From the platform of the second floor of Joensuu Areena, you may have heard the bang of hammers and the rustle of saws during the spring. A well-being and exercise testing station is currently being built in the arena’s premises.
The station will serve a wide range of target groups, from everyday exercisers to professional athletes. In the coming fall, the testing station will be able to perform, for example, force, speed and load measurements as well as well-being surveys.
Well-being can be measured throughout life
The service selection of the testing station is developed by a group of experts from the city of Joensuu, the Sport Institute of Eastern Finland, the Karelia University of Applied Sciences and the University of Eastern Finland.
Project expert Juha Jalovaara from Karelia University of Applied Sciences says that such extensive testing and measurement services have never existed in Joensuu before.
– The arena’s testing station will be open to everyone who is interested in measuring their own fitness level and monitoring the results of training. With the new position, the services for top athletes will also expand, Jalovaara describes.
According to Jalovaara, you should take the tests, for example, before starting a lifestyle change. However, before the tests, you should make sure from the healthcare professionals that there are no health-related risk factors that would prevent you from participating in the tests. This is also always verified before coming for testing.
The testing station will be open to everyone who is interested in measuring their own fitness level and monitoring the results of training.
– Testing provides information about the current situation and can help prevent potential challenges to functional ability and physical condition.
–The path to well-being is lifelong. That’s why the testing station will serve not only goal-oriented exercisers, but also the elderly, from the initial survey to the monitoring of development, says Jalovaara.
Project manager Jaana Kurki from Karelia University of Applied Sciences adds that one of the objectives is to promote the well-being of the local citizens.
– Testing and monitoring your own condition can increase training motivation at all different levels. For one the goal can be, for example, walking to the mailbox without getting out of breath, while another is training for a marathon. Everyone is equally welcome to the tests and will benefit in their own way.
The ski mat takes you to Holmenkollen
The testing station’s equipment enables, for example, walking and balance tests, bicycle ergometer tests, and measurements on a treadmill.
The testing equipment can be used to measure not only physical activity and fitness, but also body composition, sleep and recovery.
The project manager of the city of Joensuu, Tuomas Karjalainen, is especially looking forward to a new ski mat that uses gaming technology to create the most authentic experience possible.
– On the ski mat, you could see, for example, Kontiolahti’s wall climb or Holmenkollen’s World Cup slopes, which are projected on a giant screen, Karjalainen says.
Most of the testing station’s equipment can be easily moved and the services will reach the entire province.
The equipment is designed to serve different target groups; suitable tests and devices are always selected individually. For example, you can also move on the ski mat with a wheelchair or on foot.
Most of the testing station’s equipment can be easily moved and the services will reach the entire province.
– We will promote the testing station at events in different parts of Joensuu and the province. Municipalities and organizations are important partners in the development of mobile services, says project manager Jaana Kurki.
New entrepreneurship and know-how
One of the project’s goals is to create new business and jobs. Sports business expert Helmi Kortetmaa from the Eastern Finland Sports Institute develops services together with entrepreneurs.
– Workshops are organized for entrepreneurs in the sports and wellness industry, where they come up with ideas for services suitable for the testing station, specifically for their target groups. Entrepreneurs are also trained in using the equipment and making tests.
– There are physiotherapists, personal trainers and fitness center entrepreneurs who want to expand their service offering. Potential target groups include not only individuals but also, for example, sports associations, says Korettemaa.
It’s better to come to the tests sooner rather than later.
Business activity arising in connection with the testing station ensures that the facilities are in active use after completion.
– The goal is that the cooperation network created from companies will utilize the facilities as actively as possible. The testing station is also used by students who intend to become entrepreneurs, who can develop their services in the right operating environment already during their studies, Korettemaa continues.
Once completed, the testing station will serve municipal residents, athletes, sports clubs and coaches.
The station’s developers give one tip for everyone interested in measuring well-being: It’s better to come to the tests sooner rather than later. Fitness testing is above all a tool that can be used to start doing the right things for your own well-being.
Mehtimäki’s testing station for well-being and exercise is being developed in a two-year group project, which consists of an investment and development project. Read more about the projects on the testing station’s website.
Artificial intelligence has been used in the translation of the article.
