How Do You Train for Baseball-Softball on a 3G Cardio Vibration Machine?

This workout will help you increase upper body and leg strength, improving your power as a hitter, strength for throwing and overall speed and agility.

It's recommended you also perform additional strength training exercises on free weights or functional trainer and make sure to run, throw and stretch as well.

Once you have the basic knowledge of the vibration machine workout do's and don't, here's a plan to get you to the next level in baseball and softball.

Do all of these exercises three times a week:

LEGS

1. Regular squat - Stand on the Vibration plate with feet shoulder width apart. Keeping the back straight and knees slightly bent gently squeeze the leg muscles. You should feel tension in your quadriceps, buttocks and back.

Tip: Keep good posture with back straight. If you lean slightly forward quadriceps will be emphasized more, if you lean back hamstrings will be used more. Keep body weight on heels.

2. Lunge - Place one foot in the middle of the Vibration plate and step back with the other planting it firmly on the ground behind. Keeping the back straight and the knees directly above the toes, squeeze the leg muscles. You should feel tension in the hamstrings, quadriceps and buttocks.

Tip: Put your hands on your hips to help with balance if needed. Adjust heel tension as needed.

3. Calves - Standing in the center of the Vibration plate, rise up on to the balls of the feet. Keeping your back straight and abdomen tight, you should begin to feel tension in your calf muscles. To add variation to the exercise, try bending your knees to 90 degrees.

Tip: Squeeze your calf muscles to make it more difficult.

UPPER BODY

1. Push Up - Kneel in front of the Vibration plate, placing hands on the plate shoulder width apart with fingers facing inward. With a straight back and strong abdomen, push off the Vibration plate platform. This exercise will strengthen chest, shoulder muscles and triceps.

Tip: For variation, try straightening your legs and lifting your knees. Vary width of hand placement by going wide (more back and chest used) or narrow (more triceps used).

2. Triceps Dip - Facing away from the Vibration plate, firmly grip the edge and push upwards. Now bend the arms slightly and lower the hips toward the plate, squeezing the shoulder blades together. You should feel the tension mainly in your upper arms. For variation, repeat the exercise with your legs straight.

Tip: Vary hand position in and out to train the triceps in different ways.

3. Biceps Curl - Position your toes slightly under the edge of the unit for support and hold the straps tightly at waist height. Knees should be slightly bent, back and wrists kept straight. Pull your arms upward. You should feel tension in the shoulders and biceps.

Tip: Adjust the length of the straps to train the biceps in different ways. Focus on using just biceps to isolate them more.

4. Bent Over Row - Stand in front of the Vibration plate. Pull the belts upward on the side of your body. Push your chest out and shoulder-blades together. Pull your arms backwards in a smooth motion and you should feel tension in your upper back and shoulder area. Vary hand position in and out to train the triceps in different ways.

Tip: Adjust the length of the straps and angle your pulling to train the back in different ways.

5. Front Raise - Stand in front of the Vibration plate, legs shoulder width apart and raise both arms horizontally in front of your torso.

Keeping your back straight and abdomen strong, pull the straps upward. For variation, perform the same exercise from a standing position on the Vibration plate.

Tip: This is a great way to strengthen the rotator cuffs, but don't go past parallel. Keep back straight and eyes straight ahead.

CORE

1. Abdominal Crunch

Place a pillow under the small of your back, raise your legs and place your hands under your head for support making sure to keep your elbows parallel with the floor. Crunch your upper body toward your legs and feel the tension in the abdominals. Ensure your buttocks and lower back do not lose contact with the mat. Tip: To vary the routine, place your feet on the step.

These tips should give you a good base workout to start with.Add or delete exercises as you go, but always remember to use good form on the vibration machine, just as you do on the baseball or softball field.

Aaron Dorksen, sports editor of The Daily Record in Wooster, Ohio, has won numerous Associated Press state and national awards. He was voted Ohio AP sports writer of the year in 2006. Dorksen was a scholastic multi-sport athlete and is still a competitive slowpitch softball player, while also remaining an avid weightlifter, cyclist and runner.

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Whole Body Vibration - Basic Review

Whole Body Vibration exercise is becoming a popular method of training, and for good reason, not only can vibration training work your muscles in a way that conventional training cannot, but also using a vibration machine has numerous proven therapeutic benefits too.

As more and more companies appear on the market each week, most giving conflicting information, it becomes difficult for consumers to know who to believe. In this article I hope to share some basic information backed by evidence as a guide for consumers when purchasing a Whole Body Vibration machine.

The first thing you need to understand before buying a vibration machine, is that there are basically just two types of vibration machines available, pivotal and vertical. A pivotal vibration plate vibrates from a centre axis in a see-saw like action. A vertical vibration plate vibrates straight up and down in a jack hammer like action. Both machines have proven benefits, and there is very little, if any, evidence to suggest one method is better than the other. As a consumer you will find marketers will tell you one method is better than the other, if you find this, ask for evidence and don't take just their word for it. Personally I prefer pivotal vibration, with vertical vibration I feel there is too much unwanted vibration in the head, however I know others that prefer vertical vibration. I always suggest trying both methods first and see what you prefer. Pivotal platforms are sometimes referred to as oscillating platforms, as vertical platforms are sometimes referred to as lineal platforms.

Both platform types can have two variables that can be adjusted to produce different vibratory effects. The two variables of a vibration platform are,

1. Amplitude (vertical displacement)

2. Frequency (platform speed)

By adjusting either of these two variables we also change things such as, the number of times per second our muscles contract, the amount G force exerted on our body, the degree of difficulty in stabilising, the flow of blood through our body etc. Research and common sense tell us that different frequencies will have different effects on our body. Depending on what effects you are hoping to benefit from, will determine what frequency you should run your machine.

Next it is important to understand the recommended, researched, and safe variables when using each type of vibration platform.

For pivotal vibration the frequency range should be between 1 and 30Hz, the amplitude range should be no greater than 6.5mm (13mm maximum displacement).

For vertical vibration the frequency range should be between 25 and 50Hz, the amplitude range should be no greater than 3mm (6mm maximum displacement).

If you find a platform that has listed specifications outside of this range, chances are the specifications are incorrect, or the machine could likely produce harmful effects.

Today the biggest threat to consumers appears to be coming from the pivotal machine market. For this reason, and for the fact that I prefer a pivotal unit, I will now discuss pivotal machines only.

When purchasing a pivotal vibration machine, you should always ensure the platform has a full range of frequency, many machines being sold on the market today only reach frequencies below 20Hz. Such machines often make claims based on research that was performed on frequencies beyond the limits of their machine. Below is just a small sample of extracts from studies on a pivotal unit, indicating the frequency that was used.

The frequency of the vibrations used in this study was set at 26Hz

Adaptive responses of human skeletal muscle to vibration exposure.

In a parallel experiment (Bosco et al. in press) it has been noted that during vibration at 30 Hz the EMG signal of the biceps brachii muscle reached its greatest activity, thus this frequency was chosen in the present study

Influence of vibration on mechanical power and electromyogram activity in human arm flexor muscles.

The treatment group underwent whole body vibrations at a frequency of 26 Hz

New trends in science: The use of vibrations for enhancing performance

Objective: To test whether training on a high-frequency (28Hz) vibrating platform improves muscle power and bone characteristics in postmenopausal women.

Conclusion: Reflex muscular contractions induced by vibration training improve muscle power in postmenopausal women.

High-Frequency Vibration Training Increases Muscle Power in Postmenopausal Women

The whole vibration stimulus from the sole of the left and right feet was 3 minutes one time (shake frequency 25Hz) X 3 sets with a set interval was 10 minutes

Effect of Whole Body Vibration Stimulus and Voluntary Contraction on Motoneuron Pool

Vibration frequency was gradually increased during the first minute from 0 to 26 Hz and maintained at that frequency for the remaining five minutes.

Acute Effects of Whole-Body Vibration on Lower Body Flexibility and Strength

Vibration was with an amplitude a

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