High-tech fitness: Out-of-this-world workouts

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High-tech fitness

Want to bring your fitness routine to the next level? Foxnews.com’s Meg Baker gets us up to speed with an anti-gravity treadmill and a high-tech power cycling program

Want to bring your fitness routine to the next level? Foxnews.com checked out a new machine and program that will get you up to speed.

An “out-of-this-world” workout on an anti-gravity treadmill and high-tech power cycling program is a sure way to pump some fun into getting fit.

Alter-G Anti-Gravity Treadmill

The Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill may look like something from George Jettson’s gym, but this apparatus is giving gym-goers on Earth a new way to break a sweat.

First step into your space suit, a special pair of shorts fitted to zip you into your spacecraft otherwise known as the Alter-G.  Using the same anti-gravity technology developed at NASA, the machine calibrates, allowing you to reduce your body weight from 100 to 20 percent and bump up your running speed.

Feeling light as a feather as you train particularly benefits people who want to continue an aerobic workout while recovering from an injury or aches and pains.

“The most obvious benefit is the ability to reduce your weight,”  said Lindsay Dettbarn, personal training manager at Equinox in New York City. She added that it is “beneficial to your joints; people recovering from injuries, people trying to avoid injuries, and for extreme distance runners or those getting back into running.”

Many physical therapy clinics as well as athletic training and fitness facilities offer access to the Alter-G.

Tina Lundgren, 46,  said she uses the anti- gravity treadmill two to three times a week to combat Achilles tendentious.

“After a year of physical therapy, I did have a goal of running the New York City triathlon, and I wanted to start training. It was recommended that I try the machines so that I could get the distance runs in without as much wear and tear on the ahcilles,” Lungren said.

“It offers you a chance to get back into the sport that you love without the risk of injuring yourself.” Dettbam explained.

This machine is fit to train anyone from a professional athlete, a few times a week gym-goer, to senior citizens.

Experiences runners can use it to work on mechanics to improve running gait, correct your stance and stride length, and run drills that you could not otherwise perform due to the earths gravity.

Dettbam pointed out that “the other benefit is that it’s just pure fun!”

Power Cycling

Put the pedal to the metal with a new cycling program that allows rider to link up their very own street bike to high-tech CompuTrainers, which analyze every pedal push.

One of the big sells behind this idea is to escape the cold and busy streets by bringing your bike inside. Once your bike is linked up to the sophisticated system, strap on a heart rate monitor and enter some personal information about height and weight, then you are ready to ride!

The computerized training system’s screens mimic outdoor courses like New York’s Central Park and aims to improve your riding skills.

“The CompuTrainer is automatically going to give you resistance to simulate climbing hills, riding on a flat, descending, to give you an experience of training outdoor without actually having to,” said Ann Maria Miller, a coach at Chelsea Piers Performance Center in New York City.

The coaching software system helps riders gain endurance, power and efficiency by monitoring power to weight ratio, power output, and strengths and weaknesses with pedal drills and intervals.

Miller pointed out that within a class, everyone can be working on their personal target heart rate and target power, “people of all different levels can all ride together, and get the same workout, but nobody gets dropped.”