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| Al Worden, Apollo 15 command module pilot. Source: NASA |
More info: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/a15-techdebrief.pdf
Everyone needs to exercise for physical fitness and good health. Astronauts needs to exercise even more since floating in microgravity weakens the body over time.
Apollo astronauts did not spend more than 12 full days in space, so their bodies remained in good shape.
Still, scientists asked them to use exercise gear. The results would be reviewed and applied to future long-duration missions (like today's International Space Station).
During Apollo 15 in 1971, command module pilot Al Worden used an "Exergym." It was a cord system that provided resistance for muscle tone.
But he found a better way to exercise!
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"The Exergym is good for keeping some muscle tone, but I found that there was just no way I could get a heart rate established and keep it going. There was just no way I could do that. So I finally decided on a combination of two exercises. I used the Exergym a little bit, just to keep my shoulders and arms toned, and I ran in place.
I took the center couch out and wailed away with my legs, just like running in place as a matter of fact.
I didn't say anything to the ground, but the doctors watching the biomeds called up and said, "Hey, you must be exercising. We can see your heart rate going up." And they kept me advised as to what my heart rate was. It worked out very nicely, I thought, because they could tell you that you're up to 130, going up to 140. Then I would exercise a little bit harder, and true, even though I wasn't exerting any pressure on anything, just moving the mass of your legs around really gets your heart going.
I didn't say anything to the ground, but the doctors watching the biomeds called up and said, "Hey, you must be exercising. We can see your heart rate going up." And they kept me advised as to what my heart rate was. It worked out very nicely, I thought, because they could tell you that you're up to 130, going up to 140. Then I would exercise a little bit harder, and true, even though I wasn't exerting any pressure on anything, just moving the mass of your legs around really gets your heart going.
I'm really convinced that that's the way to exercise in flight; get that kind of motion going and keep it going not let up on it at all. I did that for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. I just ran in place as hard as I could.
As a matter of fact, I thought I'd strained some muscles that I had never used before because I was just free wheeling legs and wasn't exerting any pressure on anything. I really thought that was a useful exercise, and as far as cardiovascular was concerned, I thought that was a much better exercise than the Exergym."
[Excerpt from "Apollo 15 Technical Debrief", MSC-04561, 14 August 1971. Source: NASA]
As a matter of fact, I thought I'd strained some muscles that I had never used before because I was just free wheeling legs and wasn't exerting any pressure on anything. I really thought that was a useful exercise, and as far as cardiovascular was concerned, I thought that was a much better exercise than the Exergym."
[Excerpt from "Apollo 15 Technical Debrief", MSC-04561, 14 August 1971. Source: NASA]
