ATHLETIC S COACH
V I B R AT I O N T R A I N I N G
EARLY 2000S FAD OR VALUABLE TR AINING TOOL?
Whole body vibration training received considerable attention in the 2000s as a potential tool for increasing performance gains for competitive athletes. Even today, a Google search for suggested sprint training techniques will bring up opinion articles advocating for its use in performance athletes, making claims such as “the leaders in athletic development, as well as many elite, professional and recreational athletes, are using vibration training with tremendous success.” This article will examine what the peer-reviewed literature says about the effectiveness of whole body vibration training as a method to increase sprinting and jumping ability for performance athletes? The Rationale Vibration exposure is believed to elicit rapid changes in muscle length, resulting in a muscle activation in an attempt to dampen the vibratory waves (Cardinale & Wakeling, 2005). It has been claimed that this results in the recruitment of almost 100% of a muscle’s fibres, whereas traditional resistance training results in considerably less, however it is not apparent where the evidence to support this claim is derived. Of particular interest to athletics coaches, it is also claimed that vibration between 30 and 50Hz is beneficial for the development of fasttwitch muscle fibres, resulting in improved maximal power and speed (Luo, McNamara & Moran; Giorgos & Elias, 2007).
“There does seem to be some evidence to suggest that vibration may provide a small benefit to maximal strength and power of trained athletes” Wilcock, Whatman, Harris & Justin (2009)
30
