Top brand arm bikes

Why buy an arm bike

Of course, this is not surprising since our legs have been specially designed to move large loads (our own weight) over long periods of time. But some people are unable to exercise using their lower limbs because of problems with their knees, feet, ankles, or hip. The solution for these people, and for anyone looking to vary their workout routine, is in the most underused cardio machine: the arm bike.

The arm bike is practiced sitting on a seat with the arms which make a movement of "pedaling". This device uses almost the entire upper body and, more particularly, the arms and shoulders. The problem remains access to these types of machines because they are found quite rarely in fitness clubs. Historically, arm bikes have been used primarily by paraplegics because the seat can be easily removed and the wheelchair takes its place.

The other diligent practitioners on this machine are the triathletes. It goes without saying that these are athletes who understand the importance of aerobic training the upper limbs, especially for the swimming part of their sport. We are therefore entitled to wonder whether such a machine should not be part of an exercise routine for everyone. While it is true that crosstrainers involve the upper body, the majority of the effort is made by the legs. In the same way, a rower has an important arm component but cannot be practiced without the lower body.

To obtain an ideal position on an arm bike, you must first adjust the seat height so that the shoulders are at the same level as the axis of rotation of the crank. On the other hand, it is necessary to move horizontally on the seat, so that when the arms are furthest from the body during "pedaling", they are not completely in full extension (an angle of 5 to 10° at the elbow is ideal). When it comes to intensity and duration of exercise, expect to do less than on an upright or recumbent bike or a crosstrainer. 10 minutes at an average intensity will even be a difficult goal to achieve for many because the upper body muscles are much smaller and mechanically less efficient than those of the lower body. Obviously, if you train regularly, you will improve over time as with any aerobic exercise. Those who base their training on heart rate (HR) will initially find it difficult to get a heart rate in the target range, the main reason being muscle fatigue, but again this will improve over time. We often hear it said that an arm bike does not reach heart rates as high as with cardio equipment for the lower body (treadmill, crosstrainer, etc.).

The table below illustrates a case study on the differences in performance between various aerobic exercises for a 29-year-old man over a period of 17 months of training:

This table shows that you can get a quality aerobic workout with an arm bike when you push yourself and are patient, while your upper body is adapting (at the start of the study, the heart rate for 30 minutes of exercise was only 144). In addition, the torso and abdomen benefit greatly from these trainings because the use of the handcycle requires efforts to maintain and stabilize.

So, for those who have problems that prevent them from exercising their lower body or for those who are looking to diversify their training routine, the arm bike is the ideal solution. It is also an answer when looking for specific warmup of muscles and joints at a lower intensity in preparation for an upper body training based on resistance.