ABSTRACT
The general publics’ growing awareness of the importance of exercise and wellness has led to an exercise-fitness revolution. Enthusiasm for exercise and fitness is at unprecedented levels with millions of people spending countless hours and substantial amounts of money on sport and exercise (Prentice, 2003). Increased mechanization and the incidence of hypokinetic diseases are two important factors that have contributed to the emphasis on fitness. With increased mechanization, many tasks that once required physical work and a considerable amount of time can now be accomplished very quickly by pushing a button or setting a dial (Hockey, 1996). Consequently, the exercise equipment manufacturing industry has rapidly expanded over the past few years, largely due to the amplified eagerness for exercise and fitness and thus equipment demand. Not only have sales of conventional exercise equipment grown enormously but there has also been an escalation in the number of new exercise equipment being designed and marketed. According to Beachle and Earle (1994), the machine age is upon us, and we have a wide variety of exercise devices to choose from, depending on our likes and dislikes. The two primary categories of exercise training equipment include cardiorespiratory and resistance training equipment. This chapter will focus on computer-assisted modelling of exercising on resistance training equipment, although most of the principles can also be applied to other types of exercise equipment.
