A control unit for controlling a gait training unit comprising a moveable footplate and one or more actuators for controlling movement of the footplate. The control unit comprises a processor and a memory device which stores a user profile defining a range of motion of one or more joints of the user. The processor identifies a planned footplate position and/or orientation dependent on a target gait trajectory. A virtual kinematic model (70) is generated from the user profile and one or more virtual joint angles (0h, 0k, 0a) are determined dependent on the planned footplate position and/or orientation. If the one or more virtual joint angle (0h, 0k, 0a) is outside the range of motion for a joint in the user profile, the processor outputs a control signal to control said one or more actuator to control movement of the footplate to the planned footplate position and/or orientation. A control unit similar to above wherein, the processor determines a virtual reaction force and/or torque generated when the virtual kinematic model (70) is re-configured on the planned footplate position and/or orientation. The disclosure also relates to a gait training apparatus and a method of controlling a gait training unit.
