The Scoop:
Thinking back on the back-to-back classes I took at Platefit makes me want to bust into Good Vibrations. The Marky Mark version, for some reason. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up for an hours worth of “vibrating” on the Power Plate because there’s no class like in it Manhattan as of right now.
Be warned, it’s a kind of weird class but I also kind of liked it.
The Deets:
Platefit
309 N Kings Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Website || instagram || facebook
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The Power Plate:
This vibrating machine causes your muscles to contract 30-50 times a second. The Power Plate has been around for a while, when I posted about visiting this class on instagram, fitness superstar and one of my all time favorite instructors Kira commented that many of her training clients have the machine in their home gym because it’s gray for increasing circulation, blood flow, muscle contraction and flexibility.
Supposedly 30 minutes on the Power Plate is the equivalent of 90 minutes of “normal” exercise due to all these muscle contractions. The machine is also noted to help reduce cellulite. Whether or not this is true for everyone, I do not know… but I’m sure you’re intrigued about this magical machine at the very least.
The Class:
Classes at Platefit are 27 minutes long. I decided to take back-to-back classes to get a full, 1 hour experience. I didn’t notice a huge difference between the two classes I took — the signature PlateFIT class and BootcampFIT. I wish I would’ve been able to try out their other classes because they sound super interesting. Like, what do you do in CelluliteFIT or DanceFIT on this odd vibrating machines?
The studio is tiny so I waited outside before class and got a glimpse of what I was about to endure. The thing is, you can’t see the vibrating so seeing is not really believing when it comes to this class.
Once it was time for my class to go instructor Alyssa got us all set up on the machines. There are different settings as far as speed goes and unfortunately you have to restart the timer on the machines a few times during class since they only go for about 10 minutes.
As the machines started up, Alyssa warned us that it might take some time getting used to and our ears might feel itchy. It was one of the weirdest sensations and reminded me of this thing called Footsie Wootsie that they have at amusement parks.
The class is non-stop for pretty much the entire 27 minutes. We did a mixture of cardio moves (think high knees and jumping jacks) and strength such as bicep curls and tricep extensions, all while the machine is doing it’s thing. While the moves aren’t hard, it’s a totally different feeling with all the vibrations. Plank on that thing? Oh my god I wanted to die.
My instructor Alyssa was a bundle of energy and positivity. The class only has 7 students so there was a ton of personal attention and no slacking allowed.
So, did it feel like I did 90 minutes of working out, or I guess 180 minutes since I took two classes? Definitely not. Coming off the machine my body felt all noodle-y, similar to when you’ve been on a treadmill for a while and then it feels weird to stand still.
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Bottom Line:
I’m all for a class that boasts efficiency and gets the job done in only 27 minutes. Is it as effective as the claims? I’m honestly not sure. But the quick classes sure make it easy to squeeze in a workout. I’d definitely want to try the more recovery based classes, I think the machine would do wonders for sore muscles!
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