Exercise empowers, even when you are when injured or incapacitated. Regular physical activity tends to confer a sense of control and heighten your fitness and mood. It also allows you to continue neuromuscular training. Upper extremity pedal exercisers enable you to work your arms, shoulders, chest and upper back muscles while allowing lower-body injuries to heal. If you have lost complete use of your legs, upper extremity pedal exercisers can be your main fitness tool.
If You Want Better Health
You need not be disabled to use upper extremity pedal exercisers, but professional paraplegic hand-cyclists, swimmers, marathoners, tennis players and skiers are exemplary ambassadors. These world class competitors' training can include miles of endurance and sprint pedalling plus hours of arm exercises. However, anybody experiencing lower body pain, or simply desiring to cross-train, can reap rewards. Certain upper body injuries improve with pedaling; back strains, collar bone breaks and overuse injuries sometimes respond well to exercise's heightened blood circulation and pain-reducing endorphin activity.
Training With an Upper Extremity Pedal Exerciser
As with many endurance training programs, pedal exercise that includes intervals can lead to substantial fitness improvements, according to Cycling Performance Tips. A fitness-building, 60-minute workout might include a 10-minute warm up of easy pedalling, 1 or 2 minutes of minutes of low-resistance high speed cycling, then 40 minutes of steady effort at medium-to-high resistance, followed by 5 to 10 minutes of easy cycling, again with low resistance, to cool down. For improved fat burning and speed training, when you perform the 40-minute work period, repeatedly insert short, 10- to 30-second bouts of super-intense pedalling followed by recovery intervals of 40 to 60 seconds. Do not stop pedaling during recovery intervals, just pedal less intensely.
Take Heed of Moving Parts
Machines with moving parts, especially rotating parts, pose the risk of mechanically induced injury. Similar to bicycles, upper extremity pedal exercisers typically have flywheels and chains that work with the pedals, and each of these parts presents the danger of fingers or clothing getting caught. The pedals may catch your hands in awkward ways. Objects might get stuck in or ricochet off the wheel. You might wrench a muscle maneuvering the machine around. So, as with any fitness equipment, be cautious when moving around and with them.
International Interest Lends a Hand
Vendors of upper extremity pedal exercisers are attuned to the fitness market. Physio to Go and Exercise Fitness Workout are just two examples of pedal exercise vendors with a finger on the pulse of physical fitness enthusiasts. Australia, the USA, the Netherlands and other national leaders in sports medicine research are always interested in developing athletic resources for people of all abilities. Thus, upper extremity pedal exercisers may play an important international role in improving the health of the injured or home-bound who seek to maximize wellness.
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