Shake it, shake it!

Boy, oh boy ... you just never know what you'll see Sonya and me doing as part of "Workout of the Week." The toy we tried out for this segment is like nothing we've ever done before.

"The most common thing we hear is okay, this is the latest jiggler - you know that old strap that went across your waist." Doug Corson's right - that's EXACTLY what we were thinking. Doug is the district manager for Second Wind Fitness and the person who's showing us how the Power Plate works. Unlike a treadmill a stair climber or a stationary bike, this piece of equipment vibrates beneath our feet - sending shock waves through our bodies. "Power Plate is basically forced muscle contraction," says Corson.

According to the manufacturer, the vibrations from the Power Plate force your muscles to fire twentyfive to fifty times per second. It's what Corson calls "acceleration training." He says, "That three dimensional vibration underneath - it's forcing your muscles to twitch and stabilize which increases acceleration, which means you increase the amount of oxygen and blood flow into your muscles and also the amount of waste going out of your muscles." Huh?

OK ... here's the bottom line. We do tons of different moves on the Power Plate - squats, push ups, dead lifts, step ups - virtually anything you do on the floor can be transferred onto this machine. It feels really weird, especially when the rate of vibrations increase, and it was definitely challenging.

Everyone from Mark Wahlberg to Cindy Crawford is endorsing the Power Plate and you can see videos of famous folks like them using it at www.powerplate.com. To contact Doug at Second Wind call 223-0356 or just drop in to 6630 Mills Civic Parkway in West Des Moines.

Have a healthy week!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com