Imagine being able to actually walk or run on air.
Wouldn’t that be cool? What if you actually needed to, because you were recovering from an injury? The solution is here! Enter the Alter G Treadmill. It feels like you are running in a bouncy house!
I found this one at a physical therapy clinic, but some fancy clubs and universities have them as well. The beautiful part is you can program the amount of pressurized air once the chamber is ready to go to any amount of gravity you want. Come look!
Step one:
There are special neoprene shorts you have to wear to make a seal so the pressurized air can’t leak out. Here is Ian pulling those on…they feel like a wetsuit.
Second:
You step over the metal bar and into the plastic pressurized chamber area. The metal frame is lifted up and locked into place.
Third:
Zip the two zippers all the way around you to connect the shorts to the machine and create a seal….
Fourth:
Pick your percentage of gravity ( in the blue box to the left) and your speed just like a normal treadmill…. The image on the screen comes from three strategically placed cameras on the outside of the treadmill that allow you to watch the way your knee articulates, the way your ankle bends, and your foot strike. Totally interesting!
Fifth:
Really, it is ideal if there were a Timbers or Thorns professional soccer game going on to keep you entertained out the windows, but this is also what the whole thing looks like fully inflated and in use. A mini bouncy house!
Sixth:
To disembark, just reverse the steps above…unzip, bring the metal frame down, and step over the bars carefully. It is always an unusual feeling to step back on terra firma after getting off a treadmill, and this is no exception.
I zipped myself in sideways for fun, because I love to walk like a crab – (check out my previous blog about that ) – but once that side gets tired it is a bit cumbersome to unzip and spin to the other side.
Have you used one of these treadmills before? How did you like it? Let us know in the comments below. Happy New Year!
