The effects of whole-body vibration on the Wingate test for anaerobic power when applying individualized frequencies

• Published in: Journal of strength and conditioning research Vol. 28; no. 7; p. 2035
• Main Authors: Surowiec, Rachel K, Wang, Henry, Nagelkirk, Paul R, Frame, Jeffrey W, Dickin, D Clark
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.07.2014
• Subjects: Adult; Anaerobic Threshold; Bicycling - physiology; Exercise Test; Humans; Male; Muscle Strength - physiology; Muscle, Skeletal - physiology; Physical Conditioning, Human - methods; Vibration; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1064-8011; 1533-4287
• DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000341

Recently, individualized frequency (I-Freq) has been introduced with the notion that athletes may elicit a greater reflex response at differing levels (Hz) of vibration. The aim of the study was to evaluate acute whole-body vibration as a feasible intervention to increase power in trained cyclists and evaluate the efficacy of using I-Freq as an alternative to 30Hz, a common frequency seen in the literature. Twelve highly trained, competitive male cyclists (age, 29.9 ± 10.0 years; body height, 175.4 ± 7.8 cm; body mass, 77.3 ± 13.9 kg) participated in the study. A Wingate test for anaerobic power was administered on 3 occasions: following a control of no vibration, 30 Hz, or I-freq. Measures of peak power, average power (AP), and the rate of fatigue were recorded and compared with the vibration conditions using separate repeated measures analysis of variance. Peak power, AP, and the rate of fatigue were not significantly impacted by either the 30 Hz or I-Freq vibration interventions (p > 0.05). Given the trained status of the individuals in this study, the ability to elicit an acute response may have been muted. Future studies should further refine the vibration parameters used and assess changes in untrained or recreationally trained populations.