Sometime over the next year, your wallet is likely to be teased by a new invention in home fitness. Maybe it will be an electric treadmill said to be
”cushion soft.” Perhaps it will be a stair climber designed to whistle and chime while monitoring your exhaustion level, or, for aficionados of fitness ”furniture,” there`s a Yuppified semi-recumbent exercise bicycle trimmed in oak and brass.
You get the idea.
”There`s a lot of terrific equipment coming,” says Bob Goldman. ”But be braced for a lot of schlock, too. It happens every year.”
Goldman, a sports osteopath and former Olympic trainer, tests fitness equipment. He directs the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine`s High-Tech Fitness Laboratory. He also heads High Technology Fitness Research Institute, 2434 N. Greenview Ave., a one-man research facility to which manufacturers send samples of new exercise equipment for evaluation.
Recently, Goldman toured the National Sporting Goods Association exposition in Chicago in behalf of Style. The idea was that, as an expert, he could sift through new fitness equipment and tip readers to quality products coming on the market.
10 good ones
Much of what he saw won`t debut until next spring. Other products are recently available. Ten looked good enough to write about now.
”I`ve tested only a few so far, and only one extensively. But these seem well made and intelligently constructed,” Goldman says. ”They look promising, and most of them are made by companies that have reputations for backing up their products.”
Final judgment comes several months down the line. (In rating a machine, Goldman works with two samples. One is subjected to rigorous testing over six months or more. The other is torn apart and autopsied, so to speak, to examine integrity of workmanship.)
So what`s new? Here`s what Goldman likes so far, along with his abridged comments.
— Paramount`s Computer Fitness System: Flashy series of 8 single-station units that rely on electro-magnetic brakes instead of weight stacks. What`s new is Paramount`s unusual menu pad, which relates range of motion and analyzes performance. Users can set different levels of resistance in one-pound increments, and in multiple directions (to work inner and outer thighs simultaneously, with different levels of resistance). Resistance profile otherwise follows isometric power curve data stored on microprocessor. Lots of lights and whistles for motivation. (Priced around $3,700; 800-421-6242).
— Paramount`s ”Chair”: Exceedingly quiet semi-recumbent bicycle that converts to arm exerciser and ergometer. A particularly nice feature is that it`s designed for pedaling forward or backward, which means a better workout of opposing muscle groups. No chains or flywheels on this hummer; just an impenetrable plastic disc in heavy viscosity fluid in machined magnesium housing. Really innovative, but it may take some getting used to. You`ll use muscles in a slightly different fashion. In an ordinary stationary bicycle, there`s a bit of easy glide action after a first half stroke. The Chair requires continuous force down and up, which means a full range of motion. LCD screen registers rpm`s, miles per hour, total miles, time, watts (energy) and calories burned. After working your legs, machine easily converts to an upper body ergometer to work on shoulders, forearms, biceps. (About $595;
800-854-0183.)
— Precor`s 515E Cross Country Skier: A beautiful unit from a company renowned for design. I tried it briefly; smooth and appears well-constructed. Precor put an awful lot of time into design. Flywheel is in front instead of between your legs. Liquid crystal screen registers time, speed, average speed and distance. (About $595; 800-662-0606)
— Precor`s 9.4 Home Treadmill: So far, I`m impressed. This baby is a real workhorse; it`s quiet and has good safety features. It slows down quickly but smoothly when you press stop button. As with a lot of treadmills, you can walk or run up to 12 mph, with 15 degrees elevation. But Precor`s running bed doesn`t overheat. The rubber belts on some brands actually begin to melt from continuous use. Precor`s is constructed to avoid that problem, with a base of oxydized aluminum on a plywood bed. It also has one of the better calibrated ergonomic systems I`ve seen; when it reads 8 mph, that`s what it`s really going. On some other brands, when heat builds up, it affects sensing devices, which incorrectly read stimulus because of heat. (About $3,400; 800-662-0606) — True Sports Inc.`s True 1-E Treadmill: Exceptionally quiet, also smooth. Zero to 9 mph, with an electric elevation from zero to 15 percent grade. What`s unique here is the slider bed-frame design, which is aluminum instead of plywood. That means heat generated from surface friction dissipates into aluminum deck beneath the belt. Another nifty feature is its frame; it flexes under impact so much it`s almost as if you`re running on a cushioned track. Ergonomic features on a liquid crystal screen include mph, distance, lapsed time, heart rate (from earlobe monitor) and elevation percent grade. Audible alarms can be programmed for time and target heart rate. I have only one reservation–earlobe monitors are prone to register different readings with light changes. That`s because they ”read” blood flowing through earlobe by registering light blockage. Nonetheless, I`m impressed. ($3,595. True Sports Inc., 2211 Forte Ct., Maryland Heights, Mo., 63043; 314-739-3770.)
— Heart Rate`s Versa Climber: As far as I`m concerned, Versa Climber makes the best body-climbing device on the market. I know the basic unit pretty well and it`s a real animal workout. This year they`ve added computer programs and upscaled cardiac monitoring abilities (using a chest sensor developed by NASA). A lot of imitators are coming on the market shortly. I doubt any will match this one. ($2,495; $500 less without cardiac monitoring device. Heart-Rate Inc., 3186-G Airway Ave., Costa Mesa, Calif., 92626;
714-850-9716)
— Hunk`s Ultimate Series VVF: Letters mean ”variable vector force.”
This is a high quality and sturdy body building system on a Chicago-made weight-building unit that relies on pulleys and stacked weights. Smooth and strongly constructed. One advantage of Hunk`s pulley system is that it take up little floor space. But because Hunk`s pulley moves with the user, you aren`t encumbered by cable wraparound. This enables you to perform just about any movement without being hindered by a cable. Between a vertical and horizontal pulley, you can get a complete workout. This is not meant exclusively for
”grunts” (bodybuilders); handicapped people who need rehabilitation exercises can complete upper body while seated in a wheelchair. (From $995;
Gross Industries, 3030 W. Carroll Ave., Chicago 60612; 312-722-4865.)
— Super Mats: Anyone with weight equipment needs good mats for the floor, and these look good, durable and cheap. They`re high quality, thickly cushioned ( 3/8 inch) mats made of recycled rubber and polymer. They comes varying sizes up to 7×9 sheets. But mats can be fused together with epoxy cement, leaving a seam that actually is stronger than the mat itself. Other mats interlock, tongue-in-groove, in small squares. Super Mats come from a depressed area of Minnesota, which has taken waste and turned it around.
($2.25 a square foot, distributed by Zeus Distributors; 800-225-9181.)
— ”Woodie”: A semi-recumbent bicycle that is picturesque as well as quiet. Its liquid-resistance unit is identical to Paramount`s ”Chair.”
That`s because ”Woodie” is made by the same fellow (engineer Brent Bloemendaal of Indianapolis). Brent says he designed ”Woodie” as the BMW of semi-recumbent bicycles. It`s totally quiet. Its exterior is solid oak and brass. It has the same viscous fluid mechanism as the Chair, but it`s cheaper, and its ergonomic features are more basic. Instead of computerized screens, there`s a simple electronic needle that registers r.p.m.`s (enabling user to refer to chart to obtain watts burned and calories per minute). Timer beeps when desired time is reached. Foam-and-vinyl seat is rolled and pleated, unlike Paramount`s molded plastic seat; underneath there`s an aluminum extrusion, ladderlike construction that slides into the wood and held in place by pins. Solid oak outer frame coated in polyurethane; but when user gets hustling, strain is absorbed by metal, not oak. It`s a cute device, and I`m partial to oak and brass. (Retails for $350, from Bio-Dynamic Innovations, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.; 317-842-8841).
— Muscle Dynamics` Myotech: Computer controlled hydraulic resistance units. Just coming out of prototype stage with a look of Starwars, but considerably less expensive than the medical iso-kinetic testing equipment they resemble. No weight stacks here; these are single-station units with resistance powered by hydraulic cylinders hooked to computer. Each unit challenges a specific muscle group, not unlike Nautilus, which is comparably priced. The result is similar, too, but comparing the two is like comparing apples to gorillas. For one thing, Myotech`s variable resistance can be programmed to range from a pound to hundreds of pounds simply by pushing a button–and without getting out of your seat. There`s also a video-like screen that reveals what is coming next, with words flowing on an LCD crystal. Ultimately, the system will consist of 20 different units. (Muscle Dynamics Corp., 17022 Montanero St., Carson, Calif. 90746; 213-637-9500) (Each unit to retail for approximately $3,695 to $3,895.) —
