I returned to Precision Orthopaedics and the AlterG treadmill to determine just how much my training heart rate would go down if I lost weight…which this machine could simulate. I’d told Mark that I thought the treadmill would be a huge motivator for people looking to lose weight. It would be an amazing visual to get on the treadmill at normal weight with a heart rate monitor and then ‘lose 20 pounds’ and see what it did to your heart rate. Suddenly, you would know precisely how much additional stress the extra pounds were putting on your heart. “I’ve got to come back tomorrow and try this out,” I’d said at the conclusion of our interview.
The anti-gravity treadmill was originally designed to assist NASA astronauts to help prevent bone and muscle loss during long periods of time in space stations without gravity. In 2006, AlterG introduced their first proto-type treadmill and turned it over to former Olympian and coach of the Nike Oregon Project, Alberto Salazaar, to be used with the elite distance runners he was coaching at that time. Though the treadmill can be used for rehabilitative purposes, Salazaar wanted the opportunity to do ‘overspeed’ work with his athletes…having them reduce their weight with the machine, which would allow them to run even faster than they could at 100% of their weight, thus improving turnover and enhancing the capabilities of the fast-twitch muscles involved in running.
I slipped into the patented shorts which would be used to gently lift me from the treadmill as I ran, simulating a decreasing weight. I stepped onto the treadmill and into a plastic bubble that attached to my waist via the shorts and encased the treadmill beneath me. Once calibrated, I began to walk and adjusted my weight…it moves in 1% increments…until I was 80% of normal or about 38 pounds lighter. I took the speed to 7mph (this model would go to 10mph or the equivalent of running a 6-minute mile) and allowed my heart rate to stabilize before starting to add weight back on. At 80%, I had a heart rate of 114 beats per minute (bpm), which increased about 3 beats for every 5% of my weight I added back. When I reached 100% and was running unaided, my heart rate was 126 bpm.
I finished the workout and climbed from the treadmill to do some calculations. Though I’d always known that my performance would improve if I lost body fat, I’d never had the opportunity to prove how much of an impact it could have. My heart rate was going down about 3% for every 10 pounds I lost, which was the equivalent of being able to take about 14 seconds per mile off my running pace. If I was running a marathon, I could improve my time by more than 6 minutes.
Mark is excited about having the treadmill for rehabbing patients, but he has also opened it to running community to be used for training purposes. He mentioned that Jessica Beard, reigning NCAA Outdoor 400-meter champion and member of the US 4x400 gold medal winning team in the 2009 World Championships had just completed a session on the treadmill. “She’s trying to work through and Achilles injury. We were able to work her for 15-20 minute sessions at between 20-60% of her body weight. Without the AlterG, she wouldn’t be able to do any running,” he concluded.
For $100 per month, anyone can have access three times a week for 40 minutes. His hours of operation will be 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and making it very appealing to any runner trying to work through an injury as they are preparing for an important race. It is his hope to eventually put one in his running store in Mentor.
I asked if he thought fitness clubs might take a shot at putting one in. “I don’t think it would be practical. They serve a particular population not found in your average club…and they’re pricy.” But they truly have their place and for those runners who have been forced to rehab an injury…or adjust their mileage away from running with cycling and elliptical equipment…well…this may be the answer. For further information, go to Mark’s web site at www.precisionorthopaedic.com or call 440-285-4999. It works. I know.
I returned home and shoveled the drive before heading inside and climbing back on the trainer for a 60-minute ride. It was an exhausting couple of hours with a lot of sweat loss and a huge smoothie worked miracles on my recovery.
Run Duration: 20 minutes. Bike Duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 running and cycling.Calories burned during workout: 300 running and 850 biking.
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