lifefitness.com: Obviously there is a lot of research that goes into understanding the natural movements of the body and how to apply those movements into our fitness equipment. What’s the process for gathering information and conducting biomechanical studies?

Julie: We usually follow standard scientific methods to conduct studies. When we receive a request for a study, we begin with our database from past studies, consult with our outside network, or scan the literature for precedents to determine the starting point. From there, we outline the study to make sure we have the necessary tools and timeframe available. Once the plan is set, we recruit volunteers and record the necessary data. Data processing follows, again consulting contacts or literature if need be to follow standard analysis protocols. From there we draw conclusions and make recommendations to the design team. We usually publish internal reports to make sure the study is documented and available for all who might need it, and to archive it for future reference.

lifefitness.com: How many people are in your group and at what stage in the development process do you get involved?

Julie: At the moment there are two of us, myself and Rachel Buckley, who is our Biomechanics Specialist. It’s a nice combination, because Rachel’s background is in exercise science so we have both sides of the human/machine interface covered!  We’re the core of the biomechanics group, but we get a lot of support and cooperation from engineering and departments like our Life Fitness Academy team. Plus, we’re the liaisons for continued studies with outside groups such as universities. We typically become involved in the very early stages of development when products are in the conceptual phase. We often work with our industrial design team as they develop the early product concepts, and then we dig in with the development teams as the products become more defined. The bulk of our participation comes with confirmation studies on iterations of prototypes. Once designs are frozen, we finalize our analysis results and summarize our findings for potential publication in launch materials.

lifefitness.com: Typically, how long does it take for a product to go through biomechanical testing?

Julie: We’ve done studies that last anywhere from one day to 3-4 months, depending on the amount of analysis required. Since we need people to participate in most of our studies, we’re often at the mercy of schedules. As we go through more and more studies, we’re able to shorten our test time and make better predictions. However, with new or complicated motions, we tend to be a little more meticulous so we can pay close attention to the details.

lifefitness.com: Can you describe some of the tests?

Julie: Some typical tests include kinematic studies, force studies, VO2 studies, and EMG studies. Kinematic analysis tells us whether the equipment provides the correct movements, body positions, and ranges of motion for exercisers of varying sizes. Force studies tell us what kinds of forces the exerciser is subjected to at interface points like pedals, grips, and seats, and these studies help us to reduce forces where possible for comfort and injury prevention.  These studies also tell us what types of forces the exerciser applies to the equipment at these points, particularly as user weight and exertion varies, so we can properly design our components to be reliable. VO2 studies quantify people’s energy expenditure, which varies with different types of exercise and workload. EMG or electromyogram studies measure muscle activity so we can understand which muscles are activated during each type of exercise.

lifefitness.com: What happens if a product doesn’t pass?

Julie: We realize that designing for a large range of user types will require several iterations, so we usually expect the first few tries to require design modifications and we budget time for that.  Getting it right is important to us.  That’s why we’ve made the efforts to build this in-house program; when we used to commission outside groups to confirm biomechanics, you sometimes had one shot and you hoped it was going to come out right.  If it didn’t, it could cause delays to schedules and it required more funding for additional tests.  Now that we have this capability ourselves, we can run multiple iterations of analyses on many designs quickly and inexpensively, and early enough in the design process to adapt to design changes.

lifefitness.com: It is no secret Life Fitness products have built a reputation for the kind of “feel” they deliver, so kudos to you and your group. But where do you go from here - what’s the next biomechanical break-through?

Julie: While I can’t divulge anything about our upcoming products, I can tell you that our biomechanics group continues to expand our analysis capabilities.  We’ve made great strides in the last few years to acquire analysis systems such as the kinematic, force, and EMG systems. We continually upgrade our systems, such as expanding from 2D to 3D analysis or moving from tethered systems to wireless systems for improved safety and freedom during testing.  We are still in the process of seeking and buying new tools, and we continue to improve our analysis capabilities to meet the increasing demands of exercisers who are becoming more and more educated about fitness. Today’s exercisers are more sophisticated and in-tune with their bodies, and providing the best possible motions, exertions, and information is our goal.