Keiser Corporation

Keiser Corporation is an international manufacturer and seller of fitness, sports performance, and physical therapy equipment. It is based in Fresno, California in the United States.

History
In the mid 1970s, Keiser co-founder Dennis Keiser was hired by a fitness equipment company to design some of its first variable resistance exercise machines. Within a year, Dennis launched an engineering consulting company by the name of Commercial Design that specialized in the design of exercise equipment. Dennis’ brother, Randy, joined the company in 1976, and in 1977, they formed the Keiser Corporation. Dennis Keiser received a number of patents in both weight stack variable resistance design and hydraulic resistance design. Keiser had also applied for patent protection on the use of compressed air to create variable resistance in exercise machines. In 1978, the company introduced the first air-powered variable resistance exercise machines. Professional sports teams and Olympic teams were among the earliest adopters of the company's pneumatic exercise machines. Today, Keiser products are used in the training facilities of about two-thirds of American professional sports teams, Olympic teams around the world, and the U.S. Armed Forces. They are also staples in everything from large gyms and health clubs to active living communities and corporate fitness facilities.

In 1996, Dennis Keiser began work on a project that would revolutionize indoor cycling. He produced an indoor bike that utilized eddy current, or magnetic resistance, as its resistance source. Keiser filed a patent on the design in 2007. The durability of the product and smoothness of ride vaulted Keiser to a position of industry leadership, and in 2008, the Keiser M3 Cycle, won an iF Design Award. The M3 cycle was also the first indoor fitness cycle to receive recognition under the ISO standard for the accuracy of its display data reporting. The company has also incorporated eddy current technology into recumbent cycles, upper-body cycles, and elliptical machines.

Research
Numerous research studies have shown benefits to training with pneumatic resistance versus traditional iron resistance. The studies that examined Keiser's pneumatic resistance versus conventional resistance training found that muscles experienced a greater time under tension, a reduction in or complete elimination of delayed onset muscle soreness, and an ability to train dynamically with greatly reduced effects of shock loading from momentum. Keiser has also been involved in over 80 peer reviewed and published research studies on strength training and its effect on aging. In the 1990s, faculty researchers in kinesiology or physical therapy at universities such as Tufts, Columbia, and University of Maryland, among others, leveraged the availability of new government grants to pursue research into senior fitness. In a small number of these studies, Keiser donated equipment in support of the research, though all of these studies originated with the researchers, and the company was otherwise not directly involved. However, in most of the studies, Keiser's equipment was selected and purchased by the researchers because the compressed air resistance was ideal for reducing the amount of stress on the joints and connective tissue of deconditioned older adults. As a result of many of the findings of this body of research, senior facilities and other organizations catering to older adults began focusing more on fitness and exercise, and many purchased Keiser equipment. Keiser created the Keiser Institute on Aging to provide specific resources and support for these facilities.