Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 30, 1995 TAG: 9507310012
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BLACKSBURG - Thanks to Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, Virginia Tech and Nautilus, the Washington Redskins are using state-of-the-art fitness equipment.
Based in Independence, Nautilus is a world leader in the design and manufacture of exercise equipment used by college and pro athletes, as well as everyday users.
Nautilus' most recent fitness equipment's success is in part credited to the unique design of its linkages and wrapping cam mechanism, all developed and created in Independence by Virginians.
Engineers from CIT and Virginia Tech have developed novel analytical methods for producing safe and durable equipment that gives users the maximum workout. Using computer-aided design software, engineers integrated these methods into software programs that create and adapt mechanisms for improved machine performance.
Michael Lo Presti, senior design engineer at Nautilus, says the challenge has been to create fitness equipment that matches the human strength curve with the resistance curve. He explains that the strength curve is the maximum amount of weight that can be lifted for a given body position, while the resistance curve is how the weight load that the user feels varies through its range of motion.
In other words, he says, when using these machines "muscles are being used at their greatest potential throughout the entire range of motion."
The partnership among CIT, Virginia Tech and Nautilus started two years ago, following several years of ongoing research by Virginia Tech professor Charles Reinholtz and mechanical engineering students from the university.
Reinholtz said Virginia Tech's responsibility has been providing the analytical background theories for design and software development, while Nautilus has been responsible for the measurement, detail and implementation in the design of the machines. Nautilus engineers also work directly with athletes and others who use their equipment to see if the machines test right and are fit and appropriate for workout.
Reinholtz added that though the two groups have different tasks, the project has been a cooperation between the engineers from both Virginia Tech and Nautilus. Several of the engineers at Nautilus are Virginia Tech graduates, including Lo Presti, who also played football at Virginia Tech.
The Power Plus is the line of products developed out of the partnership, and includes equipment such as the Military Press, Inclined Press, Bench Press, Compound Row and the Leg Press.
The Redskins are just one of the professional teams using this new line. Lo Presti said one of the key factors for using this line of equipment the smooth feeling the machines provide users, which leads to less chance of stressed joints and other injuries that athletes can't afford.
Food workers invited to sanitation course
CHRISTIANSBURG - Food service workers in the New River Valley are invited to a sanitation course taught by Virginia Cooperative Extension Aug. 22, 24, 29 and 31.
The 16-hour course, leading to certification, covers a variety of food sanitation concerns, including contamination and food-borne illness, food storage and bacteria.
The seminar will focus on the "Temperature Danger Zone," the zone between 40 and 140 degrees in which bacteria grow most readily. Bacteria can gain a foothold in food at those temperatures in as little as four hours, said Lelia Mayton, extension home economist in Montgomery County.
The class, which will meet from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day, will be limited to 25 people. Twelve previous classes, conducted since 1991, have attracted 177 foodservice workers in the valley, 152 of whom scored 75 percent or better on the final exam, earning them certification, Mayton said.
The course costs $88 and includes a textbook and a test.
For more information, call 382-5790 or 980-7761.
by CNB