CAPE
CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) --
Before doing their heavy lifting in space, the astronauts on the shuttle
Atlantis did lots of heavy lifting back on Earth.
Weight
training is essential to help them counter the effects of zero gravity while
taking on a herculean construction job -- expanding the international space
station.
"Most of us
have spent a lot of time in the gym, doing weights, to build up the forearm
strength, to build up upper body strength,'' said astronaut Heidemarie
Stefanyshyn-Piper.
She's one of
four astronauts who will take a six-hour spacewalk over the next few days. She
and Joe Tanner go on their outing Tuesday when they try to connect a 17 1/2-ton
addition to the orbiting outpost.
Training an
astronaut for a spacewalk in zero gravity is not all that different from
preparing an athlete for competition, said Jamie Chauvin, a trainer at Johnson Space Center who helped the Atlantis crew prepare for the 11-day mission.
But look at
it this way: "Just imagine lying in bed for 11 days,'' said Chauvin. That's the
best way to describe the effect weightlessness has on the body. Astronauts can
experience muscle loss and loss of coordination.
Of course,
the effects are much worse for the full-time inhabitants of the space station,
who live there for six months. Once back home, it can take 45 days of physical
rehabilitation for the astronauts and cosmonauts to regain their bone and
muscle mass and balance skills. After their mission, the space station crew
usually works on rebuilding strength in the spine, pelvis and hips.
To train
for the Atlantis mission, the spacewalking astronauts concentrated on building
muscle and cardiovascular endurance. Spacewalks can last more than six hours,
involve repetitive motions and require astronauts to be attached by foot
tethers for long periods of time.
Typically,
the astronauts do some cardiovascular work at least four times a week and hit
the weight room two or three times a week before their going into space.
The workout
routine often starts with stretching and then moves on to at least two leg
exercises that emphasize large muscle groups and body stabilization. Astronauts
usually do chest, back, shoulder, abdominal and lower back exercises before
working on certain muscle groups specific to mission tasks. For spacewalkers,
that means hand and shoulder muscles.
"In the
spacesuit, it's hard to open and close your hands due to the pressurization of
the suit,'' Chauvin said. "Also, good shoulder strength is necessary to do
tasks.''
Like all
Earth-bound mortals, the astronauts have likes and dislikes.
Astronaut
Dan Burbank, who will participate in the mission's second spacewalk on
Thursday, loves running -- usually logging 40 miles a week -- and hates
weights.
"I have a
weightlifting routine I go through where my goal is to get in and out and
finish that just as soon as I can.''
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