An Hour Of Fitness In Just 10 Minutes? Is It Possible?

Jeff_Bell_Headshot_06-07-2015_Cropped

These days, with so many of us having busier schedules than we would like, too often it is hard to find the time to maintain the level of fitness that we would like.

As a 65 year old former athlete, whose body has a lot of hard miles on it, I am all too aware of the need to maintain my fitness, flexibility and lean muscle and bone mass.  And, of course, I want to keep my circulatory and lymphatic systems healthy, as well.

Yet, I often just do not have the time to do my full martial arts workout, go for a bike ride, and do my stretching and strength training.  By the time I do all that, and take a shower and get ready to go back to work, I have taken 2 hours or more.  

But I have a very busy practice so there are plenty of days when I have to cut things short and not take the care of myself that I would like to. 

When I first learned about whole body therapy I was skeptical.  The notion that I could get all the promised benefits and at least maintain my health in 10 minutes a day sounded too good to be true. 

How I Got My First Whole Body Vibration Therapy Unit:
Back in the days of the U.S. – Soviet Space Race I noticed that the U.S. astronauts would go into space for 2 to 6 weeks and come back in very bad health.  In contrast the Soviet cosmonauts would stay in space for many months and even years and come back healthy.  The Soviets had developed 3 key technologies, which allowed their cosmonauts to stay in space, literally for years at a time and yet maintain their health:

  • They figured out a practical way to prevent health damage from the fierce radiation that is present in space and beyond the earth’s atmosphere.   
  • They developed an advanced, computer driven diagnostic and balancing tool that caught and corrected many diseases and health issues early on.  The device was called a “Scenar” – you may have heard of it.    
  • And they developed Whole Body Vibration Therapy to maintain healthy muscle mass, healthy bone density and good circulation even in zero gravity.

Whole Body Vibration Therapy is what we want to talk about today.  The Soviets developed this to offset the otherwise rapid loss of muscle mass and bone density that occurs in the zero gravity conditions of space.  I am not sure they anticipated the many other health benefits that this breakthrough technology would provide.

I first learned about Whole Body Vibration Therapy towards the end of 2004.  At the time there was one gym in the area that had a unit that members could use for an extra fee.  And there was a chiropractor who had one in her office, also available on a fee-for-use basis.  I tried both and loved the way my body felt.  But it was not practical for me to drive to either location on a daily basis. 

So I looked around, did some research and found to my dismay that the only Whole Body Vibration Therapy units available at the time were prohibitively expensive.  I reluctantly gave up on having one in my office. 

But I kept hearing of impressive results from various clients and colleagues.  Some were making great progress against difficult diseases including MS.  I learned of a number of top level athletes who were getting closer to peak performance through the use of Whole Body Vibration Therapy.  And I continued to look at the science and research behind it.  I resolved that if an opportunity arose, I would buy a Whole Body Vibration Therapy unit for my office.

Early in 2013 I was presenting a talk on the core principles of using alternative health measures to overcome cancer, (my main focus over the last 20 years or so.)  This was in San Francisco, at the New Living Expo.  Not far from my stage was a booth where a number of different Whole Body Vibration Therapy units were on display and available for try-outs.

I tried several of the units and fell in love.  My body just felt so good after only a few minutes.  The owner of the company was there.  I negotiated a smokin’ hot deal and went home from the Expo with a machine.  My wife and I have used it every day since.  I knew we would like it and that there would be a number of health benefits.  But I had no idea just how important it would become to maintaining our health.

I expected that our new Whole Body Vibration Therapy unit would be good for my overall health.  Mostly, I counted on it to be my go to measure for those days when my schedule was too full for my normal workout.  I also knew from the research that it would help to keep my immune system strong and healthy, that it would help to keep my lymphatic system clear and healthy, help to keep my circulatory system healthy and that it would be beneficial for discharging the stress that seems to go along with my work.

And it certainly did fulfill its main promise of giving me a good, effective workout on those days when my schedule did not have room for my usual workout.  It did that.  I noticed that even when I had 3 or 4 such days in a week my fitness level was maintained.  Gone were those dips in fitness when I missed too many of my usual workouts.

Here’s What I Did Not Expect:
In 1989 I was hit by a car and severely injured.  I had more broken bones than you could count, a number of life-threatening internal injuries, and a lot of neurological and circulatory system damage.  By far, the worst injury was to my right leg, which was essentially shattered.

For the first 6 weeks I was in the hospital, I was not expected to survive and each day the doctors urged me to allow them to amputate my right leg.  I refused, holding the strong belief that my body could heal, including my leg.

It took 5 major surgeries to save and mostly repair my right leg.  I say mostly, because a considerable amount of the neurological damage and the circulatory system damage to my leg could not be surgically repaired never did fully heal.  That is until I had been using the Whole Body Vibration Therapy for about 6 months.

So I was walking around on a leg that was mostly numb, had frequent muscle spasms, and had far less mobility and control than it used to.  I did not worry about this.  I felt so lucky to be alive and to have a leg at all, that I just considered it “no big deal”.  I also had no idea what more to do to further heal it..  Nothing that I tried, including every nutritional approach that I could find, acupuncture, Reiki, energy healing, hypnosis, etc.   made any real difference that I could tell.  I decided it was outside my control and that I needed to let go of the rest of the healing and focus on being grateful.

When we got our Whole Body Vibration Therapy unit I had no specific expectations.  I was already a life-long athlete and workout fiend so I did not think I really needed it.  Mostly I got it because we got a great deal, my whole body felt great when I was on it, even for just a few minutes at the Expo, and because I wanted my wife to have it.  She is not an exercise fanatic, and I thought that if she had something that convenient, easy to do and that could be effective in just 10 minutes a day, that would really help her.

After we both had been using the Whole Body Vibration Therapy unit for a few months, I got up one morning and immediately noticed that something felt different.  I felt a tingling in my right leg, (the one so badly injured in the accident).  Ever since the accident, which at this point was 23 years ago, my right leg had been numb from a few inches below my knee all the way to my foot.

At first I did not believe what I was feeling.  My leg had been almost completely numb for so many years that I no longer believed there was anything that would bring the feeling back, let alone the control and mobility I used to enjoy.  But in the ensuing weeks the return of feeling progressed.  Within 6 months, I had full feeling back in my entire leg.

I am not aware of any other changes or reasons for this, other than adding Whole Body Vibration Therapy to my daily routine.  And not only was the feeling back, but the leg cramps and spasms have completely gone.

My wife has experienced some miraculous health improvements, as well.  And I have since spoken with quite a few people who share similar experiences.  A number of my clients use Whole Body Vibration Therapy to recover from lower extremity neuropathy, lymphedema and various related health problems.

Quite a few of my clients use Whole Body Vibration Therapy at this point.  Some of them have been dealing with health challenges that seem particularly responsive to this, including MS, the functional recovery from orthopedic injuries, the aftermath of conventional cancer treatment, and more.

I now consider it a key and crucial tool in much of my work to help people recover and maintain their health.

How Does Whole Body Therapy Work?:
It’s actually a simple but brilliant concept, first demonstrated by the brilliant scientist, engineer and inventor, Nikolai Tesla.  He figured out that having a person stand on a rapidly vibrating platform, if the frequency range was right and the amount of up and down travel was right, would change the balance points that the human neurology experienced and perceived.  This would force all of the motor muscles in the body to alternately tense and relax.

Tesla built several versions of machines that used this principle.  Then this brilliant invention of his was largely forgotten until the Soviets resurrected it for use in the manned part of their space program, beginning in the late 1960s, when they first started aiming for longer stays in space.

So What Makes A Good Whole Body Vibration Therapy Unit?
There are a number of characteristics of a good Whole Body Vibration Therapy unit.  These were determined through actual research and testing years ago by the Soviet engineers who first built these units for practical use for their space program.  The Soviet engineers of the time were known to be among the best on the planet, and in this area, they did not disappoint.

It is hard to put the characteristics in any specific order as they are all important.  So I will just list them here:

    • The unit must be easy to use.  Otherwise there is risk it will join so many other exercise machines as a good place to collect dust and eventually wind up in a garage sale.  We’ve all been there, haven’t we?

 

    • It must be built very well so that it holds up under the mechanical stress.  (When I explain what this machine must actually do in order to be effective, you will see that the mechanical stress on the machine is quite high.

 

    • The vertical distance that the edge of the platform rises and falls when the unit is active is known as the “excursion”.  Research has confirmed that 13 mm is the perfect distance.

 

  • Ideally, the frequency of the up and down movements of the platform should be variable over a range of 1Hz to 50Hz.  By the way, the platforms on these units go up and down, by alternating sides.  So when the left side goes up the right side goes down.  When the right side goes up, the left side goes down.  You can think of this as a sort of left-side, right-side vertical oscillation. 
  • The weight capacity should be 400 lbs or more.  This allows for sufficient margin for average weight adults to use the machine without it wearing out or failing prematurely. 
  • Power consumption should be 1.5 HP or above. 
  • The unit should be covered with a decent warranty.  (If it is a well-built and well-designed unit a 1 year parts and labor warranty should be sufficient.  As in many mechanical devices, the high risk times are when it is new and when it is old, and not so much in between.  So there is not likely much reason to pay double the cost or more for a unit that has a 5 year warranty, as opposed to a 1 year warranty.)

So Which Machine?
I have researched a lot of different machines.  There are a few on the market that I really like.  The features are great.  They work well and the engineering and manufacturing of them is rock solid.  And, of course, there are a number of units on the market that I cannot recommend for various reasons.

If price is no object, then I would say one of the mid-range or upper end Power Plate units is worth considering.  These range from about $4,500 up to as high as $15,000 !.  

But, you do NOT have to spend that much to get a terrific, professional quality Whole Body Vibration Therapy machine – not nearly that much.

Don’t get me wrong, the mid-range and above Power Plate units are worth every penny for the health benefits they provide.   (I am not a fan of the lower end Power Plates, which are lacking in a number of the essential features, and have inadequate specs per my list above.)

The great news is that the Whole Body Vibration Therapy unit we have now is terrific and affordable.  It has all the features needed, is very well engineered and well made.  It has the highest weight limit of any of the machines I know of at 500 lbs.  Of course, it is unlikely that it will ever need to hold that much weight.  But the fact that it could is a good indicator of how well engineered and how well made it is.

And it meets all of the other criteria.  We love it.  Both of us use it every day, regardless of whether we do other things to exercise and workout that day or not.

By the way, a number of years ago we tried a “discount unit” that cost about $1,300 before we bought the one we have now.  The discount unit worked up to a point.  I could feel the benefits.  But they were not as profound as I expected, either for me or for my wife.

And it broke after about 13 months, just after the limited warranty expired.  That was disappointing but it prompted me to do some serious research.

That led me to the VibraWav, which is what we have and love.  In my view, it hits the “sweet spot” between something that is affordable and yet is really well made and has all the features and functions that are needed or desired.

Here is what it looks like:

VibraWav_XT_Pro_Black

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Specifications directly from the manufacturer’s list:

  • Maximum power: 1,000 watts
  • Speed range: 50 levels (0 hz to 50 hz)
  • Max user weight: 500 pounds
  • Extra large console with 3-LED display
  • Readout: time, speed and calorie count
  • Overload current protection
  • Anti-jamming and anti-static
  • Power requirement: AC 110V 50-60hz
  • Power consumption 2 HP
  • Amplitude: 1 – 13mm   (this is what I called “excursion” earlier in this review)

VibraWav_Brochure_Cover_Photo

Sue, (my wife), and I have this one of these.  We love it.  It is so much better designed and better built than the one we had that there is no comparison.  It is clearly designed and built to last.

In fact, it is suitable for either home use of clinical use in a busy practice.*

Besides being built to last, because it follows the optimal specifications it provides health benefits that far surpass those provided by the “discount” unit we had that broke.

 

How Can You Get Your Own VibraWav Whole Body Vibration Therapy Unit?

The retail price on a VibraWav Pro XT, (available in black or silver – I like the black better), is $2,795.  And it is worth every penny of that and more.

But you do NOT need to spend that much.  Because I love these machines so much and have experienced and seen the health benefits they provide, I have gone to great lengths to arrange a special program of unprecedented discounts with the manufacturer, VibraWav, LLC. So that those who want to take advantage of these benefits can.

Again, I want to highlight just some of the major health benefits:

  • Easier and more effective Weight Management 
  • Beauty and Well-Being 
  • Everyday Fitness 
  • Injury Recovery 
  • Active Aging 
  • Increased Energy 
  • Decreased Stress

And, best of all, 10 minutes a day gives you these benefits at a deeper level than you would get from a really good 60 minute workout at the gym.  In fact, some of the benefits highlighted much earlier in this post are ones you could not get from any standard gym workout.

Before you spend one cent, I would like to help you see if this is a good fit for you, and answer any questions you might have.

If you are interested, please fill out and submit the form below to apply for a complimentary consultation. Please only those with serious interest – my time is limited and fully dedicated to helping people overcome serious illnesses and health challenges.

If this is a good fit for you our strategy session also qualifies you for an amazing discount.  I do not want price to be a barrier to anyone who wants to have these terrific health benefits for themselves and their family.  So I have gone to great lengths to create a special arrangement with the manufacturer to help you get a huge discount on a VibraWav, if it is a good fit for you.

If you are interested in learning more or taking advantage of this offer and bringing the benefits of Whole Body Vibration Therapy into your home or practice, please fill out the form below to apply for your complimentary strategy session.

Please also post your comments or questions in the comments section below.

To your great health and fitness!

Jeff Bell

 

Apply For Your Complementary Whole Body Vibration Therapy Strategy Session

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