Whole Body Vibration Training as an Adjunct to Classic Resistance Training is Particularly Effective in the Early Phase of Training - New Exercise Stimulus, News Gains!

If strong is the new skinny, adding vibration training to your regimen may help you to get "skinny" ;-)

You will probably remember the post about hydraulic resistance training and my plea to stay open minded with respect to new training techniques. Now, I have to admit that I have not always followed my own advice in the past. Whole body vibration training is, as I told you only recently, something I have never taken seriously... in my own defense, I do have to say that there is still no evidence that it will ever fully replace classic resistance and/or cardiovascular training, though. Due to its ability to reach muscle groups regular resistance training exercises won't stimulate optimally, the idea of using whole body vibration as an adjunct to classic resistance training as it was pursued by Margarett T. Jones, recently (Jones. 2014) sounds legit.

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The purpose of Jones' study was to examine the effects of progressive-overload, whole-body vibration (WBV) training on strength and power as part of a 15-week periodized, strength training (ST) program.
To this end, Jones recruited eighteen collegiate women athletes with at least one year of strength training experience who had not spent a single minute on one of the fancy vibration platforms you will find in more and more gyms these days and assigned them randomly to one of the following groups:

• WBV + ST combined - combined whole body vibration + strength training
• SHAM + ST combined - same as above but without active WBV training

During the WBV sham + ST protocol, athletes completed the same volume, tempo, and duration of exercises selected for the WBV + ST protocol without the inclusion of WBV, which is described by Jones as follows:

"Twice weekly, separated by 48 hours, WBV was administered during team lifting sessions via a vibration platform (Pro5 AIRdaptive; Power Plate, Irvine, CA, USA) that produced vertical sinusoidal vibrations with a frequency range of 25–50 Hz and a vertical displacement range of 2–6 mm (i.e., amplitude). After completion of the Bod Pod testing session, each athlete was introduced to the 6 exercises of WBV1 (Table 1) by performing each exercise for 30 seconds (i.e., 30 Hz, low amplitude).

Table 1: Whole-body vibration off-season training program; D = dynamic exercise; SH = static hold exercise; midtesting and 5 days of active rest occurred between WBV1 and WBV2 (Jones. 2014)

For WBV training, subjects performed 2 separate 3-week training phases (WBV1, WBV2) that consisted of dynamic and static hold exercises for the upper and lower body for a total of 12 WBV training sessions (Table 1). Exposure time was limited to 6 minutes for any given workout, as has been recommended for the improvement in muscle power. All WBV sets were 30 seconds in duration followed by a 60-second rest (1:2 work-to-relief ratio). Whole-body vibration protocol exercises did not use an external load, only body weight. Frequency and amplitude progressed in intensity from the first 3-week training phase to the second 3-week training phase." (Jones. 2014)

As you may already have gathered based on the study duration, we are dealing with a cross over study, where after 2x3 weeks in the one arm, the women were crossed over to the other arm of the study. In that, exercises, frequency, and amplitude progressed in intensity from the first 3-week WBV training to the second 3-week phase (see Table 1-2).

Table 2: Off-season 15-week strength training program;LB = lower body;
UP = upper body; w:r = work:rest ratio (Jones. 2014)

Unlike you may have expected the ST workouts (see Table 2) were not the usual sissy stuff you often seen in scientific studies. With O-lifting, core work, squatting and some pushing and pulling, they workouts may in fact look much like a wild mix of what some of you are probably doing at the gym.

Figure 1: Percent change in tests across testing periods; in that's it's important to note thet (maybe due to the somewhat messed up cross-over protocol where one group had already gained a significant amount of strength during the ST + SHAM period) Jones did not find significant inter-group differences. The conclusion that ST + WBV was better than ST + sham is thus unwarranted.

So, useful, or not useful? If we assume that this resemblance would exist not just for the training protocol, but also for the results, the data in Figure 1 would indicate that a similar two-phased 3-week periodized, progressive-overload WBV + ST training may also help you make significant power gains in the "off season" or whenever else you're devoting all your training resources to the gym. A significant inter-group difference and thus advantage of adding the vibration to exercise day 2 and 4, however, was not detected. Comment on Facebook!

In view of the fact that the greatest improvements in performance tests occurred in the initial WBV phase, it does yet not appear to be feasible to include whole body vibration training in your training routine year-round. Rather than that it would appear prudent to file it under "things to keep in mind, when I plan my next macrocycle".

Apropos "macrocycle" and periodization, you do remember that there is a SuppVersity Series on "How to Design a Workout Routine According to Your Goals & Needs" (learn more), do you? The article series discusses how to incorporate your exercise sessions into your working life, training type, combining different forms of training and more. And when you're at it, you may also want to consider that vibration training has recently been shown to help you lose fat, as well.

References:

• Jones, M. "Progressive-Overload Whole-Body Vibration Training as Part pf Periodized,Off-Season Strength Training in Trained Women Athletes." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 28.9 (2014):2461–2469

Vibration Training Shakes Away Your Liver Fat - 9% Liver Fat, 7% Visceral Fat & 26.4% Intra-Muscular Fat Loss + Reduced Inflammation Without Extra Dietary Intervention

If you actually work out on the vibration plate (instead of just standing there) it may in fact be an effective adjunct to regular exercise for must of us.

I have to admit that I am regularly laughing about the women on the vibration plates in my fitness studio. Now that I have read the latest paper from the Department of Medical Sciences at the University of Tsukuba, however, I will probably see them standing on the "wacker plates" with different eyes. In said study which was conducted by Sechang Oh et al. (2014) the scientists tried to elucidate the effects of what they call "acceleration training" (this is in fact what we know as vibration training) on the physical function, body composition, hepatic and metabolic function, fat contents in the liver and skeletal muscles of overweight subjects (BMI = 28 kg/m²) with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

For the lean NAFLD sufferers I'd suggest HIIT instead of a vibrator ;-)

Never Train To Burn Calories!

Tabata = 14.2kcal /min ≠ Fat Loss

30s Intervals + 2:1 Work/Rec.

Making HIIT a Hit Part I/II

Making HIIT a Hit Part II/II

No Time? 1 Min is Enough

The 18 participants (4 men and 14 women) took part in the vibration program twice a week for 12 weeks. Participants performed upper and lower body exercises on a vertical vibration machine (Power Plate Pro6, Badhoevendorp, the Netherlands). The protocol itself consisted of three sessions (movement preparation, strength and power, and massage) and had a total duration of 40 minutes - including a rest interval of 30 seconds after each movement.

A movement preparation session included hamstring stretch, calf stretch, side stretch, and hip joint stretch (frequency, 30 Hz; amplitude, low; time, 30 seconds; set, 2). A strength and power session included deep squat, wide stance squat, lunge, push up, triceps dips, crunch, front plank, and pelvic bridge (frequency, 30–35 Hz; amplitude, low; time, 30 seconds; set, 2). A fial session consisted of massage of the calf, hamstring, lower back, shoulder, and face (frequency, 40 Hz; amplitude, high; time, 60 seconds; set, 2). Trained staff supervised all training sessions to ensure correct execution (Figure S1 provides details on the AT program used in this study)."

What is important to point out is the fact that the subjects did not receive any lifestyle counseling, and did not decrease their habitual energy intake or increase their regular physical activity.

In practice, the energy intake of the subjects actually increased (by 246kcal/day, i.e. 13%) and the physical activity - probably to "compensate" for the "exhausting" vibration training *irony* - was reduced so that their total daily energy expenditure on non-exercise days ended up being 320kcal lower (-14%). Since there were large inter-individual differences, these changes didn't reach statistical significance, though.

The surprisingly pronounced effects you can see in Figure 1 have thus been triggered by the often laughed at "exercise" regimen.

Figure 1: Changes in body composition in response to 12x2 vibration training sessions in the absence of lifestyle interventions, diet or additional exercise (Oh. 2014)

I see you are impressed. 6% lower body fat, increased muscle mass, 7% reduced visceral fat... that's impressive, right? Well, I was similarly flabbergast, when I saw the results of this peer-reviewed study. One thing we should keep in mind, though, is the fact that the subjects were not fit, but fat.

When it's propely designed, add. vibration training can increase athletic performance in fem. athletes (Fagnani. 2006).

So this can't be useful for athletes, right? Wrong. Totally wrong. While vibration training will probably never replace athletic training, it "is a suitable training method to improve knee extension maximal strength, counter-movement jump, and flexibility" at least in young female athletes, but only "if it is properly designed" (Fagnani. 2006). Only if a subject-specific, previously determined and professionally monitored optimal frequency, amplitude, and g-force is used (something a regular gym probably doesn't offer) and the muscle activation measured the beneficial effects will show (Fagnani. 2006).

The same type of exercise that will be hardly challenging for someone who is working out regularly will thus be pretty intense for them - and (!) the higher body weight makes the exercises on the vibration plates extra intense.

Figure 2: Pre- vs. post-changes in selected markers of metabolic health (Oh. 2014)

As Figure 2 reveals, these changes in body composition went hand in hand with a plethora of improvements in several markers of metabolic health of which yet only the decrease in gamma-GT, AST, free fatty acids (FFA) and total cholesterol reached statistical significance. The marginal decrease in insulin sensitivity, on the other hand, was not statistically significant.

Figure 3: Quadriceps strength and circumference, as well as intramyocellular lipids (IMCL) before and after the intervention (Oh. 2014)

What was statistically significant were the size and strength gains in the quadricreps and the reduction of intramyocellular (in the muscle) fat, which has previously been associated with muscular insulin resistance in obese individuals (depletion of the intramuscular fat can in fact restore muscular insulin sensitivity | Greco. 2002).

Your liver will thank you for working out on a full-body vibrator ;-) Even if you are not willing to give up the rest of your obesogenic lifestyle - which is obviously not suggested.

Bottom line: If we also take into consideration that all these beneficial changes went hand in hand with reductions in leptin, TNF-alpha, IL-6 and significant reductions in hepatic steatosis, i.e. the amount of fat that clogged up the liver of the subjects and liver stiffness, the results of the study at hand clearly indicate that "passive" exercise is much better than none exercise, when it comes to the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

What's most impressive, though, is that this works without dietary intervention and / or significant weight loss, solely by changes in body composition and site-specific fat loss | Comment on this article on Facebook!

References:

• Fagnani, Federica, et al. "The effects of a whole-body vibration program on muscle performance and flexibility in female athletes." American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation 85.12 (2006): 956-962.
• Greco, Aldo V., et al. "Insulin resistance in morbid obesity reversal with intramyocellular fat depletion." Diabetes 51.1 (2002): 144-151.
• Oh, Sechang, et al. "Acceleration training for managing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a pilot study." Therapeutics and clinical risk management 10 (2014): 925.

Exercise Research Update Nov. '14 (2/2): Vibration Training for Athletes, Caffeine Muscle Size & Power, Time to Psyche Up, Myostatin Resp. to Strength & Comb. Training & More

Vibration training is for lazy men & women, only - right? It cannot speed up the adaptation process in athletes, right? And it certainly has no effects on body composition, right? Not exactly, scroll down and find out why.

For those of you who haven't read yesterday's first installment of this research update, I highly suggest you head over now, or after you've read today's follow up on additional vibration training for athletes, caffeine and the effect of muscle size on the strength boosting effects of caffeine, the benefits of and perfect time to psyche up before a sprint event and the muscular myoastatin response to strength, interval and combined training, to make sure you don't miss half this research update.

And if you are not interested in any of these news you may still appreciate the bottom line with a brief review of the latest evidence for the differential or identical effects of strength and hypertrophy training on the acute biochemical and neuromuscular responses justify the classification of strength- and hypertrophy-type resistance exercise.

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• Additional vibration training valid for athletes to develop both strength and hypertrophy of the lower limbs, study shows. The researchers randomly assigned forty-one (32 men and 9 women) recreationally active subjects (21.4 ± 3.0 years old; 172.6 ± 10.9 cm; 70.9 ± 12.3 kg) to either two (G2) or three (G3) vibration training sessions per week for six weeks and measured the changes in maximum isokinetic strength, body composition, and performance in vertical jumps from the beginning to the end of the training cycle (Martinez-Pardo. 2014).
  
  The vibration training stimulus consisted of uniform vertical oscillations. holding an isometric quarter squat position with the feet shoulder-width apart - no fancy exercises or headstands on the plate ;-) After the familiarization week, subjects trained 2 or 3 days per week for 6 weeks (with the exception of the C G) using a vibrating incremental training program that began with 8 sets per session and increasing by 1 set weekly.
  
  

  

  Figure 1: Change in body composition over the course of the 6-week study period (Martinez-Pardo. 2014)

  The frequency of vibration (50 Hz), amplitude (4 mm), time of work (60 seconds), and time of rest (60 seconds) were constant for G2 and G3 groups, the increases in lean mass were not: While the G2 group gained "only" 0.9 ± 1.0 kg, while the subjects in the G3 group who participated  in three weekly vibration training sessions had a whopping 1.5 ± 0.7 kg more lean mass after only 3 sessions per week x 6 weeks = 16 sessions on the vibration plate.
  
  As it was to be expected, neither the total fat mass, nor the fat percentage (measured reliably by DEXA) changed statistically significantly and the bone mineral content, and bone mineral density of the men and women in both groups didn't change at all (previous studies show that vibration training can increase bone density or at least reduce the bone loss in people who are at risk of osteoporosis | de Zepetnek. 2009). 
• Caffeine & muscle power - Larger muscle groups benefit more, study shows. Right from the labs of the University of Edinburgh comes the news that 6 mg/kg caffeine (CAF) increase the isokinetic peak torque of the knee extensors, ankle plantar flexors, elbow flexors and wrist flexors proportionally to the respective size of the muscle group.
  

  

  Figure 2: Relative increase in isokinetic peak torque values of the 4 muscle groups for the CAF vs. placebo treatments at an angular velocity of 60°/s (Timmins. 2014)

  More specifically, statistical analyses revealed a significant increase in isokinetic peak torque from PLA to CAF (p = 0.011) for all, but significant difference in isokinetic peak torque between muscle groups (p < 0.001).
  
  As the scientists point out, "[t]his research may be useful for competitive and recreational athletes aiming to increase strength-power performance," because they now know that (a) caffeine works and (b) that it will work better for larger vs. smaller muscle groups.

• 

  Figure 3: Mean change in performance for each condition and time interval. A) Overall 30-m sprint time. B) Acceleration phase of the sprint, i.e. 0- to 10-m lap time (Hammoudi-Nassib. 2014)

  Is it time to "psyche up", already? Scientists investigate relationship between time interval between psyching up and sprint performance. In their latest study researchers from the Tunisian Research Laboratory Sports Performance Optimization National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports (CNMSS) found that imagery techniques were specifically effective in enhancing the performance on the phase of acceleration (0–10 m) and on the overall sprint (0–30 m) when they were used immediately before performance and at 1- and 2-minute intervals.
  
  When the subjects were asked to use the same technique 3- and 5-minutes before the sprints, though, no effect was observed. As the researchers point out, their "findings support the hypothesis that the potential effect of the PU [psyching up] strategy on performance vanishes over time." (Hammoudi-Nassib. 2014)
• Skeletal muscle myostatin response is identical for strength training (ST), interval training (IT) and concurrent training (CT), study finds. Researchers from the University of São Paulo tested the differential effects of the previously mentioned training regimen in thirty-seven physically active men over the course of an 8-week training period and found that ...
  

  • 

    Figure 3: No sign. difference in myostatin response to training (de Souza. 2014)

    Type IIa and type I muscle fiber CSA increased from pre- to posttest only in the ST group (17.08 and 17.9%, respectively). 
  • The SMAD-7 gene expression significantly increased at the posttest in the ST (53.9%) and CT groups (39.3%). 
  • The MSTN and its regulatory genes ActIIb, FLST-3, FOXO-3a, and GASP-1 mRNA levels remained unchanged across time and groups. 
  Moroever, the one repetition maximum increased from pre- to posttest in both the ST and CT groups to a similar extent (ST = 18.5%; CT = 17.6%).
  
  In spite of the fact that the scientist say that their "findings are suggestive that MSTN and their regulatory genes at transcript level cannot differentiate muscle fiber CSA responses between CT and ST regimens in humans" (de Souza), one could still speculate that the non-significantly lower myostatin levels in the ST-only group (see Figure 3) may already have been enough to cause the small, but significant difference in typeIIa and type I fiber CSA increase from pre- to postttest the researchers observed.

Photo from FighterDiet.com -- Powerlifting training can yield similar results as classic hypertrophy training. Is this because the acute biochemical and neuromuscular responses do not differ | learn more 

Before I call it a day, I would still like to draw your attention to yet another study that was published in the latest issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, one that tried to answer the question, whether "the acute biochemical and neuromuscular responses justify the classification of strength- and hypertrophy-type resistance exercise" (Nicholson. 2014) and found that the only difference between strength and hypertrophy type workouts - despite their significant different intensities, volumes, and rest times (STR: 4 × 6 repetitions, 85% 1 repetition maximum [1RM], 5-minute rest periods vs. HYP: 4 × 10 repetitions, 70% 1RM, 90-second rest periods) - was observable in the acid-base response to the workout. Accordingly, Nicholson et al. conclude that "practitioners to look beyond the classification of RE workouts when aiming to elicit specific physiological responses" (Nicholson. 2014). Maybe that's also why powerlifting- and hypertrophy-like workouts have been shown to yield very similar outcomes in recent studies (learn more)?

References:

• de Souza et al. "Effects of Concurrent Strength and Endurance Training on Genes Related to Myostatin Signaling Pathway and Muscle Fiber Responses." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 28.11 (2014): 3215–3223.
• de Zepetnek, JO Totosy, Lora M. Giangregorio, and B. Catharine Craven. "Whole-body vibration as potential intervention for people with low bone mineral density and osteoporosis: a review." J Rehabil Res Dev 46.4 (2009): 529-542.
• Hammoudi-Nassib et al. "Time Interval Moderates the Relationship Between Psyching-up and Actual Sprint Performance." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 28.11 (2014): 3245–3254.
• Martinez-Pardo et al. "Effect of a Whole-Body Vibration Training Modifying the Training Frequency of Workouts per Week in Active Adults." Journal of Strength & Conditioning 28.11 (2014):3255–3263.
• Nicholson, et al. "Do the Acute Biochemical and Neuromuscular Responses Justify the Classification of Strength- and Hypertrophy-Type Resistance Exercise?"  Journal of Strength & Conditioning 28.11 (2014): 3188–3199.
• Timmins & Saunders. "Effect of Caffeine Ingestion on Maximal Voluntary Contraction Strength in Upper- and Lower-Body Muscle Groups." Journal of Strength & Conditioning 28.11 (2014):3239–3244

Cut the Weight, Add the Vibe: Squatting on Vibration Plates - A Valuable Tool in Your HIIT & Conditioning Repertoire or Just Plain Out Embarrassing?

Disclaimer: This article contains prejudiced references to the way women train. Please don't take it personally, ladies; take it as a challenge to show us guys that you know better than that ;-)

I know, it is embarrassing to even think of joining the mostly older ladies on the whole body vibrators in your gym. According to a recent study from the Florida International University (Serravite. 2013), it may yet really be worth to grab the Olympic Bar, load it with ~50% of your usual squatting weight, check if no trainer is there to freak out that you + the weight on your back may damage the expensive workout equipment and hop right onto the Whole Body Vibration Plate next to the nice older lady who is staring at you (a heretic) with awe.


Now, aside from being talked about at the gym, the main reason to actually take my advice and relocate your squat workouts to the the whole body vibration plates is the increased energy expenditure you can achieve, when you're performing your squats on shaky grounds.

Good vibrations, bad vibrations?

In fact, according to the data, Daniel H. Serravite, David Edwards, Elizabeth S. Edwards, Sara E. Gallo and Joseph F. Signorile recorded, while their 10 active male graduate and undergraduate students (26.50 ± 5.06 years old, weight 83.18 ± 9.46 kg, height 184.0 ± 8.95 cm) without prior lifting experience were fidgeting on the vibration plates, clearly shows that the added "resistance" due to the constant vibrations decreases the energy efficacy and doubles the energetic demands of the exercise.

Now, while this will certainly not give you the bragging rights, a new PR on the bench or in the squatting rack would give you, the combination of light-weigh squats and full-body vibration could in fact be turned into a highly effective, compared to regular squats less injury prone (you will need much less weight) staple exercise in a HIIT-esque cardiovascular and fat burning workout.

How exactly did that work?

In the study at hand, the subjects performed 30 s sets of active squatting, using a range of motion from slightly below full extension to 1.57 rad, were performed at a speed of one squat per 3 s (controlled by a metronome).

No you don't have to wear a mask, as well - that was just necessary to ensure that the researchers would be able to measure energy expenditure and substrate utilization correctly.

The angle was controlled by setting a horizontal stick as a limit at the lower end of the motion for subject reference. A one  min period of passive recovery was provided between sets.

The nine training protocols represented different combinations of external load applied at shoulder level  using a backpack (0%, 20%, and 40%BW) and vibratory condition (see Figure 1). Vibratory conditions ranged from no vibration (NV) to 35Hz at 2–3 mm (35L; 1.89g) and 50Hz at 5–6 mm (50H; 7.7g) (Pel. 2009). The vibratory conditions reflect the frequency–displacement relationships found to maximize neuromuscular performance in our earlier study (Adams. 2009).

The equipment the scientists used was a synchronous WBV plate (Model Pro-5, Power Plate North America, Northbrook, IL).

And if you take a peak at the picture above (no not the in the head of the article, guys!) you'll notice that the external load was not, as I humorously implied in the introduction loaded an Olympic bar with 2x 25kg and 2x12.5kg weights on both sides, but rather put into sandbag containing backpack.

So how exactly would that look like in practice?

Let's take an example. If your 1-RM max on the squat were 200kg and you were usually squatting 40% (=80kg) of those for 10x10 with minimal rest in-between sets to turn your leg training into a fat burning, mitochondrial burning HIIT workout, you'd expend the "exact" same amount of energy if you performed those squats with only 20% of your 1-RM max on a vibration plate.

Figure 1: Oxygen consumption during squats with different loads (0%, 20% and 40% of the body weight) at different  frequencies and amplitudes (NV - no vibration; 35L - 35Hz at 2-3 mm, 1.89g; 50H 50Hz at 5-6 mm, 7.7g; Serravite. 2013)

Ok, in essence, it would warrant further investigation, whether the results of the study at hand, in the course of which the subject squatted with only 16kg / 32kg on their backs would translate to a situation in which you are squatting with 40kg or 80kg, respectively.

Figure 2: Oxygen consumption during recovery; * indicates sign. diff. from no vibration (Serravite. 2013)

If you take a closer look at the data in figure 1 & figure 2 you will yet notice that squatting on the full body vibrator without additional weight, as the previously mentioned older ladies and the "I hope there is no fat in that salad dressing"-gals who don't want to risk breaking their freshly manicured fingernails love to do it, is not going to yield any significant benefits over regular squats. It would therefore appear likely that you are going to benefit from using even higher loads, as well. Whether the effect size will be significantly greater is yet another question; a question that cannot be answered based on the study at hand, only.

This does not mean that it won't benefit the activation of stabilizer muscles that would not be activated to the same extend during the regular squat on stable ground).

---

If the rowing machine is not already part of your personal repertoire of HIIT compatible workout equipment, I highly suggest you go back to the "Eight HIIT Sessions on the Rowing Ergometer Cut Body Fat, Increase Adiponectin, VO2Max & Performanc"-post from December 2012 (read more)

So what? In view of the fact that neither the respiratory exchange ratio, nor the heart rate did vary significantly between the testing conditions, the use of one of the often sneered at vibration plates could actually make a viable addition to a HIIT-esque squatting workout. You'd get the same metabolic bang for your buck, but could use significantly lower weights. The latter entails a lower risk of injury and could shorten the recovery times.

And as an added bonus you will be activation muscles, of which many of you may not even have been aware that you had them.

This does not mean that you should forget about your previous HIIT workout regimen all-together. For those who don't care about being stared at at the gym the proposed combination of a high(er) rep, short rest squatting workout could yet become a new tool in their (hopefully already versatile) cardiovascular exercise repertoire.

References: 

• Adams JB, Edwards D, Serravite DH, Bedient AM, Huntsman E, Jacobs KA, Del Rossi G, Roos BA, Signorile JF. Optimal frequency, displacement, duration, and recovery patterns to maximize power output following acute whole-body vibration. J Strength Cond Res. 2009 Jan;23(1):237-45.
• Pel JJ, Bagheri J, van Dam LM, van den Berg-Emons HJ, Horemans HL, Stam HJ, van der Steen J. Platform accelerations of three different whole-body vibration devices and the transmission of vertical vibrations to the lower limbs. Med Eng Phys. 2009 Oct;31(8):937-44.
• Serravite et al. Loading and Concurrent Synchronous Whole-Body Vibration Interaction
  Increases Oxygen Consumption during Resistance Exercise. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2013 [epub ahead of print].

RT & Vibration or Plyometric Training for Runners? Can You Outtrain Colon Cancer and How Does it Work? Plus: What's the Verdict on Exercise to Prevent Metabolic Damage?

Make room for cardio & strength training in your workout routine. Both offer significant and scientifically proven health benefits, but neither cardio or strength the will prevent diet-induced obesity, when you eat everything in sight.

Time for another installment of the SuppVersity Short News on exercise science. This installment features the effects of strength training associated with whole body vibration training on running economy and vertical stiffness (Roschel. 2015), the acute effects of plyometric intervention on sprinting performance (Mackala. 2015), the anti-colon-cancer effects of aerobic training (Frajacomo. 2015) and, finally, the effects of exercise training and energy expenditure following weight loss (Hunter. 2015).

When we are already talking "metabolic damage", let's top that off with a brief reminder that hyperphagia = eating everything in sight, not a reduced energy expenditure is the most significant contributor to post-diet weight regain.

Read more short news at the SuppVersity

Exercise Research Uptake Nov '14 1/2

Exercise Research Uptake Nov '14 2/2

Weight Loss Supplements Exposed

Exercise Supplementation Quickie

Exercise Research Uptake Jan 12, 2015

Read the Latest Ex. Science Update

• Do strength and body vibration training improve running economy? To answer this question it's imperative that we understand what exactly "running economy" (RE) actually is. Among exercise researchers RE is defined as the energy cost to maintain a sub-maximal running velocity. Practically speaking, this means than an increase in running economy will make a 10k run easier to run, a marathon seem a few kilometers shorter, etc.
  
  Past research has shown that both resistance training (RT) and whole body vibration training added to RT (WBV + RT) can influence an athletes running economy. The question Roschel et al. wanted to answer now was: Is it conceivable that the combination of both would have even more pronounced beneficial effects on the running economy in 15 recreational runners.
  To this ends, the subjects were divided into RT or WBV + RT groups. The running economy, one of its main correlates, the vertical stiffness (VS), as well as the lower-limb maximum dynamic strength (1RM half-squat) were assessed before and after the 6-week training period.
  

  

  Figure 1: While the strength performance increased in response to both resistance training alone (RT) and whole body vibration + resistance training (WBV+RT - left figure), there were no beneficial effects on running performance (right figure | Roschel. 2015).

  As the data in Figure 1 goes to show you there was a main time effect for 1RM, but no other statistically significant difference was observed. Neither conventional RT nor RT performed on a WBV platform improved VS and RE in recreational long distance runners. And while the scientists argue that
  

  "[i]t is possible that movement velocity was rather low and utilization of stretch-shortening cycle might have been compromised, impairing any expected improvement in RE" (Roschel. 2015),

  the study at hand still puts a question mark behind the assumption that any form of resistance and/or vibration training regimen will have beneficial effects on the running economy of recreational runners.
• Do plyometrics increase sprint performance?  In their latest study Mackala et al. (2015) examined the effect of a short high intensity plyometric program on the improvement of explosive power of lower extremities and sprint performance as well as changes in sprinting stride variability in male sprinters.
  
  Fourteen healthy males sprinters (mean +/- SD: age 18.07 +/- 0.73 years, body mass 73 +/-9.14 kg, height 180.57 +/- 8.16 cm and best 100 m 10.89 +/- 0.23) participated in the experiment. The experimental protocol included: vertical jumping - squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) and horizontal jumps; standing long jump (SLJ) and standing triple jumps(STJ) to assess lower body power, maximal running velocity; a 20-m flying start sprint that evaluated variability of 10 running steps and 60 m starting block sprint.
  
  

  

  Building the Jack-of-All-Traits Legs Workout With Squats, Jump Squats and Body Weight Plyometrics? At Least for Physical Education Students that Seems to Work | read more

  The short-term plyometric training program significantly increased the explosive power of lower extremities, both vertical and horizontal jumping improvement. However, the vertical jumps increased much more than the horizontal. The 20 m improvements were derived from an increase of stride frequency from 4.31 to 4.39 Hz, due to a decrease of ground contact time from 138 to 133 ms. This did not translate into step length changes. Therefore, the significantly increased frequency of stride (1.8%), which is a specific expression of ground contact time reduction during support phase, resulted in an increase of speed.
  
  Overall, the scientists conclude that the "training volume of two weeks (with six sessions) using high intensities (between 180 and 250 jumps per session) plyometric exercises can be recommended as the short term strategy that will optimize one's probability of reaching strong improvements in explosive power and sprint velocity performance" (Mackala. 2015).
• Can aerobic training prevent colon cancer? The corresponding epidemiological evidence has been there for years, the mechanism by which aerobic training prevents the development of colon cancer had not yet been fully elucidated, though. In their latest study researchers from the University of São Paulo did thus try to find out what exactly it is that makes "cardio" cancer-protective.
  
  

  

  Artificial Sweeteners & Liver Cancer - Is There a Link? 6% Increased Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma per 330ml of Artificially Sweetened Soft Drink in Human Study - Find out!

  What the scientists found when they analyzed the inflammatory response to swimming exercise in rodents was a significant increase in the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 which was associated with a 36% reduced occurrence of colon preneoplastic lesions in the carcinogen-exposed mice.
  
  It does therefore appear clear that "L-10 is a pivotal element for antipreneoplastic effects of aerobic training on the colon" (Frajacomo. 2015) - or put simply: If interleukin 10 (IL-10) is activated by endurance training, this will stop cancer in the tracks.
• Does working out help prevent or precipitate reductions in energy expenditure after weight loss? According to the latest study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, exercise training prevents a decrease in energy expenditure, including free living energy expenditure separate from the exercise training, following weight loss.
  
  The researchers analyzed data from 140 pre-menopausal women who underwent an average of 25 pound weight loss during an 800 kcal/day diet of furnished food. One group aerobically trained 3 times/wk (40 min/d), another resistance trained 3 times/wk (10 exercises/2 sets x10 repetitions) and the third group did not exercise. DXA was used to measure body composition, indirect calorimetry to measure resting (REE) and walking energy expenditure, and doubly labeled water to measure total energy expenditure (TEE). Aerobic energy expenditure (AEE), anaerobic energy expenditure during resistance training (ARTE), and non-training physical activity energy expenditure (NEAT) were calculated.
  

  

  Figure 2: Changes in energy expenditure pre vs. post weight loss (Hunter. 2015)

  What they found was that the EE, REE, and NEAT all decreased following weight loss for the no exercise group. In the two exercise groups only REE decreased significantly. Furthermore in the resistance training group the non-training physical activity energy expenditure increased significantly. This could be a result of an increase in muscle mass and the corresponding energy costs of using it during the subjects everyday activity and/or an overall increase in physical activity - the scientists believe it's the latter.
  
  Whatever the reason for the NEAT increase may be, the study at hand confirms that working out - in particularly doing resistance training - can help you to avoid the post-diet weight gain by preventing or at least ameliorating the reduction in energy expenditure some people call "metabolic damage". It cannot however prevent you from ruining your results by (a) returning to your pre-diet dietary habits and / or (b) giving in to your cravings.

Body composition changes in male participants of the Minne- sota experiment (severe dieting + refeeding | Dulloo. 2015).

That's it for today, now go training to make sure your colon stays cancer free and your dieting efforts remain unharmed by a reduction in energy expenditure....

Speaking of which: Only recently a group of Swiss researchers reviewed the effects of dieting on the body composition of previously lean or at least non-obese individuals and found that "dieting makes the lean fatter" (Dullo. 2015). As the data in Figure 3 goes to show you, the post-dieting increase in body fat is yet mostly a result of post-dieting binges (hyperphagia) and not of "metabolic damage" | Comment on Facebook.

References:

• Dulloo, A. G., et al. "How dieting makes the lean fatter: from a perspective of body composition autoregulation through adipostats and proteinstats awaiting discovery." Obesity Reviews 16.S1 (2015): 25-35.
• Frajacomo FT, Kannen V, Deminice R, Geraldino TH, Pereira-da-Silva G, Uyemura SA, Jordão-Jr AA, Garcia SB. "Aerobic Training Activates Interleukin 10 for Colon Anticarcinogenic Effects." Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2015 Jan 26
• Hunter GR, Fisher G, Neumeier WH, Carter SJ, Plaisance EP. Exercise Training and Energy Expenditure following Weight Loss. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2015 Jan 20.
• Mackala, Krzysztof; Fostiak, Marek. "Acute effects of plyometric intervention - performance improvement and related changes in sprinting gait variability." Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research: Post Acceptance: January 26, 2015.
• Roschel, Hamilton; Barroso, Renato; Tricoli, Valmor; Batista, Mauro Alexandre Benites; Acquesta, Fernanda Michelone; Serrão, Júlio Cerca; Ugrinowitsch, Carlos. "Effects of strength training associated with whole body vibration training on running economy and vertical stiffness." Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research: Post Acceptance: January 26, 2015.