The BIOFIT-Park project; developed by the Research Group Prevention of Injuries in Sport (PRELEDE) of the UCAM; led by Dr. Pablo J. Marcos Pardo and Dr. Noelia González Gálvez, professors of the Faculty of Sport, together with the national manufacturers Copele and Entorno Urbano, S.L., and Centro Tecnológico del Metal de Murcia, has developed, supervised and evaluated the effect of training in bio-healthy parks in a group of adults and seniors in the Region of Murcia. This project aims to improve the ergonomics of the bio-healthy parks and the effectiveness of the machines on the physical condition and functional capacity of adults and seniors.
For 8 weeks, adults over 50 years of age have been training twice a week in a park installed at the Catholic University of Murcia. The training program has been designed and supervised by Doctors in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. Prior to the beginning of the program and once it was finished, physical condition and health assessments of the participants were carried out, providing them with an individualized report.
The implementation of this R+D+I project of the Retos-Colaboración 2017 aid program; funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, aims to optimize the machinery that makes it possible to vary the training load, the use of new materials and coatings that increase its resistance and durability, and the modification to favor a more ergonomic, safe and efficient machinery.
As a result of this beautiful project, 7 new training machines for healthy parks have been designed and are in the process of patenting. In addition, the BIOFIT-PARK circuit has allowed the investigation of the effects of training for health in three doctoral theses, that of Abraham López Vivancos, Tomás Abelleira Lamela and Alejandro Espeso García. Some of the publications have already been published and others are in process.
According to Dr. Pablo J. Marcos Pardo, principal investigator of the project, the main objective has been to investigate the effects of training in the current bio-healthy parks and compare them with the effects of training in the new BioFitPark machinery. In his own words “We have been investigating for years, how to improve the ergonomics and biomechanics of these machines and that we could design new machines that would allow a greater effectiveness in training, making it possible to increase the loads. Always pursuing greater safety and effectiveness in strength training and for the improvement of health not only at the musculoskeletal level but also at an integral level (physical, psychological, emotional and social) in people of all ages and especially aimed at adults and older people”.
