by Lloyd Shaw
Relax, don’t do it…..
This article is a small piece in the promised series on what you shouldn’t do on some platforms. This one is about why you don’t deliberately contract your muscles on any Vibration Training or Therapy system.
Pivotal (Legs locked)
The best way to describe this type of pivotal therapy in terms easy understand, is similar to being on a boat. If you are standing with your friends fishing, do you notice anyone paying special attention to not falling over or are they just standing normally swaying back and forth in time to the boat? Is it magic? No, its just involuntary reflexes keeping everyone in balance.
The same is true when using pivotal therapy. Your muscles will be involuntarily contracting to keep your balance. Therefore, there is no need for you to deliberately contract your muscles.
Note: On light Pivotal I do believe engaging the core while in the Lock Legged position may be acceptable. But this needs to be looked at closer before its limits and contra-indications can be ascertained.
Pivotal Or Lineal Training (Basic Squat)
An analogy of this would be like jumping off of a chair. If you try to land legs locked like in the pose above, you will get the shock of a lifetime, at best a bad headache, or at worst a crushed lumbar. So how do you naturally land? With a bend in your legs or course. Now even though this may help, you will still get a large shock if you contract every muscle just before you hit the ground. So that is why your leg muscles naturally relax on impact.
Some trainers say that you “feel” it more if you contract your muscles while doing the squat. Of course you do, but just like you would feel it more jumping off a chair like that, it doesn’t mean its good for you.
No matter what different trainers and companies tell you, never stop using your own common sense. Remember, you are being asked to do either one or two things and sometimes both in Vibration Training or Therapy. Rebalance yourself at a given rate or absorb a large amount of energy by catching your own mass over and over again. Trust your own knowledge about how your body performs those tasks the best and stick to it.
