Engen Fitness, Inc., a Phoenix-based startup, announced the results of a pilot study demonstrating that cardio exercise can be achieved with significantly less effort on its new machine, the Active Motion Platform™.
The Active Motion Platform is a new approach to fitness based on movement rather than exertion. Motorized like a treadmill and combining the actions of a stair stepper, an elliptical and a rowing machine, the Active Motion Platforminduces total body movement to create a cardio workout without the stress or discomfort of conventional exercise.
Completed in March 2018, the study was conducted at Cal Poly Pomona by Edward Jo, PhD, CSCS, Director of the Cal Poly Human Performance Research Lab, and Brett Dolezal, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Associate Director of the Exercise Physiology Research Lab at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.
The study comprised twelve endurance athletes, ages 19-22, recruited to exercise on the Engen machine, a treadmill and an elliptical. Each subject performed steady state exercise at 60-65% of maximum heart rate (max HR) and 75-80% max HR, and reported their levels of effort on each machine. 11 of the 12 subjects reported significantly less effort on the Engen machine at 60-65% max HR compared to the treadmill and elliptical.
“These results confirm the experience of numerous trial users of the Active Motion Platform,” said Harry Phillips, founder and CEO of Engen Fitness. “With our new technology it is now possible to literally enjoy the benefits of movement without the stress or discomfort we associate with exercise.”
“I personally find the Active Motion Platform remarkable,” said Helen Barold, MD, MPH, a Washington, D.C. cardiologist and former FDA official who serves as the company’s Chief Medical Officer. “Our machine delivers a full cardio workout in a way that feels truly effortless. This will be of enormous benefit to the many tens of millions of people worldwide who need to improve their cardio health.”
According to UCLA’s Dr. Dolezal, “Based on our evaluation of the machine and the results of the study, I believe the Engen Fitness machine has tremendous potential to address the need for more exercise and movement.”
The Active Motion Platform is currently in beta development with product launch anticipated in Q4 2019. The company successfully raised a seed round in July 2017 from investors in the U.S. and Europe, and will be seeking to raise an additional $5 million in a Series A offering this summer.
For more information, visit Engen Fitness at https://www.engenfitness.com/.
