From the vibrating belt machine to the twist board, people have been coming up with machines to take the “work” out of their workouts since the Victorian era. Most turn out to be ineffective fads, but TikTok’s latest trend might have some benefits. It’s a new take on an old idea that starts with a simple question: Do you vibe?
Social media users have been spreading the word after shaking off a few calories with vibration plates. Not much larger than a bathroom scale, users stand on these plates to experience what the Mayo Clinic refers to as “whole-body vibration.”
“With whole-body vibration, you stand, sit or lie on a machine with a vibrating platform,” according to the world’s largest not-for-profit medical group practice. “As the machine vibrates, it transmits energy to your body, forcing your muscles to contract and relax dozens of times each second. The activity may cause you to feel as if you’re exerting yourself.”
Social media influencer Darnell Cox is one of TikTok’s vibration plate proponents. The healthy aging coach told her tens of thousands of followers that the machine offers three major health benefits: increased muscle mass, better bone density and improved balance.
But doctors are not quite convinced that it’s going to be the next best thing in fitness.
“It’s not a silver bullet, but it has its certain merits,” Dr. Jorn Rittweger — head of German Aerospace Center’s division of muscle and bone metabolism — told NBC News Health.
The machine’s heart health benefits and calorie burning potential are on par with a “brisk walking for the same amount of time,” he added.
The true advantage of the vibration plate may not come from possibly boosting bone, muscle and balance, but rather in getting people to break a sweat.
“If people don’t do anything” Rittweger said, speaking on people that live inactive lifestyles with little to no exercise, “then the effects are moderate or even better. For the general public, if they’re exercising already, the effect is marginal or nonexistent.”
There is mixed evidence that the machine can strengthen bones, he said. It does, however, possibly improve lymphatic drainage — another benefit Cox claimed in her TikTok post.
There’s “evidence suggesting that the vibration actually does help with removal of fluids from your legs,” Rittweger added.
But it’s still unclear if these fluids are originating from the lymphatic system. The Mayo Clinic reported that comprehensive research concerning whole-body vibration simply remains “lacking.”
Vibrating exercise equipment was first pioneered over a century-and-a-half ago when Victorian-era Swedish physician Dr. Gustav Zander developed the precursor to the modern gym. By the 1940s, vibrating exercise machines were a thriving fad.
So vibrating plates are a new take on an old, very old, trend. The world’s fascination with low-effort workout contraptions has changed with the technology, leading to a TikTok fad that features some possible benefits. It begs the question: Do you vibe?
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