The Soloflex Story
Soloflex revolutioned the home fitness industry with the introduction of the Soloflex Muscle Machine in 1978.
Read more about Soloflex’s values, history, and plans for the future.
Archive for August, 2009
Bringin’ It Back
Our new website is going to be launched Wednesday, August 26th and we’ll be taking orders for the original Soloflex!
An Important Article from the #1 Natural Newsletter in the US. Whole Body Vibration Recommended!
Whole Body Vibration Does Your Bones and Muscles Good
Whole Body Vibration, standing on a vibrating platform can be beneficial for muscles and bones, particularly in older or sedentary adults.
Whole body vibration, or WBV, involves standing on a platform that sends mild vibratory impulses through the feet and into the rest of the body. It is claimed that the vibrations activate muscle fibers more efficiently than the conscious contraction of muscles during regular exercise.
Some studies have found that WBV increases bone density in the hip, and inhibit bone loss in the spine and hip areas.
Sources:
Reuters June 12, 2008
Current Sports Medicine Reports May-June 2008
Dr. Mercola”s Comments
Is a Vibration Platform Right for You?
The vibration platforms originate from research conducted during the 1960s space race. They work on the principle that if muscles are exercised while being shaken, they activate neighboring muscle fibers, hence building mass faster.
I first encountered this whole body vibration (WBV) technology in 2006, at which time I contacted one of the top personal trainers in the Chicago area, Tony Bruno — an expert on muscle activation techniques – for his input on this approach.
Tony felt the technology was great and had been proven to improve proprioception, strength and balance, and decrease sway in the elderly, and found it especially beneficial in rehab to increase circulation.
A vibration platform has also been proven useful for athletes, improving speed and vertical jump height, and cutting your warm-up time by half. However, he indicated that because the platform does cause a temporary decrease in joint stability, you shouldn’t use it before an event, as you’ll need to be in top form. But it would be an excellent addition to the training phase of your program.
WBV training has also been shown to improve and maintain bone mineral density in postmenopausal women and the tactic is being studied for its therapeutic potential, such as increasing older women’s bone mass – a far better alternative than the dangerous osteoporosis drugs currently on the market, for sure.
However, the authors of the study above warn that if you have certain health conditions, such as heart disease or high blood pressure, you may want to avoid WBV until safety concerns have been addressed more fully.
Remarkable Benefits for the Elderly
WBV training has demonstrated significant gains in most measures of muscle performance in sedentary and elderly individuals.
But one study, performed by the University of Liege in Belgium, investigated the effects of controlled whole body vibrations exercises on overall health in elderly patients and found that after 6 weeks (performing 4 one-minute sessions, 3 times a week), the participants experienced:
* 143 percent improvement in physical function
* 77 percent improvement in equilibrium
* 60 percent improvement in vitality
* 57 percent improvement in the quality of walking
* 41 percent reduction in pain
* 23 percent improvement in general health
Not bad for 12 minutes a week!
How Does Whole Body Vibration Training Benefit Your Body?
As Dr. Keith DeOrio, M.D. explains in another article, your entire body musculature, as well as your internal organs and glands, are affected by WBV stimulation.
Your muscle spindles fire secondary to the mechanical stimulation produced by the vibrating plate, and this rapid firing of the muscle spindle causes a neuromuscular response that leads to physiological changes in your brain as well as your entire body.
Traumas and injuries can leave cellular memories in your brain or body tissue that impede normal body movement or function, even after they’re healed. Using WBV stimulation allows your body and brain to rapidly de-imprint these old cell traumas, re-imprinting with positive, healthy information. This allows for better and more efficient rehabilitation of injuries from sports or surgery than traditional methods of therapy.
According to Dr. DeOrio, studies have shown that a mere 12 minutes of training on a WBV plate is equal to a 1.5-hour workout with weights. And since it’s accomplished with little amount of stress to your joints, tendons and ligaments, it can be a very good therapy regimen if you’ve suffered injuries, if you’re elderly, or have disease conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia or multiple sclerosis, which would normally limit your fitness program.
The benefits of whole body vibration training include:
Increased muscle strength – (especially explosive strength)
Increased hormone secretion: IGF-1, testosterone, and HGH (human growth hormone)
Enhanced bone and muscle building
Increased lymphatic drainage
Increased flexibility and mobility
Cellulite reduction
Increased circulation
Decreased Cortisol levels
Pain reduction
Increased secretion of serotonin and norepinephrine,
What Should You Look For in a Vibration Exercise Machine?
Overall, WBV seems like a good adjunct to a comprehensive exercise strategy for some people. The downside is that some of the pieces of equipment can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000. Soloflex does make one for under $500.
I am not convinced that there are sufficient benefits to incorporate into my own exercise regimen. I really see this device as a niche for seriously competitive athletes or as physical therapy aid to those recovering from certain health conditions.
If you want to purchase one of these devices I’d recommend you do your homework before investing in a machine of your own. The Vibration Exercise Machine Buyers Guide and Reviews offers great tips on what to look for in a quality product, and warnings on what NOT to buy.
For example, here are just a few of the important features you should look for when choosing your equipment:
1. Solid Steel and Construction
2. Reputable Company: If you’ve never heard of the company, check them out first. How long have they been in business?
3. Warranty
4. Maximum user weight: Make sure the machine can handle your body weight. Cheap machines can wear down and operate at a lower frequency than indicated, and in the case of lineal vibrating machines, low frequencies can be harmful.
5. Features and Noise: Does the vibration machine have at least 15 speeds? Does it have automated programs? How noisy is it? (Be aware that many machines are quite loud, even expensive ones.)
6. Manuals and Videos: Does the company provide you with a positions guide and user manual? Do they have videos you can watch of the machine in action and demonstrations of the different exercise positions?
For All The Scott Madsen Fans
You have to wonder what he’s up to these days. We need to find him and get him to comment on the blog. How fun would that be?
Whoever finds Scott first and gets him to leave a comment on the blog gets a free Soloflex T shirt.
Classic
Here’s the original Soloflex! This photo was taken from a brochure published in 1982.
This was the photo in our 1st Playboy ad, 1980. What about that Speedo..hot ;)
I asked my boyfriend who Gale Sayers was. He thought I was joking, buy hey, football’s not really my thing.
Soloflex assembly is one bolt!! This is a page out of a early 80′s brochure.
The original Soloflex straps are actually airplane landing gear shocks. They are still being manufacturing for several models of small aircraft. You’d have to ask Jerry the specifics.
Body tone gets an effortless even shake
By Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY
Those Beach Boys have been right all along: Vibrations are good, good, good.
Arriving just in time for New Year’s “I gained how much?” resolutions are vibration exercise platforms that seem to promise increased body tone with very little effort.
Among the machines getting a big push: the $3,500 Power Plate (the company says Madonna bought one after she fell off a horse), the $2,000 Ironman Resolution and the $495 Soloflex Whole Body Vibration Platform. “This is the greatest discovery since the Greeks and Romans perfected barbell exercises,” says Soloflex founder Jerry Wilson.
“Experiencing vibrations during a workout isn’t the be-all and end-all, but rather a great complement to what you’re already doing,” says Jasper Sidhu, president of The WAVE (Whole Body Advanced Vibration Exercise), whose $5,000 in-home version of a commercial platform arrives in January.
For the complete article, click here.
The Original, Still the Best and Now Available Again After 30 Years!
Wow, every point made had real merit. Thank you all for the input.
It’s lonely at the top, as you must know. I’ll tell you what I know is the best value; our original welded frame machine using aircraft shock rings and free weights together. The welded frame unit doesn’t need 40 pounds of dead weight in the stabilizer tube to keep from rolling backwards, reducing the cost to make and ship and making it much easier to handle. The shock rings give a better feel than weight straps and when combined with a few plates, it gives the best feel in weightlifting, allowing one to set any weight for a press or pull down. So here’s what I’m going to do. Make the original machines again. I know they’re not quite as pretty as the bent frame Soloflex but they’re infinitely easier to manufacture and are much more user friendly; one bolt and you can put it in your RX-7 or under a twin bed. I’ve no idea if anyone will buy one. It’s hard to compete with a million used machines but I feel awful not manufacturing new Soloflex machines. Hey, it’s what I do.
So there you are. Decision made, all flat black, all the same, no leg extension (which I always thought was a bad idea and a very poor substitute for squats and leg presses). And no butterfly, although it was the best butterfly station ever made. I want to keep it simple, only what people need, not necessarily all they want. And I want every part to be recyclable and earth friendly! And of course, Made in America. Good meeting today with a local fabricator, a young guy, only 46. ha. He’d worn out 3 Bowflex machines and had never tried a Soloflex. He’s sold now of course, and hungry for business as we all are nowadays. Great pricing so we can probably offer the new machine for under $1,000. Fingers crossed.
Jerry
What Surprising Exercise Cuts Your Cancer Risk by 40 Percent?
What Surprising Exercise Cuts Your Cancer Risk by 40 Percent?
Men with stronger muscles from regular weight training are up to 40 percent less likely to die from cancer, according to new research.
The findings suggest that muscular strength is as important as staying slim and eating healthy when it comes to protecting your body against deadly tumors.
A team of experts tracked the lifestyles of over 8,500 men for more than two decades. Each volunteer had regular medical check ups that included tests of their muscular strength. The men who regularly worked out with weights and had the highest muscle strength were between 30 percent and 40 percent less likely to lose their life to a deadly tumor.
Even among volunteers who were overweight, regular weight training seemed to have a protective effect, although the researchers stressed that keeping a healthy weight was still crucial for avoiding premature death.
But they added, “In the light of these results, it is equally important to maintain healthy muscular strength levels.”
Researchers said it’s possible to reduce cancer mortality rates in men by promoting resistance training involving the major muscle groups at least two days a week.
Sources:
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Dr. Mercola’s Comments: |
The results of this study — that men who regularly work out with weights and have high muscle strength can reduce their risk of cancer by 30-40 percent — should provide major motivation for any of you still on the fence about adding strength training to your exercise routine.
One of the primary reasons exercise works to lower your cancer risk is because it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.
It’s also been suggested that apoptosis (programmed cell death) is triggered by exercise, causing cancer cells to die.
It is becoming increasingly clear that a well-rounded exercise program is an important component of staying healthy. When I say “well rounded” I mean a program that includes the four primary types of exercise, as explained in my Principles of Exercise video:
1. Aerobic
2. Interval
3. Strength
4. CoreUnfortunately, many public health guidelines are still focusing only on the aerobic component, and merely focusing on aerobic activity will most definitely lead to imbalances that will cause other parts of your body to not be healthy. You really need a well balanced exercise regimen.
It’s important to vary your exercise routine as otherwise your muscles simply get used to the same activity. They require a level of muscle confusion if they are to continue to improve and grow stronger. Further, each type of exercise has very different and very specific impacts on your body, and you’ll want to take advantage of all of them.
This topic is truly very near and dear to my heart, as I went to medical school in large part because I wanted to use exercise as a therapeutic tool to help people get healthier. I strongly believe that without fitness, it is virtually impossible to achieve optimal health.
The Benefits of Strength Training
As you age your muscle mass diminishes, and strength training is one of the best ways to replace the lean muscle mass that you’ve lost. If you don’t challenge your muscles in this way, the percentage of fat in your body will keep increasing while your muscle mass will keep decreasing.
So strength training is of utmost importance as you get older, but should ideally be done regularly throughout your life to both preserve and enhance your muscle mass.
Strength training also offers these additional benefits:
• Increases your bone density while lowering your risk of osteoporosis
• Lose weight (the more muscle you have, the more efficiently your body burns calories)
• Protects your joints from injury
• Helps maintain flexibility and balance
• Improves your stamina and lessens fatigue
How to Use Strength Training for Optimal Benefits
Contrary to popular belief, a 1-set strength training routine is typically plenty to get the most out of your workout.
A study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise confirmed that for the average person exercising by strength training, the number of repetitions (the number of times a muscle or group of muscles is used to lift a weight) is not of major importance; a single set of repetitions was found to be almost as effective in maintaining fitness as three sets.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) — the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world — and the U.S. Surgeon General have also been recommending a 1-set exercise program for some time.
So incorporating a simple 1-set, five- to 30-minute weight lifting routine into your regular program will definitely improve fitness, and is a practical, obtainable goal for most people. There are some key concepts to keep in mind, however, as not just any set of weight training will do.
You need to do enough repetitions to exhaust your muscles. The weight should be heavy enough that this can be done in fewer than 12 repetitions, yet light enough to do a minimum of four repetitions. It is also important NOT to exercise the same muscle groups every day. They need at least two days of rest to recover, repair and rebuild — more is not better here.
Later this year I plan on introducing a comprehensive state of the art comprehensive personal training option that can easily guide you through this entire process.
How to Round Out Your Exercise Routine, and Why You Should
I highly recommend finding a personal trainer to help you reach your fitness goals, but if you cannot afford it or live in an area without access to one, you can still reap the benefits of exercise if you focus on varying your routine. So along with your strength training program, make sure you also incorporate the following into your exercise routine:
1. Aerobic: Jogging, using an elliptical machine, and walking fast are all examples of aerobic exercise. As you get your heart pumping, the amount of oxygen in your blood improves, and endorphins, which act as natural painkillers, increase.
Meanwhile, aerobic exercise activates your immune system, helps your heart pump blood more efficiently, and increases your stamina over time.
2. Interval (Anaerobic) Training: Research is showing that the BEST way to condition your heart and burn fat is NOT to jog or walk steadily for an hour. Instead, it’s to alternate short bursts of high-intensity exercise with gentle recovery periods.
This type of exercise, known as interval training or burst type training, can dramatically improve your cardiovascular fitness and fat-burning capabilities.
For example, intermittent sprinting produces high levels of chemical compounds called catecholamines, which allow more fat to be burned from under your skin within the exercising muscles. The resulting increase in fat oxidation increases weight loss. So, short bursts of activity done at a very high intensity can help you reach your optimal weight and level of fitness, in a shorter amount of time.
3. Core Exercises: Your body has 29 core muscles located mostly in your back, abdomen and pelvis. This group of muscles provides the foundation for movement throughout your entire body, and strengthening them can help protect and support your back, make your spine and body less prone to injury and help you gain greater balance and stability.
Exercise programs like Pilates and yoga are great for strengthening your core muscles, as are specific exercises you can learn from a personal trainer.
Ready to Get Started?
More than half of U.S. adults don’t get the recommended amount of exercise, and one out of four don’t exercise at all.
Why?
A lack of time is the most common reason given for not exercising.
To help avoid falling into this trap, you need to arrange your schedule around exercise. Plan it into your day the same way you would an important meeting and consider it non-negotiable, like mealtimes and sleep.
When you begin to view exercise as a necessary component to your health, rather than a luxury, it becomes easier to find time for it during even the busiest days. For you, the best time to exercise may be first thing in the morning. Others may find early afternoon to work best.
The important key to remember is that it doesn’t matter when you exercise (with the exception of exercising too close to bedtime, which can keep you awake), just that you make time for it most days of the week.
For more information on how to get the most benefits from exercise, including proper intensity and duration, read through this comprehensive article Exercise to Improve Your Body and Brain.
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