[SimianLogic]

Is there a reason something like a water rower wouldn’t work on the moon? Possibly with a weighted vest or a weighted seat.

Rowing is pretty full body and doesn’t seem that reliant on gravity.

[safety1st]

I'm always baffled that these studies don't put more emphasis on resistance training, since the main issue is that your body no longer has to resist the forces of gravity on a day-to-day basis.

In theory exercises like the major compound lifts should go a long way because they stimulate almost every muscle in the body. You get a lot of sustained muscle growth out of doing big lifts even just 2-3 times of week.

Of course you're not going to be literally lifting weights in space because they're weightless! But resistance can be produced with bands, pneumatics etc.

Rowing is a really good one because you get resistance training and cardio at the same time.

But the Moon does have gravity, just less of it. Is no one considering just squatting and deadlifting huge-ass boulders? Fill a big basket with moon rocks and eventually it's gonna be heavy...

[eru]

> In theory exercises like the major compound lifts should go a long way because they stimulate almost every muscle in the body. You get a lot of sustained muscle growth out of doing big lifts even just 2-3 times of week.

Keep in mind that you are doing your 3 squat sessions a week on top of a whole week of lugging your own body around in 1g.

[maxglute]

NASA has IRED for resistence training on ISS. IIRC regiment was ~1xBW squats/deadlift for 3x10s in space every few days. Upper body was even more "normie" strength requirements. I think the routine included many hours of resistence training in general with very conservative weights to maintain mass and avoid injury at all costs.

[knodi123]

But you also want to have impact shocks, like your foot hitting the ground, to stimulate bones. Resistance training is certainly helpful, and perhaps a rowing machine could be modified to give you that shock to the legs, too.

[Sharlin]

Resistance training is, of course, 100% what astronauts already do on the ISS; how to optimally exercise in zero gee (and cramped conditions) has been extensively studies for half a century now. So it’s kind of understandable if some one wants to study a mode of exercise that works on the Moon and is not resistance-based.

[BenFranklin100]

A rower wouldn’t provide the same impact forces on the feet, a key driver of the physiological processes that maintain bone density in the legs, hips, and likely even spine.

[z3t4]

Forces from the muscles are the main bone stimulator. Running in low gravity would probably use less muscle force then a rowing machine.

[morepork]

They do mention that an erg doesn't have the full effect wanted:

> Low-intensity steady-state exercise or high-intensity interval training on ergometers may serve to preserve cardiorespiratory fitness [12,25–27] but have little impact on muscle and bone mass.

[infogulch]

I wonder if they use a rower on the ISS.