. It has also been proven to enhance blood and lymph circulation, which is critical in regenerating damaged tissues. WBV is also being utilized to assist the circulatory system's ability to deliver vital nutrients and hormones throughout the body.
Research on Whole Body Vibration Here various research articles are listed with links.
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