Alter-G Anti-Gravity Treadmill Makes Running Fun and Easy (Sort of)
Alter-G Prototype
I recently learned about a new training tool called the Alter-G Anti-Gravity Treadmill and feel like I should briefly share my thoughts on it with everybody because it is one of the most amazing pieces of fitness equipment I have ever seen.
So, what in the world is the Alter-G Treadmill? It is an odd-looking contraption that makes running almost as easy and pain-free as sitting on the couch. In other words, the Alter-G allows slackers to run like pro’s with only a fraction of the effort! Trainers and coaches have has also found the Alter-G to be an innovative and useful training tool that has been changing the way injured people recover and how athletes train.
So how does it work? Imagine what it would be like to be able to leave a certain percentage of your body weight at home while you go for a walk or a run (or, if you prefer, what it would be like to do a workout on the moon). The Alter-G gives you a similar experience, albeit on a treadmill.
Picture a giant mechanical bully sneaking up behind you and giving you a massive wedgie while you are running on a treadmill. The wedgie takes some of the weight off your lower extremities and running gets a whole lot easier. Now, instead of a mechanical bully, picture a giant pillow of air and instead of being held up by your skivvies, imagine a special pair of shorts designed to distribute your weight evenly and with much more comfort. That’s the Alter-G. By providing a type of virtual weight loss, it allows users run faster, gain additional strength and enhance cardiovascular performance while minimizing impact and stress on their joints.
The Alter-G is highly effective in rehabilitation and physical therapy because it also reduces impact loading on the lower extremities. The FDA has cleared the Alter-G for use in lower body injury and surgery rehabilitation, aerobic conditioning, weight control and reduction, sport specific conditioning programs and neurological retraining.
The Alter-G is also proving to be a highly effective training tool for both recreational and competitive athletes by allowing a person to train longer, run faster, gain additional strength, and enhance cardiovascular performance. Moreover, until now, there has not been an effective method for athletes to maintain high fitness levels while they are injured. The Alter-G allows injured athletes to match the aerobic intensity of their regular workouts while lowering the impact on his/her injured body during training.
The bottom line on the Alter-G treadmill is that is a very useful device for anybody who needs to achieve a higher level of conditioning with less impact as part of an overall exercise program. Want to check it out for yourself? Come see me at LO F.I.T.T.
Alter-G “highly effective in rehabilitation” ? How would you know? How would Alter-G know? They have NO science behind this. At least no published science. They have case studies from PT,s on a trial and error reab efforts using the Alter-G. But nothing from any MD’s, no IRB studies, no real science. Lots of wild clams and anecdotal evidence, but after being in business since 2005 where’s the science? Claim medical benefits, prove it.
The Alter-G is a relatively new tool to the rehab and sports world. I have worked with the Alter-G trainer for the past 3 years with elite-level runners and was impressed enough to put one in my PT clinic. I have had one in my clinic for the past 6 months and have used it with everyone from post-op hip replacements to professional athletes.
It has been frustrating that the science has not caught up with the technology yet. I have no doubt that more research will come out as these become more common. I hope that Alter-G starts to put more money into research and less into marketing. I know of some MD’s who use them primarily post-operatively. These MD’s include some of the biggest names in Sports Medicine (Dr. Philippon of the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail CO and other professional sports team physicians from the NBA and NFL). I have worked with pools, under water treadmills and harnessed treadmills, but none are as functional and simple to use as the Alter-G.
You can have too much of a good thing though, and I have seen the Alter-G used incorrectly, which has resulted in it’s own unique issues. Again, I feel the biggest issue is that it is a new tool and it can be very effective in rehab and performance enhancement when used correctly. To be a little cheesy… a tool is only as good as the person using it.
Woodrow,
No science behind this? Seriously? How about basic physics for starters? Beyond that, how about good old-fashioned common sense? You don’t really need to be Isaac Newton to understand that the knees and lower extremities of a heavier runner are going to take a more severe pounding than the knees and lower extremities of a lighter runner. In essence, this thing makes you a lighter runner.
common sense and newton’s 3 laws are great starters. But they are claiming medical benefits. Let me quote a couple from their own web site
1. Neuromuscular and proprioceptive re-training. Newton or common sense cover that?
2. Lowers the risk of falling. Really? Any studies to support that claim?
3. Improves neuromuscular control and activity and promotes brain plasticity. I don’t see any studies on this claim either.
And these are the medical ones. The sports/fitness ones are just as substantiated and unsupported by real science, aka IRB STUDY
Woodrow,
I thought you were full of it till I went to the web site. They have this section called “clinical research”. It’s not. They really are just case studies. Surprising. I would think having alterG prove the benefits would have been a no-brainer. But whatever they do have, they don’t have as you call it “science” and it ain’t clinical research thats for sure.
I was privledged to use the Alter-G while I was at Walter Reed Medical Center. Frankly, it is amazing. With the combination of regular physical therapy, chripractic care and the Alter-G I began to heal and get back into shape quickly. The Alter-G lessend the weight on my back and knees. It allowed me to push myself safely. I saw amputees use the machine to learn walking with a prothesis with less pain and less inflamtion and swelling of the affected leg(s). Thank God for the Alter-G. I only wish I could afford to puchase an Alter-G for my own home use and continued recovery.