At the tender age of 3 years Jonathan was run over by a car. What a traumatic start to life.
Jonathan’s Dad, Colin, describes the injuries Jonathan sustained as being broken legs, a shattered ear drum and the most debilitating, serious brain injury.
While the broken bones have long since mended, the lifelong impact of his traumatic brain injury has left Jonathan with slow speech, problems with his hearing, as well as impaired balance, coordination and mobility.
Colin goes on to say that, remarkably, Jonathan has adapted well throughout his life, attending a regular school, developing good friendships, and participating in scouts, where his scout mates taught him how to ride a two-wheeler bike!
Colin wisely understood how important health and fitness were going to be for Jonathan to maintain and enjoy a relatively normal life growing up. That foresight led to Jonathan’s joining a gym when he was just 12 years old. He would ride his bike there and spend a considerable amount of time working on getting his muscles functional. How many 12 years old would have that much commitment and determination to live their best life, even without a traumatic brain injury?
Take a Breath
Jonathan, now 45 years old, met Tamara Echave and her team at Take a Breath when the Hughes family moved to Whagamata, NZ. Tamara took Jonathan under her wing and applied her years of industry experience and knowledge of Power Plate whole body vibration training to bring about further improvements to Jonathan’s balance, coordination and mobility.
Power Plate as a neuromuscular activation tool
From what Tamara had witnessed with other clients, Power Plate could be incredibly effective at muscle recruitment and strength building, without the need for adding weights, as one would in a conventional workout. The unique vibration of the Power Plate machine destabilises the body and causes a rapid reflex contraction, activating more muscles. Not only does the vibration have an effect on muscle contraction, the three-dimensional aspect of its movement stimulates the proprioceptors, sending signals to the central nervous system and motor cortex. This can lead to better co-ordination and motor control.
Without a doubt these effects have proven to be tremendously beneficial for Jonathan. He now has much enhanced co-ordination, flexibility and balance than what he had achieved in the traditional gym workout he was doing. These increased benefits have ultimately helped Jonathan with his everyday life.
Jonathan has been training with Tamara and the Power Plate for over 3 years now and enjoys the Power Plate small group classes since they add a social aspect of working out with others. He now works out twice a week on the Power Plate, performing total body workouts and strengthening all major muscle groups, as well as working on balance and co-ordination. He also uses it for stretching and always finishes with the all-important massage.
Colin also uses Power Plate after his knee replacement
Colin, who is now in his 70’s, is also an avid fan of the Power Plate and after undergoing two knee replacements and a double bypass, has found it to be an effective cardiac fitness workout for him that does not put undue pressure and stress on his body.
Power Plate makes it possible for anyone, of any age and ability to improve their health and fitness, wth scientific evidence pointing towards improved bone health, flexibility, mobility and even pain reduction. No more struggling with heavy weights and navigating the plethora of intimidating machines. You can do it all on one piece of equipment – the Power Plate is a one stop health and fitness machine!
As Jonathan and Colin would say – No excuses – just try it!
– by Belinda Kropach