FOREWORD
Professor P-O Åstrand
Exercise is the key to fitness
In the 1950s Dr. W von Dobeln developed the principle for accurate determination of brake
power for the cycle ergometer. At the same time our institution, in close cooperation with
Gymnastiska Centralinstitutet (GCI), was involved in a program of education with a fixed
goal: to teach physical education teachers, athletics leaders and interested amateurs the
foundations required to be able to inform and instruct on many health issues.
It came naturally to instruct how to conduct a simple test of the heart function and state
of physical fitness with the help of the cycle ergometer. In other words, we moved the
ergometer out of the traditional laboratory and hospital environments and into schools,
clubs and enterprises. It became such a success that the existing resources to manufacture
the cycle ergometer were inadequate.
That was when Monark came into the picture. The company was persuaded, by the popularity
of the athletics movement and to some extent our institution, to take up the production of
the cycle ergometer!
Bicycling is a simple form work. Studies have shown that different people, male or female,
trained or out of conditioned, young or old, get the same energy output at a given load
(power). This means that the demand for oxygen is relatively alike. It means the
mechanical efficiency is quite similar for different individuals. The load on the cycle
ergometer gives a good indication of the demands put on the oxygen transport organs,
especially the heart and the circulation of the blood. The blood volume, which the heart
has pumped out into the aorta, is fixed to a great extent by the oxygen demand. The
technical term for the blood volume that the left heart chamber pumps out per minute is
called the minute volume of the heart. The emptying for each beat I called the stroke
volume of the heart.
We then get the formula: Minute volume = stroke volume x heart frequency ( »the pulse«).
A person with a small stroke volume has to compensate for this with their heart rate
(pulse) to achieve a certain minute volume. The heart rate for such a person during a
given level of workload on the cycle ergometer will therefore be high. Out of condition
people can engage in physical training in order to increase their strike volume. A
repeated work test later, after training, on the same load, can then yield a lower heart
rate. The heart is working with more power and with less consumption of energy. The
maximum oxygen uptake capacity has also increased.
The ergometer test can thus reveal variations in the state of physical fitness. In
connection with a medical examination or other medical studies more or less sophisticated
methods can supplement the simple pulse taking.
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Connect your test bike to your PC
MONARK ANALYSIS SOFTWARE is a new tool for executing and analyzing exercise and anaerobic
test on Monark Ergomedics.
The software comes in three different versions; Monark 894E, 839E and 818E. The 818E software can be used on the Ergomedics 828E, 874E and 894E.
The software is constructed in a database that makes it easy to store information about
individuals and test results. It also makes it easy to compare tests, either individual or
in groups.
Monarks Analysis Software has a computerized controlled calculation of test results that
minimizes the manual work that comes with exercise and anaerobic tests.
Simplified functions in combination with a user friendly layout makes it easier to perform
and analyze exercise tests, anaerobic test and work trials executed on a Monark Ergomedic.
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Explosive sprint training
MONARK AND ELITE SPORT
“Using Monark Exercise sprint bike, we can accurately check and ascertain the
exercise output,” says sports physiologist Lennart Gullstrand, who has been working
at the Bosön Swedish National Sports Complex since 1984.
Lennart Gullstrand and his colleague Leif Larsson have been in charge of physical exercise
for Djurgården’s elite league ice hockey team, and Monark Exercise has developed a
bike for sprint training.
This form of training is no new phenomenon in itself. It has been developed and adapted
for explosive sports with short rushes, such as ice hockey and football.
“What’s new is that, in the bike, we have developed a tool and a method that
enables us to monitor and control the amount of training exactly under as realistic
conditions as possible. Sprint training is an excellent supplement to normal training or
for players who are injured.” Naturally, Lennart Gullstrand has not yet had time to
conduct any long-term studies, as the bike is a fairly recent development.
“However, we have a good foundation and experience from traditional sprint training,
and these enable us to declare that the training method is producing positive
effects.”
There is considerable interest in the sprint bike, and not just in Sweden but also
internationally, including from the NHL.
So how does sprint training actually take place?
“The Player gets up to maximum revs, which takes a second or so. The weight basket is
released to load the wheel for 5-10 seconds, roughly the same time as quick rush for an
ice hockey player. As we know the revs and the exact weight, we can ascertain the energy
output during the sprint. This allows us to measure the quality during repeated sprints in a training session.
“In a special study looking at super-maximum 10 second rushes, we have measured
lactic acid in the blood, pulse and oxygen absorption. This provides us with information
about how the body works acutely, during short intensive periods.”
Bearing in mind the oxygen expenditure during maximum work, it is also possible that
endurance will be improved as the intervals are repeated continually.
Lennart Gullstrand, Leif Larsson and Böson’s collaboration with Monark goes back
many years.
“We work with many elite sportsmen and women at Böson. This provides us with
knowledge that we can incorporate when developing a bike for a specific aspect suited to
our activities. This development benefits both our studies and Monark’s own product
development,” says Lennart Gullstrand.
NOTE: Time, distance and resistance produce energy output. The energy output is the basic
recipe for performance. Back to Top
Monark provides the motivation to carry on training
MONARK EXERCISE AT FRYK CENTER
Test values with exact precision and a source of motivation. Monark’s test ergometers
have a number of advantages, according to Åsa Vålvik at Fryk Center. And the latter one
is perhaps the most important of all. “Many of our guests are highly motivated to
carry on training when they find out their test values,” explains Åsa Vålvik.
“The values provide us in the personnel team with good comparison figures and the
necessary information to plan and dose the patient’s exercise.”
Åsa works as head physiotherapist at Fryk Center, a rehabilitation center in Torsby, in
the Swedish county of Värmland. In beautiful natural surroundings, with lake Fryken,
mountains and forest on the doorstep, the location is ideal for the individual type of
rehabilitation that is conducted here. Fryk Center provides accommodation for patients,
and every year receives around 375 people between the ages of 6 and 65.
“Each patient normally stays here for three to four weeks. The rehabilitation is
individually arranged, and the vast majority take part in fitness training. On arrival, a
test is performed on a Monark Exercise leg or arm ergometer — unless the
patient’s condition prevents this.
A final test is usually performed when the person is signed out. The values often show
significant improvements, and the idea is to motivate the person to continue with physical
activity after their stay.” Fitness is a foundation of the physical aspect of
rehabilitation, according to Åsa. The values that are shown in Åstrand’s and
Cooper’s tests and the estimate on Borg’s RPE scale are invaluable. Fryk Center
is also currently testing a prototype of a new arm ergometer.
Discussions are being held with Monark as to how a test on an arm ergometer could produce
as refined values as on a leg ergometer. Yet she still emphasizes the whole picture –
seeing the whole person. “Here at Fryk Center work employ a multidisciplinary
approach. The working team comprises many professional categories – doctors, nurses,
physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, sport/leisure
personnel – making it possible to see all aspects of a patient’s situation.
Fitness training is not an end in itself. However, improved fitness can make the overall
rehabilitation easier.
Helping the patient to find some form of activity that provides enjoyment of life is an
important task for Åsa and her colleagues. Quad-biking in the forest, wheelchair dancing,
wheelchair rugby, sit-skiing on the piste…the possibilities are almost endless.
“We want to give everyone confidence in their own abilities. When our patients
improve their fitness, we can also see an increase in the desire to try new things. This
is an incentive to see an improvement in your test values. Back to Top
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WITH THE TEST VALUES FROM MONARK’S ARM ERGOMETER, ÅSA VÅLVIK AND CHRISTER LIND CAN
PLAN HIS CONTINUED TRAINING.
ON A QUAD-BIKE IN THE FOREST — A GREATLY APPRECIATED PART OF THE REHABILITATION AT
FRYK CENTER.
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Research at high altitude
MONARK RESEARCH AROUND THE WORLD
He is no doubt about the choice of test ergometer. Bengt Saltin, internationally renowned
researcher and doping expert, is faithful to Monark. Up to an altitude of 5,000 meters.
“Yes, we’ve had Monarks with us at an altitude of 5,000 both in the Himalayas
and the Andes. The ergometers are perfect for use in the field. Carrying them and checking
the calibration is easy.”
Bengt Saltin is head of research at the Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre, CMRC, at the
Rigshospitalet national hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is also the chairman of the
International Ski Federation’s medical committee. His work on doping issues has
attracted considerable attention.
”This is a ‘pastime’ that I spend time on. For several years, my work in
the committee has centered largely on doping. We need opposition to all those people who
have the same knowledge as myself but who use it for the purpose of doping.”
Bengt Saltin carries out his day-to-day work at the Rigshospitalet’s research center
CMRC, where he heads a large research group. The central theme of the work is adult onset
diabetes as well as the occurrence and rehabilitation of muscle diseases. The research
projects to provide answers to the way in which muscles are affected by exercise and by
inactivity.
“Monark’s ergometer is clearly the best for our purposes” says Bengt
Saltin. “We prefer to use the one with weight scales instead of the pendulum scales
as it is easier to keep an eye on the workload.
“We also use the electronic model, although I have to admit that I was dubious about
it in the beginning. It is just as good and has the same high level precision.”
More than half of all Monark ergometers at CMRC have been convened to satisfy a specific
working model. The “kick model” has been developed by the research group to
isolate a major muscle group for the work that is carried out.
“If you are sitting on a bike and cycling as normal, the work is isolated to a single
muscle. With our kick model, however, where you sit on a seat in front of the ergometer,
have your foot ‘connected’ to a rod which in turn is attached to a pedal, and
kick forwards, we know that only the large thigh muscle is being loaded. We can then
ascertain the blood flow to and from the muscle, as well as how much sugar and fat is
consumed per kilo of muscle. In other words, we achieve greater clarity about the
relationship between the magnitude of the work and the muscle’s physiological
response.”
This method of specifying a muscle’s effect during work can naturally be linked to
sports training. Bengt Saltin enjoys orienteering, and has long been interested in how for
example food and the absorption of oxygen can promote or impede stamina. He is frequently
asked how doping affects the muscles.
“I have not examined the improving effects of doping agents,” he answers.
Everyone knows that doping is dangerous, but do we know how harmful a lack of activity can
be? Bengt Saltin doesn’t believe so. With his research results, for example, he can
demonstrate the exercise can definitely counter the early emergence of adult onset
diabetes.
“It is alarming how many people are inactive, a fact which I consider to be more
dangerous than being slightly overweight. Exercise is incredibly important for the body.
It doesn’t have to be intensive, but is should be regular. A bike ride, preferably
every day, is sufficient.’ |
Monark bike on Himalaya expedition 5,000 meters
above sea level.
Interior of a test lab in the Andes.
A
dramatic moment during a trial is captured when the researcher takes a short break from
cycling to take a muscle biopsy from the left thigh. After about five seconds the
researcher is cycling again with a determination of blood flow and arterio-venous
differences for e.g. oxygen, making it possible to calculate the oxygen consumption of the
legs in parallel with continuous measurement of the entire body’s oxygen consumption. |
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A Monark exercise
bike is high up on his own wish list. There are many different exercise bikes on the
market, but Bengt Saltin is unshakable.
I want a basic Monark ergometer to use as an exercise bike. In one of the company’s
catalogues from 1965, a younger version of myself sitting perched on a bike in an
advertisement. I grew up with Monark, and quite simply I can’t imagine going for
another brand.” Back to Top
U.S. Air Force chooses Monark computerized bike 839E
After several years of extreme testing and evaluation, the U.S. Air Force decided to
purchase Monark’s computerized test bike for its air bases in August 2002.
Monark’s pendulum ergometer has been used since 1991 within the U.S. Air force for
fitness tests and work trials. When the time came to update to computerized test bikes,
Monark was the best option and the only test bike to be approved!
The simple solutions are usually the ingenious ones. This is a fact that Monark has born
in mind. Monark is the only company that uses mechanical engineering to guarantee accurate
results. Mechanical engineering combined with customized electronic resulted in the U.S.
Air Force choosing Monark for its tests.
Monark Exercise also supplies bikes to NATO, the U.S. Back to Top
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