Fitter, also called Fitterfirst, is an exercise equipment manufacturer and store based in Calgary, Canada. The company researches, designs and sells sport-conditioning and balance-training exercise equipment. On its website, the company lists memberships in numerous fitness, physical therapy and athletic organizations, including the American Physical Therapy Association and SnowSports Industries America, and often participates in conferences offered by these organizations.
Company History
Fitterfirst company founder Louis Stack is a former member of the Canadian national speed skiing team. Ski-related foot and knee injuries inspired him to create injury-prevention equipment for athletes. Stack founded the company --- then called Fitter International --- in 1983, building equipment in his home basement, the company website reports. Stack's machines offer closed-chain, weight-bearing exercise. Closed-chain exercises compress, and therefore stabilize, the joints, certified personal trainer Paul Burns explains on the American Fitness Professionals & Associates website. The National Osteoporosis Foundation, meanwhile, recommends weight-bearing exercise for maintaining bone density.
Pro Fitter
The Pro Fitter was the first Fitter product, introduced in 1985. This arc-shaped lateral training device features a gliding platform, which facilitate upper-body, lower-body, core and sport-specific exercises. Skiers, for example, can practice sport-specific weight transference by shifting their weight from the big toe of one foot and the little toe of the other and using their leg and gluteal muscles to move the board they stand on to the opposite end of the platform. Likewise, Telemark-style skiers use the Pro Fitter for gliding lunges. For upper-body and core work, assume a push-up position, hold on to the platform, and glide it from side to side.
SRF Board
The Fitter SRF Board combines features found in rotating discs and slide boards. The board has two discs. One stays stable, and the other glides across the board. Each disc can rotate, facilitating ankle rotary movements, often used in mogul skiing, and external hip rotation, which dancers call a "turn-out." Adjustable cords control resistance, Fitterfirst's website explains, and adjustable bumpers increase or decrease the exercise range of motion. The SRF Board is one of the few exercise machines that provides closed-chain adductor, or inner thigh, exercise.
Therapeutic Uses
Fitter, in conjunction with physical therapists at the University of Oklahoma, developed an anterior cruciate ligament rehabilitation protocol for the Pro Fitter machine. These exercises are particularly helpful for patients who are not yet ambulatory. The patient sits on the chair and moves the platform forward or backward, or sits on the moving platform and performs leg presses with her feet against the wall. Consult your doctor before using this machine as part of any rehab process.
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