Author Topic: Ever tried a hand-pedal trainer?  (Read 2407 times)

Ever tried a hand-pedal trainer?
« on: 23 November, 2018, 10:30:44 am »
My cardio fitness isn't very high atm (I'm not getting out kayaking at all and no other exercise). Just started going to gym twice a week and they have a new machine, hand-pedal machine.

Sit down and pedal with your hands - you can set goals such as an rpm for a set time, an effort level etc. Favourite so far is rpm for set period - it varies the effort level so that my required wattage goes from 50 up to 300 to maintain the rpm (I choose 90).   300W from arms-only kills me, I can only sustain it for a 30s or so. 100W is sustainable.
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Torslanda

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Re: Ever tried a hand-pedal trainer?
« Reply #1 on: 23 November, 2018, 10:33:34 am »
How are the cranks arranged? Together or one up - one down?
VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

Re: Ever tried a hand-pedal trainer?
« Reply #2 on: 23 November, 2018, 12:27:03 pm »
one up one down like a standard set of foot cranks (not like a hand crank cycle)
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Re: Ever tried a hand-pedal trainer?
« Reply #3 on: 23 November, 2018, 01:37:41 pm »
I did a couple of laps of a not-quite-flat car park on a (gaspipe) handcycle once.  It was surprisingly hard work, and my shoulders were unimpressed afterwards.  Huge respect for anyone who covers real distances on those things.

I suppose if you're not trying to steer anything with it, the opposite cranks arrangement is much easier to make a smooth effort with.

Re: Ever tried a hand-pedal trainer?
« Reply #4 on: 23 November, 2018, 01:42:54 pm »
These have been around for a while - though perhaps because the gym I used to frequent is at Stoke Mandeville there's a good reason behind that!

They're hard work, good for cardio, and give your shoulders a good workout too, so perfect for a kayaker I'd say.
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Re: Ever tried a hand-pedal trainer?
« Reply #5 on: 23 November, 2018, 11:17:25 pm »
We used to have one in the old office gym. It was described as a kayak machine and hard work.