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:
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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?
The vibrating platform and the vest seem like interesting ideas but I’m not as big of a fan of the electrical stimulation. Most of the fun comes from doing the actual workouts and then when that six pack finally arrives (I wish!) knowing that you’ve earned every bit of it.
As a newcomer to yoga, I can say that I am going to stay as far away as possible from the vibrating table for awhile. The other two seem very interesting as well, I wonder if there are any bad side effects to the electrical stimulation therapy.
Whoa, those are some interesting new technologies! I’m particularly intrigued by the vibrate platform…sounds like fun!