by Lloyd Shaw
This article will explain to trainers and home users alike, why following the Safety Program to the letter is so important. As it is very easy to get slack and allow people to just put themselves into position, without going through the step-by-step process.
When this happens bad positioning is almost inevitable. In fact, as any busy studio soon finds out, it is usually right when someone is getting confident with the program they start getting sloppy. To stop this from happening it is important to slow the person down and re-train them on the exact steps taken to get into position.
Refresher..... Bio-mechanical markers .......
If you have read my other articles you will know these are stationary objects around us, or body parts we use to mark our positioning.
Eg... A handle bar and your hands. Both are always in the same place ( your hand is always at the end of your arm, we hope ) One being movable, you simply grab the handle bar, hence knowing where your hand is in relation to the handle bar. Pretty basic stuff, but its the basics that people will forget. And after that things will always fall to pieces very quickly.
Classic examples from http://www.vibra-train.com/exercises-explained.html
Basic Squat ..... video instruction here http://www.youtube.com/user/VibraTrain#p/u/16/6fWoFeiPkcY
(1) Feet must remain 'flat' and exactly 'straight' at all times. At hip width apart.
(2) Drop down to a half squat.
Hold the position in a relaxed mode, where the most pressure is at the 'girth' (widest point) of the muscles.
Do not swing on the handle bars, they are there for balance only. No 'water skiing'
Out of position would be considered:
Up too high
Down too low
Feet too far apart.
Feet not straight.
On toes (feet not flat)
The position is described in that particular order for a reason. As the first thing that should be done is to make sure your feet are flat, straight and hip width apart. Not doing this will misalign the joints and not allow everything to work at optimum angles.
Note: If you want to tests the importance of "hip width apart" for yourself. at home, just place your feet under your hip joints. Squat down then up again. Now keeping your legs straight, take your feet as far apart as possible and then try to do a squat. That will clearly show you that there is such a thing as a better stance and a terrible one. So for every inch you go "out" it is getting closer to terrible.
For those of you who think this is a little fussy ....... If you can do it perfectly with a little extra vigilance, why wouldn't you ?
Next we ask you to drop down into a half squat pose. ( This should look like you are about to sit down in a chair but stop just short. ) Again if you want to understand how important the order of things are, try randomly squatting halfway down, then try to align your feet with your hip joints, in that order. Now imagine doing it while the machine is running. Most people have to stop and restart to correct themselves.
TRI-CEP DIP ......
http://www.youtube.com/user/VibraTrain#p/u/13/YWzCpHXS01g
So what are the instructions on this one.......
(1) Put foam mat on plate.
(2) Sit on foam mat.
(3) Put hands on mat next to hips with fingers curled over front edge of machine. Make sure palms of hands stay flat.
(4) Bend arms and drop down front of machine. Also make sure knees are bent, not doing so can cause lower back strain.
(5) Look at knee area
Keep lower back slightly touching unit at all times. Hold pose and relax.
What do you think the most common mistake is with this one. Forgetting to put the mat down. Now on a machine like I design, no real big issue as they are built with customer safety in mind, so has anti-friction carpet. But some units are still sold with sandpaper basically glued onto the top. Might be good if you are a crim and wanting to rub your fingerprints out, but not the kind of thing you want to do by accident. And yes I have seen some nasty blisters from people on the old Power Plate units that "forgot".
No matter what machine you are using, that mistake is actually impossible to make following the step-by-step process. As the very first instruction is what ..... " Put foam mat on plate"
The single biggest mistakes I see people doing at my studio, is trying to hurriedly jump into a position, without looking at the actual pose number they are up to. Or not 'going through the motions " and ending up completely out of position.
Remember everything done around a Vibration Training machine is done slowly and methodically. From adjusting the settings to getting into position. Everything is a step 1 .... step 2 ..... process.
There is no room for random.
http://www.youtube.com/user/VibraTrain#p/u/13/YWzCpHXS01g
