THE RESPONSE OF WHOLE BODY VIBRATION ON TAI CHI AND WEIGHT-LIFTING ATHLETES

Abstract

Whole body vibration (WBV) is a new technique which may improve leg muscle strength. Many researchers have studied the effect of whole body vibration recently. But study of effects of vibration stimulus to different activity type athletes, such as Tai Chi (N=12) and Weight-lifting (N=15) athletes is lacking. In this study we examine that question. The subjects were asked to stand in a half-squat posture without additional load on a vibration platform with 7 vibration frequencies (5, 9, 12, 16, 20, 24, 30 Hz) at 4 mm amplitude and maintained for 30 seconds. The effect of WBV would be different on different sport subjects’ perceived exertion. We discovered that the subject’s perception may be related with the acceleration of the subject’s head. Using whole body vibration training to improve muscle power and strength depends on the particular sport’s training emphasis to setup the appropriate training protocol such as amplitude and frequency.