While some fitness claims are figuratively out of this world, fitness expert Paul Francis‘ invention has literally been to space.
“I was…reading the newspaper many years ago and saw that astronauts are losing bone muscle mass during long duration space missions,” Francis tells ABC Audio.
“So make a long story short, I was able to get in front of some of the NASA engineers…” he explains. “And what they were looking for was a resistance technology that would duplicate the benefits of free weights. But obviously, weights don’t work in space.”
Instead, his invention, called Spiraflex Technology, used rubber bands in a disk-like structure. “They funded us…and for 10 years we were the main countermeasure against musculoskeletal degradation in microgravity [on the International Space Station]…”
“When you’re floating around in space, your body doesn’t need all that muscle and bone and just gets rid of it, which is fine if you’re going to be living in space for the rest of your life,” he jokes.
However, if you don’t make it to space, you’re still in luck. His tech powers his portable OYO and Nova Gyms, which he explains have been flying off the shelves since COVID-19 led to an at-home fitness boom.
“[O]ur sales went up 640%,” since the pandemic began,” he noted. “We had a major impact from people looking to get fit at home…There aren’t any other technologies out there that produce the same benefits as weights, but will fit in your lifestyle.”
Francis adds, “We have many customers that say, ‘Hey, I’m watching TV…and get a little workout in,’ or ‘I’m on a long, boring conference call and, you know, I turn off the video and I do a little workout.'”