MtEverClimb — Continuous Rope Climbing System

In the fall of 1999, something happened that set the wheels in motion for a new invention. At Northern High School, Accident, MD, the rope climb in the gym was removed due to high liability insurance. It was considered too dangerous for students to climb thirty feet without safety equipment.

Darren Kamp, Avilton, MD, who graduated from Northern in 1983 and had used the rope climb during his training for wrestling, had two sons attending Northern at the time. They were also involved in wrestling. He felt that the rope climb was a good exercise, and he didn't want to see it eliminated. Darren decided to create a safe way to climb rope with the help of his brother, Kelby Kamp, Avilton, MD. Together, they came up with Mt. EverClimb, a continuous rope-climbing machine that simulates actual rope climbing.

"After five years of work through trial and error, I felt we had built a rope climb exercise machine," Darren said. "This one piece of equipment enables users to achieve a full-body strength and cardio workout. Some of the benefits of this type of combined anaerobic and aerobic training include increased strength, lean body mass, improved posture and muscle balance, and increased bone density."

The machine features a heavy-duty welded tubular steel frame, a pulley wheel, and a looped rope that creates a continuous climbing action. A front-mounted switch box allows the user to control speed, power, and direction of the rope.

Realizing that he had a unique product with no rival on the market, Darren went to the Invention Submission Corporation (ISC) for assistance in obtaining a patent for the machine (patent pending). ISC also drew up a basic information package on marketing for the product.

The brothers continued to improve the product, and in 2007 Darren met with Beverley Williams, a small business consultant in Garrett County, MD. She took an interest in the product, and introduced him to Casey Willson of the Maryland Small Business Development Center. "Beverley and Casey helped me get a grant from some marketing assistance provided by The Minor Group Inc. (TMG)," Darren explained.

TMG provided a marketing study with recommendations in the fall of 2007, and the next year, the brothers applied for a safety test with the Long Island, N.Y. branch of Underwriters Laboratories Inc. The application was accepted and is in process.

In the meantime, a fitness trainer in LaVale, MD, has been using a Mt. EverClimb prototype in her center for the past two months. "This trainer is very enthusiastic about the machine, uses it personally, and has several clients now using it in their training sessions," Darren said.

The machine has numerous safety and adjustable features that allow individuals to exercise at their own pace, accommodating users at any workout level. It offers a controlled environment within a limited amount of space for a safe climbing experience. The machine can be used for conditioning for the upper body, arms, and shoulders, hands, lower back, legs, and knees.

Darren feels that Mt. EverClimb is ready at this point, thanks to personal financial input and assistance from friends, as well as business consulting advice through the Garrett County Economic Development contract for consulting services with Beverley Williams.

"An old saying I live by has kept me going and gotten me to this point," Darren said. "I worked for so long with so little that I can do anything with nothing."

Silver Sport, Disinfectant Mat

This product should go to the top of everyones list, why, cause it keeps itself clean. So it might be better to learn how from the makers themselves, SilverSport.

Sanitization at the gym has moved beyond wiping down the bench or bike with a towel and disinfectant. It's gravitating toward self-cleaning equipment that wipes sweat away and keeps people protected from harmful bacteria.

A Pittsburgh-based company is making sure gym-goers have that kind of access to the equipment on which they might sweat the most. SilverSport, a brand derived from Eco Product Group, offers a workout towel, a Pilates roller and a yoga mat with what it calls its Silver Clean Zone. Each product represents one of those zones by using Terra Silver to eliminate more than 650 types of surface-borne, odor-causing bacteria.

Thomas Davis, president of Eco Product Group, told Wired.com that nanosilver particles - up to 20,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair - are to thank for the equipment's odor-killing prowess.

"The material [in the products] is silver," Davis said. "Silver happens to be a natural anti-microbial. It fights bacteria naturally."

When activated by moisture - in this case, sweat - the nanosilver particles bind to the surface to rid the product of bacteria. That's why even though the towel doesn't technically have to be washed, its functionality is enhanced by running it through the washer. "Hypothetically, you don't need to wash the towel" for it to eliminate bacteria, Davis said, before pointing out that people will understandably want to wash it regularly to eliminate surface dirt.

More from Wired:

Technogym, One Great Company!

Technogym is in a world all its own. They are on the cutting edge of how one should use, design, incorporate wellness into ones life. They now have set up shop in NYC, the center, in the Soho neighborhood of New York City, is a one-stop education center, retail location and showroom, according to the company.

"Home wellness products on display include the Kinesis Personal and the Run Personal, the first designed treadmill featuring a 19-inch screen offering Internet, TV and MP3 connection. "

Read More....

Virtual Reality Cycling

The aim of this project was to explore the development of an interactive guided imagery display to be used initially by both the staff and residents of Milford Care Centre Limerick. Now completed, it can potentially be used by anyone for exercise and recreation.On the 3rd of December 2009, the Interaction Design Centre at the University of Limerick 
received an email from the head of the art department in Milford hospice asking about the possibility of a student or a number of students to collaborate on an idea for a project to enable residents and visiting patients of Milford Hospice with a sense of escapism in the physiotherapy room, as the room itself has no ground level windows leaving the current palliative and elderly users feeling trapped in their environment as well as their illness. For the purposes of demonstration, the completed project itself features an interactive display, linked to a stationary bike allowing users to cycle through Google Streetview, with 360º navigation using a Nintendo Wii Remote. The set up may also be used to display pre recorded video landscapes and virtual environments.This project has shown how accessible and inexpensive virtual reality rehabilitative environments can be as it was built and programmed using all off the shelf, freely available, open source software and the device itself can be attached to any stationary or assistive bike.

RealAge, Wii Fit, and Pharma Marketing

The next best thing to getting one to exercise outside is the Wii Fit. Lets face it some are just to embarrassed to exercise in public, self conscious or just don't have the money to join a gym. Playing online games allows many to be something else (leave it at that). The most important thing is that they are exercising and Wii has nailed it and now XBox Natal has taken it a bit further, tie it all into a online PHR/EHR and the results are expounded. Dose Of Digital is right on what I have been trying to get across for sometime, maybe it is starting to take hold.

DynaFlex Pro Gyro

One of the best pieces of equipment that you could own is the DynaFlex Pro Gyro it is small and give you a burn that you will not soon forget, Plus you the size make it great to travel with.
Physicians and Therapists all over the world are using the DynaFlex Pro Gyro as a rehabilitation and strength-training tool for many of their patients. The gyro exercisers are a proven tool that will help aid in the prevention & elimination of Carpal Tunnel, arthritis, tendonitis, tennis elbow and many other Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI).

The patented Dynaflex Pro Gyro exerciser is designed exactly like the Powerball Gyro without the LED lights or the balanced rotor. The Gyro can reach up to 9,000 RPM and creates 25 lbs of torque resistance to increase grip strength, increase range of motion, and to condition arm, elbow, and shoulder muscles.

GameRunner, Something to do while on the treadmill!

It is that time of year CES is running and cool gadgets are a plenty. The health and fitness market always has demo's at CES. So it's no surprise that GameRunner has developed a better way to be in the game (virtually of course), first person and able to run/walk/sprint after your opponent. This changes how one react to being in a war situation, instead of thinking you are king of the world from your couch. Running after your target is the real first person, with out getting killed, you can really see who can outlast one another, you have to rest so hiding or ducking and cover comes into play.
What FPGameRunner is saying:
using exercise and video gaming into one exhilerating and healthy experience for game enthusiasts, the GameRunner is a revolution in medical science and electronic entertainment. The activity of playing a video game generally leaves players physically inactive for prolonged periods of time. The GameRunner solves this problem by allowing players to use their body to play games instead of having the player sit and use only their hands. Naturally this makes playing games on the GameRunner beneficial to your heath by burning calories and keeping your heart rate up.
Now go play.

Exercise while you work and get paid!

So exercising while you work, sound great. Well for some this is real, people working from home, call centers and even CEO have joined the trend of theWalkStation. A brisk 1.4 mph can burn up to 500 calories a day and 3-5 miles without breaking a sweat. Sounds great, no more tight muscle, sleepy days or even the need to have that third or forth cup of coffee. Exercise is know to release endorpin's or "runner's high. Hey this is great and instead of installing the play station in the break room get your company on-board to get a Walkstation.
Now of course this needs to be taken to the next level and head off any weight issues before they start. This would be great for high schools. many kids are being "classified" as A.D.D., let a kid that has trouble with their attention span be on one of these during class and let's see the results.
Really anything that keeps one active whether they are running at lunch, working out or walking around the neighborhood is always a good thing, doing it all day some might classify as nuts others as a health alternative to the "the water cooler".

Heated Wetsuit

A Heated Wetsuit! Hotsuits have come out with a way to keep you warm in the water, a kidney belt that emits heat for up to an hour. It seems as though Rip Curl has a heated wetsuit, and a pretty cool video to show it off, hey if you have the money to make a music video to promote your product go for it and YouTube has helped all sorts of inventor get their message out, but I digress.
Hotsuits claims that providing heat to the kidney region helps maintain core temperature, and warm blood flow to the rest of the body. The thing that I like the most about this is that it is portable, unlike Rip Curl's, it is not just limited to wetsuits, how about skiing, climbing, sailing, openwater swimming, you get the idea. Hotsuits is also the winner of ISPO, Brand New Award! I am sure Rip Curl has a great product, but a young inventor like this you have to give them a shot, plus they might be cheaper plus you don't have to buy a new wetsuit. Hotsuits Heated Kidney Belt + 16.50AUD worldwide postage (regular airmail)=$105.50 AUD or $91.73.
Check them out! Hotsuits

Child Trailers, get the kids involved

We all know that obesity is at a all time high, so get your kids involved as early as possible. Studies have shown that if a parents exercises with their children, then it is more likely that your children will be into sports as well. So what better way then as baby to bring them along. I have been using the Burley for about 5 years now and it is great, the kids are getting a little old to be in the trailer but going to the beach each year this thing is great. Strong, light and roomy you can't complain. The best thing is that the sand stays in the trailer not the car.
The other day I noticed a trailer or side car called Chariot Carriers. So instead of getting pulled behind the bike where you can't interact with your children, and if it is dusty, wet or muddy there is a good chance your kids will eat some dirt (I am not saying this is a bad thing). The Chariot SideCarrier is like a side car, putting the carrier right beside the bicycle allowing contact between the you and your child.
Both of these trailers have their advantages the Burley for being able to handle crowded roads and longer treks, the Chariot for it's interaction and cool side car look.
Check them out! Chariot carriers, Burley