The weightlessness in space makes fitness training a challenge, and this is particularly important there. German astronaut Matthias Maurer explains why and how it works. Special training equipment plays a role here.
In 2021, Matthias Maurer traveled to the International Space Station ISS. The Saarland native spent 177 days in orbit. During this time he conducted numerous scientific experiments. And what is a German astronaut doing at Fibo 2024 in Cologne, the world's largest fitness trade fair?
The 54-year-old made it clear in advance in an interview with “dpa” that he was not there because he wanted to “compete with bodybuilders in lifting weights.” But he wanted to report on his experiences with a so-called system with electrical muscle stimulation that comes from the fitness industry - he had it with him on his mission. The background is that astronauts in space have to do something about the loss of muscles and bones. To counteract this, they also train in weightlessness.
“The body ages thirty times faster in space if you don’t do anything about it. “Six months in space would make you 15 years older in terms of muscle and bone loss,” explains Maurer. “Of course you don’t want that.” Findings from there can often be transferred to Earth – for example when it comes to the question of how people who have been in bed for a long time can get fit again.
Astronauts' fitness training in space
That's why he does an hour of cardio training and an hour of strength training every day in space. Of course, classic weight training doesn't work in weightlessness. The astronauts have to work against resistance in the space station with special training machines. “But with these machines you cannot strengthen the small, deep core muscles that are so important for core stability,” says Maurer to “Ippen Media”. To do this, he also uses the EMS suit, which achieves this via electrical stimulation and is also used in fitness and rehabilitation areas.
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This is how astronaut Maurer gets fit for space
Astronaut Matthias Maurer avoids the great risk of injury when playing sports - and is therefore no longer one of the country's football players. When he does sports, he does “a kind of all-round training.” In an interview with “Ippen Media” he reveals his favorite sports: cycling, running and swimming. “I miss sports in the fresh air and swimming the most in space,” says Maurer. Added to this is training in the gym.
He no longer does any sport where there is a higher risk of injury. Only extreme sports such as base jumping are forbidden to him by the ESA. But he now voluntarily gives up sports like skiing or football. “For example, I used to enjoy playing football, but I don’t do that anymore. This is too knee-jerk. The risk is simply too great if you want to fly into space again,” said Maurer to “dpa”.