The Evolution of the Revolution

Resistance that pushes back perpendicular.

Spinweight is a hand-powered, gear-driven gyroscope. Turn it, and gyroscopic precession pushes back perpendicular to your effort. The faster you go, the harder it pushes: double the speed, four times the resistance.

See how it works Watch the VO₂ test
  • ~10,000rotor RPM
  • RPM²force scaling
  • 18kcal/min, self-test*

*Up to 18 kcal/min in one self-administered VO₂ test by the founder (N=1). See Evidence.

Upper-body “cycling” on the Spinweight while pedaling a spin bike.
Juggling while standing on a ball, a skill I didn't have before my injury.

Why Spinweight exists

It started with a brain injury, not a fitness lab.

At 19, I had a severe traumatic brain injury from a motorcycle crash. It left me with aphasia and amnesia. I struggled to connect thoughts to words, to remember, and to regulate myself.

Years later I started training with handheld gyroscopes, and I noticed something no other workout gave me: managing a fast, constantly shifting force seemed to switch things back on.

  1. 2006I realized a geared device could take that feeling much further. I didn't yet know how to build it.
  2. 2015I had no engineering background, so I taught myself on a manual lathe with off-the-shelf gears. That year I finished my first working gear-drive prototype.
  3. SinceDozens more prototypes followed. Along the way I recovered my speech and memory, and I learned tightrope walking, juggling while standing on a ball, and fire dance.

N=1 This is my personal story, one person, not a clinical trial. It's why I built Spinweight, and it's the idea I want tested properly in controlled research.

How it works

The physics: precession, not gravity.

You move the handles in circles, and the gears multiply that motion into high rotor speed (up to about 10,000 RPM). A fast-spinning rotor resists being turned. Every time you redirect it, it pushes back at a right angle to the force you apply. That push is gyroscopic precession.

The torque is always perpendicular to your effort and changes direction as your hands move. So the resistance never comes from one fixed line the way a dumbbell or cable does. Your hands, arms, and trunk have to work together continuously in three dimensions to control it.

τ = I · ωspin · ωprecession

The gearing ties rotor speed to how fast you cycle the handles (ωspin = ratio × ωprecession). That's why resistance rises with the square of speed. Go slow and it's gentle. Speed up and it gets intense, up to VO₂-max effort using only your hands.

rotor spin ω your push precession: pushes back at 90°
Push the handle one way, and the spinning rotor answers at a right angle.

Gyro force calculator

Calculated, not measured
Handle force
59 N (13.3 lbf)
Multiple of rotor weight
17.8×
Your hand cycling speed
250 RPM
Force vs. 5,000 RPM
2.25×

How this is calculated: the curve fits Spinweight's own force table (≈26 N at 5,000 RPM, ≈58 N at 7,500, ≈105 N at 10,000 RPM; dots on the chart). It follows F ≈ k·RPM², with k ≈ 1.05×10⁻⁶ N/RPM². “Multiple of rotor weight” divides handle force by the weight of the rotor (about 0.75 lb in that table). It is not a G-load on your body. Hand cycling speed = rotor RPM ÷ drive ratio. Results are modeled values for one rotor configuration. They aren't dynamometer measurements, and the chart doesn't extrapolate past 10,000 RPM.

Rotor size & weight

Matched to the user, from about ½ lb for a child to 1 lb for a bodybuilder.

Handle size & style

Grip diameter and shape suited to the hand using it.

Drive ratio

Sets how much of the workload comes as fast coordination versus raw mechanical force.

Change any of these and you change how the work is split between coordination demand and muscular load. It's less like picking a dumbbell weight and more like choosing your paints before you start: the same canvas, a different brushstroke for your neuromuscular development.

The artistry of physics

The multi-speed transmission lets you tune how many coordination cycles you perform for each calorie burned.

  • Lighter gear: fast, high-frequency coordination. More decisions per second, less load per movement.
  • Heavier gear: slower, heavier force. More muscular work per movement, less coordination demand.

Smart, self-powered

  • Smart transmission: onboard electronics read rotor speed with a light sensor and shift the transmission with a servo, automatically or manually.
  • Game-ready: Spinweight can send motion data to a video game, so you can control your avatar in a race.
  • Calories into electricity: a built-in generator charges your phone over USB when your workout's done.
  • Scales to anyone: resistance depends on speed, not on how much weight you lift. There's no heavy load to drop and no pounding on your joints.
Concept render of a Spinweight cutaway showing a 2-speed servo transmission and a rotating mass labeled up to 10,000 RPM
Concept render. Not a photograph of the current prototype.

Evidence

What's established, what's piloted, and what's still a question.

I keep these three categories separate so you can judge each claim on its own footing.

Established peer-reviewed science Pilot early data, N=1 Hypothesis not yet tested
  • Established

    Precession physics

    A spinning rotor resists being redirected with a torque perpendicular to the applied force (τ = I·ωs·ωp). With geared coupling, resistance scales with the square of speed. This is textbook mechanics.

  • Established

    People learn to control hand-held gyroscopes

    The nervous system learns to compensate for gyroscopic torque, and arm configuration is central to how that learning is organized.

    Flanders M, Hondzinski JM, Soechting JF, Jackson JC. Using arm configuration to learn the effects of gyroscopes and other devices. J Neurophysiol. 2003;89:450–459. doi:10.1152/jn.00053.2002

  • Established

    Coordination and balance training benefit the brain (general exercise science, not Spinweight-specific)

    In older adults, coordination training increased hippocampal volume. Balance training improved memory and spatial cognition without changing cardio fitness. Balance and functional exercise reduced the rate of falls.

    Niemann C, Godde B, Voelcker-Rehage C. Front Aging Neurosci. 2014. · Rogge AK et al. Sci Rep. 2017. · Sherrington C et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019.

  • Pilot · N=1

    VO₂ self-test

    In a self-administered, video-documented VO₂ test, I burned up to 18 calories per minute using only my hands. One person, one test: an early data point, not a clinical study. Independent replication is the next step. Watch it.

  • Pilot · N=1

    Founder's recovery

    After a severe TBI, years of gyroscopic training went along with my recovery of speech and memory and with new skills (tightrope walking, juggling while standing on a ball). That's a personal account, not proof of cause.

  • Hypothesis

    Coordination as the driver

    Does high-frequency coordination demand add metabolic and cognitive load beyond the mechanical work performed? Does Spinweight training improve balance, cognition, or brain-injury recovery more than conventional exercise? These questions need controlled studies.

  • Hypothesis

    Microgravity

    Precession doesn't depend on gravity, so the same resistance should work in microgravity too. That hasn't been tested in spaceflight yet.

Who it's for

Built for different questions. Same device.

Researchers

A dosable, speed-controlled coordination load for studying cognitive-motor exercise, sensorimotor control, and metabolic cost. The open questions above are a ready-made study list.

Discuss a study →

Clinicians & rehab

A handheld, self-powered tool. Resistance starts gentle and rises only as fast as the user drives it, so it can be graded to the person in front of you.

Talk about a pilot →

Coaches & performance

Combine it with treadmills, bikes, or balance work, so athletes have to hold coordination under a shifting load and under fatigue.

Book a demo →

Everyday training

A workout where coordination is the cardio. Slow and easy for beginners, sprint-level when you speed up. No heavy weights.

Ask about availability →

Specs

Prototype at a glance.

Drive
Gear-driven precession
Rotor speed
Up to ~10,000 RPM
Drive ratio
30 : 1 to 40 : 1
Rotor mass
~½ lb (child) to 1 lb
Force scaling
∝ speed²
Transmission
Multi-speed, servo-shifted
Power
Self-powered; USB charging
Energy (N=1)
Up to 18 kcal/min

Prototype specifications. They may change before production.

Video library

See it in action.

Pilot · N=1

My VO₂ test

A self-administered, video-documented VO₂ test: up to 18 calories per minute using only my hands. One person, one test. It's an early data point, not a clinical study, and independent replication is the next step.

Open on Google Drive ↗

Combine it with any workout

Treadmill + Spinweight Spinweight works alongside any exercise machine.
Spin bike + Spinweight Upper-body “cycling” combined with lower-body cycling, alone or in a group class.
Balance bike + Spinweight It looks a bit like riding a unicycle, but I never touch the seat.

Balance and coordination challenges

Balance ball + Spinweight A wide range of challenges builds a wide range of abilities.
Balance bar + Spinweight Two-handed coordination on top, a balance challenge underneath, both at once.
My niece (95 lb) At high RPM, Spinweight reaches sprint-level effort at any body size.

Contact

Let's talk.

Researchers, clinicians, coaches, and press are welcome. Tell me a little about what you're working on.

Chris Oremus, Founder
Chris@Spinweight.com
+1 (424) 303-0069
Spinweight LLC

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