Is it worth it? Power Plate

What is it? A vibrating platform that nobody ever uses at your gym.

How much does it cost? As usual, there’s probably one at your gym. If you want to visit a specialist Power Plate centre, like Powervibe in west London, it’s about £25 a pop.

What does it promise? A 25-minute session on a Power Plate is apparently equal to an hour and a half of weightlifting. It improves strength, flexibility and blood circulation, while reducing cellulite, muscle loss and recovery time from injuries.

What’s it actually like? Until this week, I’d assumed that these machines were simply an updated version of those dangerous-looking 1970s fat-belt machines. Then I went to a class called Powervibe, and was proved wrong.

It turns out that a Power Plate is simply a deliberately unstable platform that stimulates your muscles and helps maximise the effect of bodyweight exercises. You hop on, set a time and a level of vibration, and start doing the same moves that you would usually do on the gym floor. During my class, I did squats, lunges, press-ups and crunches, and with each exercise the burn was much more pronounced than I’d ever previously experienced. Using one is profoundly disorienting, not least because it wobbles so hard that your vision goes blurry, but I can’t deny that it did the job.

Best and worst bit Holding a squat on a Power Plate is agonising, which only speaks to how well it works. However, you should also know that walking up a staircase after using one is equally agonising. Maybe more agonising. I hate stairs.

Is it worth it? It is.

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