Water Walking Machine
Water walking provides a high-impact, challenging cardio workout without beating the joints. The treadmill is also used for muscle toning, and has been used to help injured runners and athletes recover faster.
This water walker uses a compliant amplified SMA (CASA) actuator to produce the sculling motion of each actuating leg. Each actuator consists of a moving frame and an actuating leg.
It’s a Treadmill
Walking or running on a treadmill is a great way to get in a workout without leaving the comfort of your home or gym. In addition to the obvious benefits like building stronger bones and muscles, maintaining a healthy weight and boosting moods via endorphins, it also helps to relieve stress on joints and connective tissue. And, as a bonus, you can watch TV while you walk or run.
Water-walking machines work by drastically reducing the pressures of gravity that can cause damage to Water walking machine joints, and the resistance of the water adds extra muscle building and burning power. And, the machine can even be used for rehabilitation and exercise after injuries and surgeries.
There are a lot of different types of treadmills to choose from, with prices starting at about $1,000. The most affordable models offer full tracks, modest power inclines and patented cushioning technology to protect your knees. But if you’re willing to spend a little more, you can find one that will meet all of your fitness needs and comes with a free year of iFit interactive workout programs.
It’s a Spa
The Water Walker & Spa is a three-way machine that allows for walking training under the water, relaxation bathing and body showers. It strengthens leg and hip muscles without straining joints, improves locomotive syndromes including backaches, articular diseases in areas such as the knee and osteoporosis and helps prevent obesity. It is ideal for those who can not swim, athletes and elderly persons to exercise with less pain.
The price of the futuristic treadmill is steep, however. At US$89,000, it is probably out of the reach of most fitness buffs. Nevertheless, it offers a promising glimpse into the future of aquatic fitness.
In fact, the word “spa” is a contraction of the Latin phrase Salus per aquam or Sanitas per aquam, which literally means “health through water.” The spa tub dates to ancient times when people would soak their aches in hot mineral waters.
These days, we often think of spas as relaxing getaways where we can indulge in soothing treatments that are good for our body and soul. Whether it’s boosting your immunity in a subzero cryotherapy chamber or soothing sore muscles in a piping hot mud bath, the benefits of a spa are endless.
It’s a Pool
The agile locomotion of the water strider has inspired many mechanical models of this insect for the design of water-walking robots. Most of these bioinspired water-walking robots employ DC motors to generate a sculling trajectory of the actuating leg for locomotion on the surface of the liquid. These motor-based robots are inevitably heavy, however, and have many supporting legs that decrease their velocity.
To address this problem, we developed a light SMA-based actuator that provides actuation power strong enough to achieve a large leg motion comparable to real water striders. The compliant amplified SMA actuators consist of a series of bendable beams that are connected to each other with SMA wires. When a voltage is applied to the SMA wire, the phase transition of the SMA wire causes the beams to bow-like, generating a vertical bending force with amplified magnitude for actuation of the robot.
We demonstrated that the SMA-based microrobot could move forward and turn by swinging both actuating legs simultaneously or only one actuating leg, respectively. In the case of forward motion, the actuating leg was swung backward to create a sculling trajectory on the water and then swung upward in order to propel the robot.
Running against the water resistance of the pool can provide a zero-impact cardiovascular workout for adults, children and even people with injuries, according to studies. Moreover, it can help you burn more calories than running on a treadmill and relieve your joints of the pressures of gravity while still providing a solid cardiovascular exercise for your legs.
It’s a Workout
When you’re slugging it out on the treadmill and feeling the burn, the Water Walker offers an Water walking machine alternate workout. By creating a weightless environment, it increases resistance to enable a great cardio workout without beating the body into submission. It’s not cheap, but it is a cool idea.
A bioinspired water-walking robot uses an artificial muscle to generate the sculling trajectory of its driving leg, mimicking the agile locomotion of water striders. Its actuator is made of compliant SMA wire, with two crimps anchored at orifices in laser-machined compliant beams. The SMA wire is stretched by the crimps to induce a low strain, while the actuator itself is lightweight and compact due to its simple structure.
Water walking is a low-impact exercise that can be used for a variety of purposes, including building leg muscles, recovering from sports injuries and burning calories. The downside is that a pedometer won’t count your steps, because the up-and-down movement of water walking is different from the up-and-down motion that a pedometer detects on land. Fortunately, companies like Polar Loop and Misfit Shine use complex sensors to identify various types of activity, so your activity credit will be correctly recorded. The walker also comes with a handy carry bag and exercise suggestions sheet.