Evaluation of the effectiveness of whole body vibration training in healthy untrained females

The study was attended by female students of the University of Physical Education in Krakow aged 19 to 25. There were 3 study groups: interventional and 2 active control groups. Allocation of subjects into different groups was done through volunteer sampling - the participants were recruited via posted advertisement at the university and assigned to the group to which they volunteered. Women from the interventional group took part in 36 individual training sessions on the vibrating platform (3 times a week for 3 months). Wole body vibration (WBV) training was carried out using the Fitvibe Excel Pro vibrating platform (Germany), which generates vertical vibrations with a frequency in the range of 20-60 Hz and an amplitude of 2 and 4 mm. The training protocol included warm-up, the main part consisting of static and dynamic exercises, and calming exercises at the end of the workout. Warm up included 6 modified jumping jacks, 3 hip circles in both directions, 6 lunges (3 for each leg). Static exercises included holding a standing position, holding a squat position, holding a strap in a standing position with shoulders raised. Dynamic exercises included deep squats, split squats for each leg. Calming exercises comprised of upward facing dog yoga pose and rolling like a ball. The duration of a single exercise on vibration platform was 1 minute. Between each exercise there was a 1-minute break during which women walked around the room. During dynamic squats the pace was 25 movements per minute (metronome was used). The vibration amplitude (2 mm) as well as the duration of exercises and breaks between them did not change throughout the whole duration of the training cycle. During the first 12 training sessions, the vibration frequency was 40 Hz, then increased by 5 Hz after 12 consecutive sessions (40-45-50 Hz). All trainings were supervised by a physiotherapist or a trained person and were conducted individually. To assess adherence to the intervention a session attendance checklist was used. The intervention took place at University of Physical Education in Krakow in a specially prepared room where the vibrating platform was located. This room had the same temperature and humidity during the whole training cycle.