Gelance Cushion Research Zine Andrei Motian
Content In Brief 3 Larger Context 4 Summary of Projects and Outcomes
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Reframing 12 How to make the Gelance Cushion and exrcises
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Trail of Evidence 24 Sources 35
In Brief Due to the current measures related to Covid-19, we are stuck at home. The gyms are closed and people who are in rehabilitation cannot go to their physiotherapist. It is difficult to exercise at home because many people are limited in sports materials. Sports materials are often expensive to purchase and the exercises you can do with them are often monotonous. ‌ want to show that it is possible to make your own workout material with the stuff you have I at home and what you can get from your local supermarket, which is cheaper. I chose to make a balance cushion because it is one of the only space saving workout equipment by which you can train the muscles throughout your body. I have documented everything so everyone is able to make a balance cushion by themselves. ‌ Due to the different material properties that gelatin entails in the process that it hardens, the user can maintain a sports schedule. This starts with soft where the focus is on strength and balance, after which it hardens and the user can focus on stamina.
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Larger Context Due to current measures regarding the coronavirus, we are all stuck at home. In the Netherlands a “relaxed lockdown” while in other countries a total lockdown applies. At that time, it is difficult to do exercises at home because of limitations with fitness equipment. Gyms are closed and physiotherapists as well.
In rehabilitation care, this is important for people who are in rehabilitation because they need that exercise to recover from injuries. For people who regularly go to gyms, fitness equipment is very expensive and can go up to thousands of euros and they may have spent it for nothing as soon as the gyms open again.
Fitness equipment is very expensive and takes up a lot of space. In the Netherlands it is still possible to exercise outside individually, but not in other countries because you can only leave the house for a valid reason. You can get a high fine for that.
As a matter of fact the exercises people do in gyms and rehabilitation care is the same. The only difference is that in the gyms everyone is free to exercise how they want and in rehabilitation care it’s guided with a specialist and focused on a specific part of the body.
I want to show a way to make your own biodegradable fitness equipment and doing exercises with the materials you can get from your local supermarket, which is cheaper. Other advantages of using gelatin based bioplastic is that it is reusable once cured and if you want to get rid of it it is compostable by leaving it in a salt solution and then rinsing it away.
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In some developing countries where they have no gyms in some places, they sometimes make their own workout materials. They cut open a football or basketball, fill it with sand or concrete and turn it into their own kettlebell. They fill buckets with stones and use them to lift weight. They fill bags with sand, lift them on their backs and do exercises. T-Nation Author Craig Weller was often sent to developing countries (according to articles by T-Nation he wants to keep his profession a secret) and to keep fit he made the aforementioned fitness equipment.
Concrete kettlebells and Craig Weller’s workout place during one of his missions - The Jungle Gym and Malaria, T-Nation
Summary of Project and Outcomes I have experienced what it is like to not be able to go out the door to exercise and what it can do to you mentally. At the moment I am going to treatment with a physiotherapist for a knee injury from a year ago. I can imagine how difficult it is for someone who is still in the beginning or halfway through the rehabilitation process, who is still limited in movement, who really needs this. In addition, a great motivation for me is what my contribution would be, stimulating home fitness, contributing to a perhaps new open source world of a combination of sports and bioplastics. Some friends of mine who live abroad have been fined for outdoor exercising, as seen in the conversation between me and a friend of mine, Jim who does skateboarding at a high level. In regard to motivation for this project this was a factor as well. Screenshot from a conversation beteen me and Jim through Instagram
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Me: I was kicked out by enforcement last night because they had received reports of people not keeping a distance. - Jim: Jezus that’s ***. We allready got fined at landje (skatepark) while we did nothing wrong. I’m going to file an objection anyway. Me: I did hear it, that’s ***.
At first I looked at the different fitness materials to make a choice that I was going to focus on and chose a balance cushion. In addition, I looked at what can be trained with which fitness equipment and concluded that a balance cushion is good for a full body workout and takes up just a little space. Weights are difficult to make from bioplastics, if you want to make something heavy from bioplastic then it will become very large and many people are limited in space as well. Imagine you want to make weights out of gelatin based bioplastic, it is very light material so it has to be very big to create a bit of a mass. The mold you will need for such a thing would be too big and such a mold is not available to everyone. Furthermore, such a mold is even more difficult to create at home with limited resources and it would take a long time to dry and on the other hand longer time for fungus to develop. I started with a small sample to see what kind of composition I will make it. Because of previous experiments with bioplastics, I remember that agar and gelatin can mimic what a balance pillow can do. You can squeeze it and it feels bouncy. Image above: Me on a balance cushion. Image below: Small samples made from agar (left) and gelatin (right).
I had tested them for durability and gelatin came out as the best. When I squeezed the agar as hard as I could it was staying in the shape as I squeezed, in addition the agar shrunk enormously that it was twice as small as the gelatin based sample. Gelatin on the other hand remained in the same shape after squeezing it very hard, it almost seemed like it inflated itself again. Afterwards I started to make it bigger and experiment with different molds to see if it should be flat or rounded. I used the housing from a broken clock as a mold and from a salad/mixing bowl. In the end I went for the rounded shape because it is more challenging for the exercises and the flat shaped could function more like a yoga or fitness mat.
Image above: The rounded and flat samples. Image below: The molds i used for these samples.
Then I started to make it even bigger with the focus to keep it as long as possible. While grocery shopping I found a large salad bowl that could function as a perfect mold. The hardest things I encountered were that it took longer to dry and fungus had more time to develop. adding soap in my recipe and storing it properly allowed me to fight mold. I kept it properly by keeping it next to an open window as much as possible and regularly flipping the balance cushion over, even after a workout.
The mold I found while grocery shopping with the balance cushions
I also looked at the material properties of how much time it needs to feel a difference in hardness. Because the balance cushion gets harder over time every week, you do different exercises every week. Hereby you can maintain a weekly sports schedule based on the hardness of the cushion. I had presented my concept to my physiotherapist and asked what her point of view was. She thought it was a good and creative idea and because of the material I used it made sense that it will work. She also liked the fact that it is accessible to everyone, to be able to make it with items you have in your house, because movement during the lockdown is important for both physical and mental. Some patients in treatment have email contact and the physiotherapist can give exercises that you can do with that balance cushion. Exercises that are good for both general and rehabilitation. She recommended the exercises I did on balance cushions before are good for anyone who wants to do a workout and gave me more exercises and gave me more exercises to train other muscles in my body besides my legs. Because the exercises I do are often done more intensively, it would be a great idea to spread the exercises over the weeks. Instead of during one workout to train only your legs, for example, you do different exercises for your 10 whole body during a workout.
Reframing Moments In the first reframing session, I realized what my contribution would be that I was not aware of at all. That it may not have been done this way before (bioplastics and sports) and that this will be good for stimulating fitness at home and contributing to the open source world. These are the things that motivated me even more to be involved in this project. In addition, it has ensured that my focus has gone to material that can be found in your area or that you can buy in the supermarket. It should be doable for everyone. I started thinking about what it will be like for someone else to make and how I will make the “tutorial”. In the second reframing session I came to think about how you would dispose of it if it had hardened after two weeks and how you store it in the meantime. This has changed my concept so that the user does not use it for only 2 weeks but with the time it gets harder, the type of exercises is different. In the beginning when it is soft you will focus on strength and stability and once it is hard on stamina and condition. In addition, this session also inspired me to see how they do fitness in
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developing countries from which I can get ideas for exercises. In the second reframing session I came to think about how you would dispose of it if it had hardened after two weeks and how you store it in the meantime. This has changed my concept so that the user does not use it for only 2 weeks but with the time it gets harder, the type of exercises is different. In the beginning when it is soft you will focus on strength and stability and once it is hard on stamina and condition. In addition, this session also inspired me to see how they do fitness in third world countries from which I can get ideas for exercises. The third and last reframing session was more about the finishing touch and for me it was to come up with a name for my final product. The name I came up with is “Gelance Cushion”. Gelance Cushion is actually my made up shortened name from GELatin balANCE CUSHION.
How to make the Gelance Cushion and exercises Ingredients:
What do you need:
- 200 grams of gelatin powder
- 120 grams of glycerine
- 900 ml water
- 100 ml dish soap (The balance cushion takes on the color of the soap color)
- Scale to weigh the gelatin powder and glycerine. - Measuring cup for measuring water and the dish soap. - Cooking pan with the minimum capacity of 1L. - Gas stove or electric hob for cooking. - A spoon, whisk or anything else to stir the mixture. - Mold with a rounded bottom. This is important for the exercises you will do later. Make sure your mold is wide enough and your foot fits in it. I used a salad bowl from hard plastic as mold. Make sure that your mold does not have a sticky surface. - Vaseline for smearing the empty mold. (Optional) - Ladle to put the mixture in the mold, pouring from the pan is also possible. (Optional) - Space next to an opening window to al low the gelatin base to dry.
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Step 1
Measure the ingredients and lubricate the mold you use with Vaseline, I used a fingertip of Vaseline. Then keep the mold nearby.
Step 2 Put the gelatin powder, glycerin and water in the cooking pan over medium heat and stir until you feel it thicken. As soon as you feel it getting thicker, add the dish soap and keep stirring until it becomes a mixture.
Step 3 When it has become a mixture, pour it into the mold. You can also use a ladle if you’re afraid to spill. Place the mold with the mixture carefully next to an open window and let it dry for 2 nights.
Step 4
You can now remove the gelatin base from the mold and your Gelance Cushion is ready to use.
How to store it After the first two nights of drying, keep it next to your open window as much as possible and flip it over regularly until it has hardened over time. When it has hardened it no longer feels cold. I kept it in the mold next to an open window.
While exercising Do not use shoes because of the leftovers from outside that may still be underneath. This can damage the balance cushion. Do your exercises on your socks or bare feet. Can be used on any surface, the balance cushion can not slip away.
Safety The exercises you do are all at your own risk. I am not liable for injuries. If you are rehabilitating and need to do exercises, discuss this first with a physiotherapist or a doctor.
Exercises week 1 Strength Exercises After the Gelance Cushion had dried for two nights and feels very squishy. Do this two to three times a week with one day rest in between as adviced by physiotherapists. Take a 30 seconds break between each set in the exercises.
Pulse lunge 3 sets of 10, 15 or 20 lunges with each leg
Step on the Gelance Cushion in a lunge position and switch legs after each set
Russian twists 3 sets of 10 or 15
Sit on the Gelance Cushion, keeping your legs and back off the floor, and turn from your upper body to the left and then to the right.
Disc push ups 4 sets of 10 or 15 with both arms
Place one hand on the Gelance Cushion and do push ups. Switch hands after each set.
Pulse squats 4 sets of 10, 15 or 20 Place one foot on the Gelance Cushion and do a squat. Switch foot after each set.
Exercises week 2
Balanced floor tap 3 sets of 10 with both legs (6 sets in total)
Step on the Gelance Cushion and tap front, back and sideways while bending your knee everytime you tap.
Strength & Stability Exercises The Gelance Cushion has hardened and shrunk a little bit but still feels squishy. Do this two to three times a week with one day rest in between as adviced by physiotherapists. Take a 30 seconds break between each set in the exercises.
V-Sit 3 sets of 30 or 60 seconds
Sit on the Gelance Cushion, lift your leggs and back of the ground so your body is holding a “V� position and hold this position.
Plank 3 sets of 30 or 60 seconds
Place your fore arms on the Gelance cushion and hold a plank position.
Repeat one of the exercises from previous week
Exercises week 3 Stamina & Stability Exercises The Gelance Cushion has hardened more and starts to lose the cold feeling. Do this two to three times a week with one day rest in between as adviced by physiotherapists. Take a 30 seconds break between each set in the exercises.
Bend and jump 3 sets of 10 or 20 with each leg
Put one foot on the Gelance Cushion and the other foot off the floor. Jump from your ankles and toes and bend your knee when landing.
Kneel to squat 3 sets of 10 with each leg (6 sets total)
Get on your knees on the Gelance Cushion, take turns standing up with your legs in a squat position and the same back on your knees. Change the order after each set.
Jumps 6 sets of 10 (3 sets front to back and 3 sets sideways)
Place the Gelance Cushion in front of you and jump over it and back. Do the same but sideways from left to right.
Dribble 3 sets of each 30 seconds front-back and 30 seconds left-right Stand so that the Gelance Cushion lies between your feet on the floor. Dribble from front to back and then left to right in the same position
Exercise with multiple Gelance Cushions Do you want to challenge yourself even more? Then make another Gelance Cushion and do exercises with multiple cushions. Many exercises from this book can be made more challenging by practicing with two Gelance Cushions.
Variation bend and jump 3 sets of 10 or 20 with each leg
Put one foot on one Gelance Cushion and the other foot off the floor. Jump from your ankles and toes forward and backwards the other cushion and bend your knee when landing.
Variation Lunge 3 sets of 10 or 20 with each leg
Do lunges with each foot on a Gelance Cushion. Switch from feet after each set.
Variation push ups 3 sets of 15
Do push ups with each hand on a Gelance Cushion
Dispose
Fill a bowl or you mold with water and salt. Lay the Gelance Cushion in the salt water solution and let it in for a couple of hours. After a few hours it softens and you can grind it by piercing it with a fork or spoon. Afterwards if it is small enough you can flush it through the sink or toilet.
Trail of Evidence The following ToE’s I chose because it was decisive for my concept, the use of material, important moments in my process and important insights.
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Sources Craig Weller, T-Nation (2011): https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/jungle-gym-and-malaria Margaret Dunne, Bioplastic Cook Book: https://issuu.com/nat_arc/docs/bioplastic_cook_book_3 Sanne Goedhart, Fysiopraktijk Noorder Spaarne: https://www.praktijknoorderspaarne.nl
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