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| Power plating! |
| It's the latest celebrity fitness craze (Charlotte Church, Madonna and Kylie Minogue are all said to be fans) but does the Power Plate work for us mere mortals? Company's Marie-Claire Dorking puts it to the test. |
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What's in a power plate?
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So why am I putting myself through this? One big reason - the wedding! I'm getting married in less than five weeks and despite promising myself for the last six months that I'll be good, I haven't quite been able to stick to my ditch-the-junk resolution and now am desperate to tone up in time for the big day. The solution? 12, 25 minute sessions on the power plate at Good Vibes... wish me luck.
I first heard about the power plate through Company's beauty ed Sam Dean who's signed up for the 'drop a dress size - 10 week course.' I've left it a bit late for that, dammit, but according to Nahid de Belgeonne, who runs the friendly Good Vibes Power Plate exercise centre, 5 weeks and 12 sessions is enough for me to see a notable difference. The routine is easy enough to do without getting too sweaty, so you can do it in your lunch break and be back at your desk in under 30 minutes with no need to shower. So armed with my new found resolve to eat a bit healthier and do a bit more exercise, I headed off with features ed, Emma Justice to my first class.
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| Marie-Claire feels the good vibrations... |
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Week one
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The room is just like a normal exercise room with five power plates. I'm not a member of a gym, so I'd never actually seen one of the plates before and didn't really know what to expect. Do you just stand on it while the plates wobble the pounds away? Sadly not, in fact a proper work out. The Power Plate looks like a cross between a huge set of cooking scales and a mini treadmill. Using technology adapted from astronaut training, apparently a light 25-minute workout has the effect of a three-hour exercise class. The first time the machine is switched on is a very strange sensation.
At first I struggled to balance when the instructor told me to go up onto my toes, but before long I soon got the hang of it. Next up were deep squats, followed by lunges and stomach crunches. It's surprising how much you can really feel it working as you work out. You do each exercise for just a minute so even if you feel like you just can't go on, you know you've only got a few more seconds until you move onto something else. Before you know it its time for the massage and cool down exercises which basically involve you putting your thighs and calves on the plate while it massages away the stress of the class.
At the end of a 25 minutes session its amazing how nice that feels after an intense work out, although it did give Emma and I the giggles (You'll have to ask Emma why!) At the end of my first session I felt pretty elated and motivated (I wonder how long that will last). I have to admit my legs did feel a bit jelly like as I walked back to the office, but it wasn't unpleasant. Though how I will feel in the morning is quite another matter...
I can't walk! I'm not even exaggerating, I literally can't walk. I was sitting at my desk earlier and I physically had to pick up my leg to cross it over the other. Emma's the same. I honestly don't think I've ever ached so much in my life. I ache in places no one should ache, but I'm working on the basis that if it hurts it's probably working. And the fact I've probably never used some of these muscles has to be a good thing right? I've got one more day to recover before our next session, but right now I can't imagine how I'll be able to step on the thing, let alone work out on it.
For more information about Power Plates at Good Vibes visit www.goodvibesfitness.co.uk
Good Vibes, 14-16 Betterton St, WC2
(020 7240 6111). Sessions from £20.
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| It's not all just standing about on a vibrating plate... |
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| Week Two |
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I've just finished my second session and thankfully, I feel ok. The aching did subside (well, enough to walk to the class anyway) and I was surprised at how quickly I seem to have picked up the exercises. So much so that the instructor asks if I've done it before! Feel quite smug as I watch the newbie next to me wobble as we do some leg lifts. Two down, ten to go!
Today's class felt a little tougher than usual. The plank was introduced for a start - I challenge anyone to be able to be able to hold this position for a full minute with vibrations going through you. We also did lots of exercises with the medicine ball (a weighted ball) some between the thighs and on several of the arm and stomach exercises which made them that little bit more difficult. But even though it was challenging I've decided I like it when it's hard, it actually feels like I'm working out. I'm starting to feel a bit more toned and its only week two.
Everyone seems fascinated by my power plate sessions, although I'm sure most people think I just stand on a plate wobbling for 25 minutes. Ha, if only! I make the mistake of telling the instructor I'm trying to get in shape before the wedding. He works us twice as hard as normal and whenever I look at him in despair, my face turning more and more beetroot, he merely laughs and shouts 'Think about the wedding' and gives me an extra press up. By the end of the class I'm sweating like no body's business, but as I'm off to Dublin tomorrow for my hen night I think it's good to have worked a bit harder than normal. At least I can enjoy a guilt-free Guinness (or several) now!
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| Week Three |
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My first session since Dublin and its not as bad as I feared. If I'm honest I'm not doing so well with the food and drink aspect of the course. I'm meant to be eating healthily and watching how much I drink, but so far I'm failing miserably. I've been out every night this week and I guess you could say I've been binge drinking. Plus because I've been out I've been stocking up on the canapés or grabbing two slices of buttery toast late at night. Not good! I resolve to do better from now on and work extra hard at today's session.
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