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A pair of effectiue exercising iceshighlight an array of
aerospacetechnology transfers to the fieldsof sports and
recreation
oons trom
M e mbe rs of t h e Nat ional Foot- Aboard Apollo 7 the first
mannedball League 's Oak l and Raiders flight of the Apollo
program, astronautw ork o u t zuith t h e A p o l l o Exer- Donn
Eisele reported that his lowerciser. T h e device is used by 8
abdominal muscles ached somewhatprofessional sports teams, more
from floating around in the seatedt h a n 1,000 colleges and some
position. But, he told mission control,10,000 h i g h schools. he
felt a lot better after using the Exer-Genie.Crewmates Walter
Schirra andWalter Cunningham concurred that theexercising device
was a good deal.One of the best 'spacey' things we'vehad in years,
Schirm added.The Exer-Genie they were talkingabout was an
innovative exerciser basedon the principle of muscle strengthen-ing
through controlled resistance.
Hooked to the spacecraft wall, itenabled the astronauts to keep
variousmuscles toned by rope-pulling fromseveral angles and
positions. It provedan answer to a problem that hadconcerned NASA
for some time.The problem was the effect on thhuman body of long
duration weightlessness and confinement withoutexercise. The Apollo
program contemplated flights of eight to 13 days.Research by
Johnson Space Centerindicated that lengthy activity restric-tion
and exposure to zero gravity coulinduce loss of calcium and
bonedensity, possibly metabolic and cardiovascular problems. These
findingsinspired further research on offsettingdietary measures,
together with a quesfor some effective system of exercise.Normal
means of exercise werenot applicable, due to weightlessnessand the
limited space within Apollo.Bulky equipment was out, since
therewere many other items competing forspace and weight
allowances. JohnsonSpace Center came up with Exer-Genideveloped by
Exer-Genie, Inc., Fuller-ton, California. The device weighedless
than two pounds and took up verlittle room, yet i t permitted a
widerange of resistive exercises. It provedeffective and was used
on subsequentApollo missions. The astronauts' usethis exerciser
generated publicity thathas spurred sales of Exer-Genie.The
Exer-Genie program utilizesfamiliar types of exercise, such as
iso-metrics (pushing or pulling against animmovable object) and
isotonics (mo-tive exercises such as calisthenics orweight lifting)
but with the importanadded factor of controlled resistance.The
device is an arrangement of handgrips and nylon cord wrapped
aroundan aluminum shaEt. Controlled frictiodetermines the
resistance and the usercan set the amount of resistive force tohis
own physical conditioning needs.Since Apollo days, the Exer-Geniand
a similar device called the ApolloExerciser have found wide
acceptanceamong professional, collegiate andhigh school athletic
teams, and amonthe growing number of individualsinterested in
physical fitness. Thesedevices are efficient and
economicalreplacements for conventional condi-tioning equipment and
extremelyversatile, allowing more than 100 basiexercises for
shaping up specific muscgroups.
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One of the more important advan-tages is time-saving, since time
is adeterrent to many who might otherwiseengage in a conditioning
program.Advocates of isok~etics, s some callthe controlled
resistance exercise meth-ad ay that 12 to 15 minutes of dailyeffort
provides the equivalent in cardio-vascular improvement and
generalphysical toning of 40-60 minutes dailywork in
isometrics-isotonics.Fitness Motivation Institute ofAmerica, San
Jose, California, marketsthe Apollo Exerciser. Like Exer-Genie,the
Institute sells to professional andamateur athletic groups, but its
mainthrust is at the average, out-of-shape,overweight American,
particularlybusinessmen who don? have the timefor conventional
exercising. The Insti-tute offers its Total Isokinetics pr-o-gram
to business firms, stressing the
Exer-Genie le f t ) and t h eApo l l o Exerciser, novelphysical
cond i t ion ing aidsof t h e type used by Ap o l l oastronauts in
space.W i t h i n t h e cylindtirs, t h en y l on cords rotate
arounda shaft , developing con-trolled resistance for mor
eeffective body-bui ld ing .
corporate advantages of improving con-ditioning, and especially
building car-diovascular endurance, among the com-pany's
executives. It provides a pack-age-including lectures,
counselingand a course of training-tailored to aparticular
company's needs.Exer-Genie and the Apollo Exer-ciser have made
remarkable impacts onthe physicaI fitness wmld in a relativelyshort
time-and interest s still onthe upswing.
Us ing the Exer-Genie,father and daughter denzonstratet h e
teanzzuork approaclzemp loyed in groupcondi t ioning . Tlze
Exer-Genieoffers more than 1 basicexercises and vnriatio?zs.
