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	Home Talk Live Lori Contests Nutrition Homegrown Training Galleries Muscle Scoop Die Welt About Us		page 1   Wilkins - How did you position yourself for such a great and unique job? Shepherd - The short story is someone referred a NASA rep to me. In '93, I received a phone call and was asked to submit a resume. I had only been the head strength and conditioning coach at Rice for about 5 1/2 months and was really busy. After a week, I had not sent a resume and decided it was too late and blew it off. I got called again the following week about sending it, I finally did, had an interview and supposedly out of 100 other applicants got the job. Wilkins - When did NASA first recognize the benefits of having astronaut's weight train? Shepherd - People were slowly starting to realize during the Shuttle-Mir program the importance of strength training. Honestly though it has taken these first few flights of the International Space Station to really bring it home to upper level management the importance of the weight training. Wilkins - What type of strength training program do you design for astronauts? Does each crewmember receive their own individualized program? Can you provide a sample program? Shepherd - Each astronaut is given an individualized program based upon their strengths, weaknesses, their mission goals and what they like & do not like to do. There is also an emphasis put on three lower body exercises, we call them the "Big 3," the squat, deadlift and heel raises. The experience of the Russian long duration program on the Space Station Mir as well as data collected pre and post flight from our own seven astronauts that flew on Mir showed that the biggest bone losses occurred in the trochanter, femoral neck & calcaneus (hip, upper leg and heel). Ground base research of athletes and bed rest patients shows that the "Big 3" have the most effect on bone in those areas. For long duration crewmembers we use pre flight as a way for crewmembers to get in the habit of a daily routine and workouts are somewhat similar to what they will be doing in flight. Exercise is scheduled six days per week for the in-flight program. Legs are done everyday, upper body every other or more, dependent upon the EVA schedule. Wilkins - How much strength, bone, and cardiovascular conditioning does an astronaut lose on a typical mission? Shepherd - For strength and cardio the range is 10-30%. We look at bone several ways. One is total body bone density loss and then we look at each individual site (hip, heel, low back, neck etc). During the Shuttle-Mir mission, we saw total bone losses of 10-20%. Again the biggest hits being taken in the hip, upper leg, heel and low back. On the ISS we are seeing less loss per site (but the losses are still significant) and some increase in bone in other sites. For a few crew members when you add that up the loss for total body bone density is 1% or less. The subject number is still too small though to call that statistically significant, so we are being cautiously optimistic. Results would indicate though that we are going in the right direction. Wilkins - What is the average time period for an astronaut to recover from a space mission? Shepherd - Everyone is different, especially if they are an experienced flyer. Repeat flyers tend to do better in areas of orthostatic intolerance & neuro-vestibular issues. With our ISS crews we are seeing the cardiovascular system and muscle strength/endurance recovering back to pre-flight baseline levels anywhere between 15-30 days. Bone takes a little longer and is also dependent on how hard the crewmember works post flight. The astronauts are only assigned to us for 45 days after they land then they get hit pretty hard with public appearance requests. They don't always have the time or the facilities to work out while they are on travel. Wilkins - Once an astronaut returns to earth, what kind of rehab program do they perform? Shepherd - Rehab starts on landing day with a lot of flexibility, contract-relax stretching and massage. It progresses from there to manual resistance, tubing, dumbbells, and selectorized machine equipment to free weights. There is a lot of focus put on balance, agility and coordination. Proprioception and kinesthetic awareness are highly effected (add the neuro-vestibular component to that and think about performing functions of daily life) and the agility, balance and coordination exercises increase speed of recovery in those areas. We also utilize the pool for non-impact running, low-impact plyos, stretching, swimming etc. For some people the pool gives crew members that same feeling of being back in a micro-gravity environment and can be somewhat comforting. Wilkins - Are any of the physiological experiments being conducted on the shuttle able to transfer to assist sport coaches design the perfect workout or help them improve the performance of their athletes? Shepherd - When we get the kind of exercise equipment on board that we think could really make a difference that may be so. But initially I think what we learn from in-flight experience will be quicker recovery from surgery for the athlete, how to slow down or eliminate osteoporosis in the aging population, and rehab improvement for the neuro-vestibular patient. Wilkins - What kind of exercise equipment is used aboard the shuttle? Does it take up a lot of room? Shepherd - The exercise device of choice on the Shuttle is the cycle ergometer. It can't take up too much space or it wouldn't fly. It usually sits on the flight deck. On the ISS the US has a Treadmill with a Vibration Isolation System (TVIS), a cycle ergometer with a VIS (CEVIS) and a Resistive Exercise Device (RED- weight training device). The Russians have their own version of a cycle ergometer with they call the Velo-ergometer and they use the TVIS as well. Both cycles can be used as upper body ergometers too and is prescribed as a way to train for an EVA. The Russians have also added an attachment to their Velo so they can do some upper body resistive training. Wilkins - Do astronauts follow a special diet? Do they use supplements or just TANG? Shepherd - There is an entire department of folks who are dedicated to designing individual nutritional meals for each crew member. On the ISS the food that the crews have to choose from is split between US and Russian menus. One of the fun things crews get to do before they fly is to taste test the meals. They are also provided with a multi-vitamin to take daily. Do they even make TANG any more? Wilkins - Last question, how do astronauts go to the bathroom? Shepherd - Do you really want me to explain that? My simple explanation: It involves different attachments based on gender and suction. Outside of NASA, Shepherd serves as a strength and conditioning consultant to the San Diego Spirit Women's Professional Soccer Team. She is responsible for designing and implementing the teams off and in-season strength and conditioning programs. She also works one-on-one with professional and Olympic athletes. Shepherd continues to search for the perfect fitness program to ensure the health and well being of all the astronauts assigned to the shuttle program and our partners in the International Partner space agencies. "I enjoy trying to come up with a way to improve astronauts' health during long-duration flights," she said. This article is dedicated to the crew and families of the Space Shuttle Columbia, STS-107 Rob Wilkins, originally from Linden, N.J., is a Master Sergeant in the US Air Force stationed at The Pentagon, Washington, DC. Wilkins is also a Special Assistant for the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) and a recipient of the IFBB Gold Medal. To contact Wilkins e-mail him at Robifbb@yahoo.com. *Special thanks to Major General Kevin Chilton, United States Air Force for his assistance with this article. **For more information on Canadian Astronaut, Chris Hadfield click on to http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/hadfield.html