Alternative Training Methods

I follow a lot of fitness blogs, and one in particular that focuses a lot on the scientific side of sports, specifically triathlons. http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com

Recently he’s been posting a lot of alternative ways to train using methods I first thought seemed strange, but they obviously seem to be working for him and his clients (he’s a personal trainer).

Here a couple of the more interesting ones:

Cool fat burner vest

As you may know, cooling your body makes it work harder to keep you warm, thus burning more calories. This vest works using cold thermogenesis to specifically target “brown fat,” brown adipose tissue. There’s a lot of science behind this that’s explained pretty well here: https://www.coolfatburner.com//the-Science.htm

Here are some of the benefits:

Electrical stimulation

Apparently hooking your abs up to this machine for 10+ minutes can lead to incredible abs. The electrodes contract every muscle in your abdomen, leaving you feel as if you’ve just “literally done 1000 sit-ups” or “worked [your] core for a full hour”.

Vibration platform

This platform is designed for yoga lovers looking for a new challenge. As the name suggests, the platform vibrates and makes it difficult to get into many balancing poses, which works your core and your nervous system. If you aren’t a yoga lover you can also use this platform to do squats, pushups and other types of body weight exercises.  Apparently this method can also:

“-Detoxify and strengthen the immune system (pumps the lymph system thoroughly)
-Help regain muscle strength and bone density
-Reduce recovery time
-Stimulate healthier brain function”

Personally I don’t think I’ll try any of these methods any time soon. But I’d like to give them a try someday maybe.  What do you think?