ABOUT US

WHAT WE DO

Muscle Animations creates educational material for strength training enthusiasts of all levels, be it exercisers or professional trainers/therapists. The teaching material is based on research-based knowledge in strength training, biomechanics and sports medicine, combined with expertise in 3D animations, video production and pedagogy.

Tron Krosshaug

Professor, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences

In addition to being a co-founder of Muscle Animations AS, Tron Krosshaug is a professor at the Section for Sports Medicine at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NIH) and the Center for Sports Injury Research. He completed his doctorate in biomechanics in 2006, and has published more than 50 highly cited, scientific articles in biomechanics, strength training, and injury prevention. Tron has taught full-time and part-time students in strength training and biomechanics since 2007 nationally and internationally. Tron has also on several occasions been a special advisor to Technogym in the development of new devices.Tron is a strength training enthusiast, but also promotes the activity form Krossfit (the combination of bench press and mountain biking). According to Tron, quality of life increases proportionally with 1RM in bench press.

Oliver Faul

M.Sc Sport & Exercise Science

"Oliver Faul is a co-founder and our animation wizard. He has worked at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences since 2010, mainly with the development of animation-based teaching material, but also with research in biomechanics and motion analysis. Oliver has high expertise in app development, online learning systems, data animation, motion analysis, image processing, and video editing.

Our History

In connection with teaching strength training at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, we observed how many students struggled with biomechanics and analysis of sports movements and strength exercises. Through Tron Krosshaug's doctoral work, we saw the opportunity to use 3D modeling to visualize such analyses to simplify and demystify biomechanics for students.

A pilot project was first carried out in 2008, which resulted in Krosshaug et al. winning the Birkeland Innovation Idea Competition and later Inven2's Medtech Prize. Since October 2010, Tron and Oliver have worked dedicatedly to develop animations with funding from the Defense Department at NIH, NIH centrally, and the Section for Sports Medicine. The project is part of NIH's focus on innovation and commercialization and has been financially supported with salary funds, office space, computers, and software. In 2013, we established the company Muscle Animations AS, and transferred intellectual property rights.

Since 2010, we have invested significant resources in developing a research-based teaching concept aimed at visualizing biomechanical principles and functional anatomy in strength training exercises. Using high-definition 3D animated people, we can visualize the body's musculoskeletal system as well as forces and moment arms, making it much easier to understand the relationship between exercise technique and strain on joints and muscles.

In October 2015, we launched the free app Styrk! This is a low-threshold strength training app that was made in collaboration with the Diabetes Association, with support from the Directorate of Health. Styrk! is two years after launch downloaded by more than 65,000 Norwegians. The app is used in high schools, colleges and universities, among physiotherapists and in public health centers all over Norway.

In 2018, we launched the teaching app MA Biomek, which provides a simple introduction to biomechanical analysis.

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide engage in strength training, with various purposes. From a societal perspective, the well-documented health aspects of strength training are very important. This includes a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and other serious diseases, improved function and reduced risk of falls among the elderly, prevention and rehabilitation of injuries, and dramatically improved effects of certain types of surgeries.

However, fundamental knowledge of how the musculoskeletal system is stressed is severely lacking among health professionals, coaches, and other professionals worldwide, because there is no teaching material focusing on biomechanical analyses of exercises. Despite the fact that such biomechanical analyses are essential, they are very scarce, and actually almost non-existent in today's teaching materials. For this reason, there are also a number of myths among exercisers, as well as among professional coaches/therapists, about how different exercises affect the musculoskeletal system.

We have a genuine desire to improve public health by facilitating more and better physical activity. We want to promote healthy values both through our products and in interaction with various collaboration partners. Muscle Animations originates from and collaborates with the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences.