The effect of vibration training on upper, lower and whole body strength in youths

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Vibration Training (VT) on upper, lower and the whole body muscle strength in healthy youths. Quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest used in the study. Thirty one healthy men and women (18–25 years old) from school of sport science and technology volunteered for this study. This study was approved by the local ethics committee of Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Fifteen females (21.53±1.25 years) and sixteen males ( 22.12±1.67) were randomly assigned to three groups: Upper Body Vibration (UBV) (n=10), Lower Body Vibration (LBV) (n=11) and Whole Body Vibration (WBV) (n=10). One repetition maximum (1RM) bench press and squat strength were measured with DKN Xg10 Pro Vibration Trainer before and after eight weeks of VT. Participants at UBV and LBV groups performed four different exercises while WBV group performed the same exercises used in the other two groups per 1-min session on a vibration platform (frequency = 50 Hz; amplitude = 3.8 mm) four times a day with 30-sec rest for three days weekly. Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed significant changes between the WBV and UBV groups in favor of the measured variables at WBV group (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the WBV and LBV groups in measured muscle strenght by eight weeks duration in this population (p>0.05). We conclude that eight weeks of whole body vibration training is more effective than upper body vibration training itself for increasing upper body muscle strenght in youths.