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G U I D E<br />
Do it<br />
ALTER G ANTI-GRAVITY TREADMILL<br />
TAKE THE WEIGHT<br />
OFF YOUR FEET<br />
All of it. Using technology<br />
devised for astronaut<br />
training, this treadmill<br />
allows you to run in almost<br />
zero-g… on Earth<br />
Fitness<br />
KNOW-HOW<br />
FIT FOR<br />
SPACE<br />
<strong>The</strong>se fitness<br />
machines were<br />
designed by, with<br />
and for astronauts<br />
Keep on running:<br />
air pressure<br />
supports your<br />
weight while<br />
training<br />
ADVANCED<br />
RESISTIVE EXERCISE<br />
DEVICE (ARED)<br />
Zero-g dumbbell<br />
exercises? Won’t work.<br />
<strong>The</strong> ARED generates its<br />
own resistance and thus<br />
cancels out the crux of<br />
weightlessness. It was<br />
first used on the<br />
International Space<br />
Station in 2009.<br />
<strong>The</strong> treadmill is an<br />
essential tool for athletes<br />
following an operation<br />
or injury. But when is the right<br />
time to begin rehab, and how<br />
much strain can the body take?<br />
Get the timing wrong and you<br />
could do more harm than good;<br />
start too late and you could<br />
miss the crucial window for<br />
recovery. A solution was needed<br />
and it came from space.<br />
During his time as a NASA<br />
engineer, Dr Robert Whalen<br />
was tasked with devising a way<br />
for astronauts to exercise in zero<br />
gravity. His idea was to place<br />
the person inside a pressurised<br />
bubble and push them down<br />
onto the treadmill using air<br />
pressure. NASA didn’t adopt the<br />
concept, but Robert’s son Sean<br />
saw its potential as a rehab<br />
device. By flipping the concept<br />
on its head, using air pressure<br />
“Using this<br />
treadmill<br />
means I can<br />
train and avoid<br />
injury at the<br />
same time”<br />
Nicola Spirig, Olympic<br />
triathlon champion<br />
to lift users off the treadmill,<br />
it could reduce bodyweight by<br />
up to 80 per cent, placing less<br />
stress on bones and joints.<br />
Together, they released the<br />
AlterG in 2005 and it’s since<br />
been used by many professional<br />
athletes, including NBA legends<br />
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James,<br />
and Swiss triathlete Nicola<br />
Spirig. “I’ve been using it ever<br />
since my preparations for Rio<br />
2016,” explains the 2012<br />
Olympic gold medallist and sixtime<br />
European champion. “It<br />
also means I can start training<br />
again much earlier.” alterg.com<br />
MINIATURE<br />
EXERCISE DEVICE<br />
(MED-2)<br />
This machine works on<br />
the same principle as the<br />
ARED. It looks like a<br />
vacuum cleaner, but you<br />
use it for squats, arm<br />
and leg exercises, or for<br />
a total body workout.<br />
<strong>The</strong> MED-2 was given its<br />
space debut in 2016.<br />
OYO FITNESS<br />
DOUBLEFLEX<br />
PERSONAL GYM<br />
Used to maintain muscle<br />
mass during endless<br />
months onboard the<br />
ISS, the OYO Fitness<br />
DoubleFlex’s resistance<br />
technology works for<br />
Earthbound athletes,<br />
too. It delivers 11kg of<br />
weight from a 1kg device.<br />
oyofitness.com<br />
PAUL ANDREWS FLORIAN STURM<br />
104 THE RED BULLETIN
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