AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill: Experience Outer Space in Manila

AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill: Experience Outer Space in Manila

 

It’s time to fly – and we’re not talking about happy thoughts, hidden treasures and fairy dust. Sorry, Tinkerbell! We’re talking about NASA certified training – astronaut style. We’re talking about the science of anti-gravity happening before our very eyes. Let’s face it: it’s not easy getting into NASA and we can’t all be like Matthew McConaughey in the movie Interstellar. We all know that’s fiction – to some extent. So, we settle for the next best thing! Good thing for us, the next best thing is the real thing.

 

 

AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill is the first ever machine in the Philippines that offers a gravity-defying training experience (CUE MUSIC: Defying Gravity). From fitness buffs to recovering athletes to patients with Parkinson’s disease and Cerebral Palsy among other things, anyone can benefit from a 15-minute run on the AlterG. And since we’re not scientists and can’t exactly explain to you the physics of the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill in detail, here is an excerpt from their press release:

According to Kinectics Advance Physiotherapy, the first and only rehabilitation clinic and gym crossover that gives us the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill, the science behind AlterG lies in its capacity to reduce an individual’s weight to up to 80% – almost similar to that of walking on the moon!

In short: no more gravity. No more gravity pulling you down and limiting you from going beyond your limits. No more gravity to cause you unexpected injuries and breakage. None of that! The only thing left is intense training without the physical impact. Therefore, giving you the chance to exceed your goals without worrying about the repercussions.

 

Here’s a Cerebral Palsy patient after his session on the AlterG

 

You no longer have to be concerned about the heavy feeling or joint pains or back pains or physical impact. The only thing you have to worry about is how long you’re gonna stay there and keep going or running. Most of all, it is the most effective way to achieve your fitness goals. People who have injuries can now train without having to worry about causing more damage to themselves. Individuals with weight concerns can now exercise without feeling the pressure of their weight pulling them down. Even patients who need physical therapy can now take a giant leap with this new innovation because there simply aren’t any drawbacks aside from the fact that you will sweat… A LOT. Now that we’ve worked that out, how was the experience, exactly?

 

The inside of the lower body suit or what we call the tutu skirt thingamajig

 

For starters, imagine someone who simply despises running – and this is an understatement. See, running can be fun for a select few, but for those who can’t even do a sprint without getting a sprain, it’s a nightmare. If you can’t jog for less than 5 minutes, then we are on the same page. Now, how would you feel if you were told that you will be able to run continuously for 15 minutes? And I mean run, not even jog or walk. RUN.

 

Don’t laugh! This is what it will look like on you, too.

 

It’s preposterous, right? See, that’s exactly what I thought. Laura, one of the physical therapists at Kinetics Advance Physiotherapy, however, was adamant that a 15-minute run wouldn’t even be enough once I got started. So I did. Here’s the catch! Before you get started, you will have to wear a lower body suit that looks a lot like a tutu skirt to assure that no air will come out of the machine since it has to be air-tight.

After that, you step inside the cockpit (that’s what they call it) and begin. The calibration starts there. The moment you step into the machine, it will calculate your body mass. Once that’s done, you will have full control of your body weight. Then, the “unweighting” happens.

 

Here are Sir Ed and Ms. Laura strapping up Rap for her turn on the AlterG Anti-gravity Treadmill

 

Starting with 100% of my body weight, I obviously didn’t feel anything. I almost started complaining because I felt no difference (excuse the impatience in me). Then, without any warning, Laura started fiddling with the machine and it felt like I was walking on cloud nine. Heck, I could even do an upper body workout if I chose to. The moment we were down to 20%, I was speechless. I lifted my feet up and pretended I was Superman or Darna or both. Don’t judge me.

 

Apparently, this is what my feet looked like when I went for a superhero flying position.

 

Of course, the purpose of the machine is for you to run, so I started running as fast as my body would let me. And it was pretty interesting. I got to like 9.0 on the treadmill which, according to Google and hillrunner.com, is about 6:40 pace per mile. No idea what that means, but if you’ve seen John Carter from Mars, it felt as if I looked exactly like that. Except if you think about it, he was wearing a harness and he still had to deal with gravity. With this one, you’re just wearing a tutu-looking lower body suit. No shame there. None whatsoever.

 

You can even check yourself out! It has other purposes, too, like gait training, but let’s not get technical here.

 

Safe to say, 15 minutes really was not enough (Thanks for the heads up, Laura!) Honestly, if there wasn’t anyone behind me waiting to use the machine, I probably would have stayed there… Forever. Because going back to Earth was not fun.

See, we were born having to deal with gravity in our everyday lives, so we can never really know how much impact it has on our body until it is taken away from us; and believe me when I say, it sucks having to go back. The weight of everything – when it’s just entirely yourself – will literally pull you down. I had to hold on to the railings to keep myself upright. Without it, I probably would have fallen flat on the floor – hard!

 

 

Despite that, though, I would definitely go back just to experience it again. I mean, we all have our bucket lists in life, right? Some would like to jump off a cliff, sky dive or maybe even try wingsuit flying. You probably even have a list of things you’d want to do this year (go here for some When In Manila suggestions). Well, whether you have a list or not, running on an AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill is definitely something you should experience once in your life. After all, we’ve always wanted to fly like Peter Pan or walk on the moon like Neil Armstrong. Whomever you prefer, the experience will be the same – exhilarating and unforgettable. It’s definitely one for the books!

 

 

Kinetics Advance Physiotherapy

 

Kinetics Advance Physiotherapy Facebook Page
Contact Number: (+63) 915 426 0680
E-mail address: info@alterg.com.ph

 

 

AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill: Experience Outer Space in Manila