Power Plate - comparison to other vibration platforms
February 16, 2008
Power Plate is the most widely known brand of whole body vibration training platform but is it the best? Celebrities certainly seem to choose Power Plate and the brand name is synonymous with vibration training in general but there are so many other models to choose from what’s so great about Power Plate?
The company pride themselves on being “the gold standard” in Acceleration Training which they say is down to the “extensive academic and independent scientific research” which they have conducted. Power Plate retain a Scientific and Medical Advisory Board consisting of ten doctors and academics to aid the development of their whole body vibration platform products.
Sleek, modern lines
Aside from the scientific and medical expertise which Power Plate bring to bear on their products there’s no denying that the input of their designers also plays a part in the widespread success of their brand of vibration platforms. Power Plates look cool! The sleek, modern lines and stylish silver, white and black colours mean that their platforms look equally good in the gym, office or home.
Technical specs
But what about the technical specifications? The table below shows a comparison of some of the features between the Power Plate my5 and the similarly priced DKN Technology EXC1 Pro. You can see that the DKN model exceeds the Power Plate in terms of some of the specifications particularly the frequency ranges available and the ability to control the length of time each exercise lasts. Power Plates can perhaps be compared to the Apple line of iPods and Macs - favoured by people who appreciate quality, design and simplicity of use rather than having lots of options to adjust.
| Specification | Power Plate my5 | DKN EXC1 Pro |
| Max Load | 136kg | 180kg |
| Time settings | 30 or 60 secs | 30 - 600 secs |
| Frequency range | 35 Hz | 20-25-30-35-40-45-50 Hz |
| Overall dimensions | 68 x 150 x 90 cm | 99 x 97 x 151 cm |
| Warranty | Labour 180 days Parts 1 year |
2 years |
Both DKN and Power Plate are good products. The My5 model now adjusts from
30 to 35 to 40 hz. The warranty is 2 years parts and 2 years labour. It seems to be accepted in this technology that anything under 25 Hz interfers with your body’s own natural frequency. It is very hard to compare these two machine’s. Both machines can be set at the same Hz but will feel very different. The amplitude, or depth of the vibration is higher on the Power Plate than on DKN. It feels more intense. The amount of research; studies and courses made available by Power Plate has had a significant impact on our understanding of Whole Body Vibration
and its benifits.
I prefer VibroGym, because they have a medical certification, which is important for every physician, but also FitVibe and Galileo have one - I suggest one of them to be on the safe side