Kiss and Makeup is a staunch supporter of the PowerPlate, and many bikini seasons have it to thank, so we were excited to hear about a new addition to their stable. It's called the Powerbike and works on the same vibration principles, except this is totally power free and uses the energy you create from training to power the vibrations.
They've done a lot of research to show the added benefit of training in this way and a study shows that adding mechanical vibration to bicycling produces increase in the physiological demands (higher heart rate/more oxygen) which in turn leads to increased exertion= slimmer fitter you.
I was a bit nervous about having a go on the Powerbike- it looked so imposing in the middle of the showroom and the fact that two people were watching didn't help. It feels like a normal spinning bike- you adjust the high saddle, pedal, and then you turn on the vibration knob, similar to how you'd change resistance on a spinning bike. It feels completely different though- the whole bike started to shake and my legs (which were strapped in) felt tremors rush through them. I was sweating within two minutes and my trainer worked me at 5 minute intervals, turning the vibrations on and off as we worked on my endurance.
When you cycle and activate the 'vibration knob' (my term, not theirs) you allow the patented krank system to start using your movements to generate the vibrations. As you power this you can move it anywhere you like and don't need a power source which is handy. Every revolution on the bike gives the vibration which forces the muscles to work harder per stroke, and I was feeling this the next day when I found myself a little bow legged. I felt muscles ache in my glutes that I never had before, and though I worked out for a short time the exercise was very intense- which allows you to have shorter workouts.
You can adjust many things on the PowerBike- where you hold the grips, the seat height, the power of the vibrations and it's great customizing it. It is fairly noisy when the vibrations are turned on, so be warned if your neighbours start to knock on the walls.
Here's some more science for you;
Preliminary data from a study by the Power Plate Research Institute shows an increase of 167% in muscle activity for the quadriceps, 144% for the hamstrings, and 138% for the glutes, when pedalling at 90PRM and 30Hz vibration, when compared to muscle activity at the same RPM with no vibration.
I think this is a really great device, I love the fact that you can now get added cardio benefits from PowerPlate training and the PowerBike really gives impressive results at first try.
They're £2,995 and currently available for home use only.
PS. We heard there may be more cardio products in the works- what would you like to see next? I think a cross trainer that vibrated would be amazing....
