Hand Ergometer Squat-N-Cycle with Excy Portable Exercise Bike
Hand Ergometer Forward Pedaling
Ergometer Reverse Pedaling
Back and Forth Pedaling
Ergometer Isometric Pedaling
Hand Ergometer Squat Cycling Video
Hand Ergometer Squat-N-Cycle Setup Overview
Setup: Place the opened Excy system on the floor. Use the pin to adjust the height to your preference (top and middle hole is optimal). Place the Rear Base at the edge of your feet. You should have a 5 to 10 degree angle in your elbow while hand cycling from the squatted position (never lock your elbows). While squatting, the bend in your knee should create a 90-degree angle between the hamstrings and the calves (don’t allow your knees to stick out past your toes). The most ergonomically comfortable and safe hand position is grabbing the end of the pedals with palms facing each other. Make sure your thumb is not near the crank arm as it may get pinched during cranking. Hand pedals or hand gloves can be added for comfort. Never lock your elbow while hand cycling. Some people like to stand on the rear bar for added stability. Exercise: Stand with feet apart, directly under your hips, and place your hands on your hips. Tighten your stomach muscles, lower yourself into a squatted position and place your hands on the pedals while keeping your back flat and your spine in a neutral position. Adjust your feet and body positioning until your shoulders are directly over the pedal axis without leaning your upper body more than a few inches forward to pedal with your hands. As your right hand pushes down into the Excy system toward the floor, your left hand circles up to complete the rotation of the pedals. The power of each hand crank should come from your core, followed by your upper body. Keep your chin up with your head looking forward, back straight, shoulders back, and legs/torso/core strong. Start easy for duration, intensity, and resistance levels as upper body muscles are smaller, weaker, and less efficient, which means it is easy to get very sore muscles almost immediately if you jump into high tension cranking motions that you are note use to. Advanced speed skate exercises can also be done from this position by following the same process, but transferring weight to the left and right leg like speed skating. See other Excy Squat Hand Cycle positions for “Back and Forth”, “Isometric”, and “Backwards Pedaling” exercises.
Live Squat-N-Cycle Hand Ergometer Workouts
Hand Ergometer Snapshot
Snapshot of Higher Resistance
Getting Started
There’s a big advantage of pedaling, spinning, or cranking Excy with controlled forces. Take time to pedal slowly at the easiest levels until it feels smooth and controlled before increasing resistance. Before pedaling, always protect your surface with a towel or mat.
Pedaling Forwards & Backwards
Whether using hands or feet, think in terms of square rotations to improve technique. Envision pushing your hand or foot forward along the top of a square and pushing down against the front side of the square and pulling towards your body as you pull up the backside of the square. To pedal backwards, follow the same process.
Back and Forth Strokes
Pedaling back and forth is great for range of motion and strength training. Simply apply pressure, unweight the opposite hand or foot in a repeating motion.
Isometrics
Instead of relying on pedaling with resistance cranked up to fatigue the muscle, you will instead set the resistance to easy and steadily press into the pedals with even forces to constrict your upper or lower body muscles and hold it until fatigue sets in.
Resistance Guidelines for Clinic and Home Physical Therapy
Excy offers a wide range of resistance to accommodate all riders. Depending on your goals, you may want to do more rotations or cranks with less resistance, or the opposite. Excy is designed to take either path or a combination of both. Generally, rotations with light to moderate resistance are used to improve cardio vascular endurance, while high resistance with fewer cranks are used to increase muscle size and strength. It is important to start easy before increasing tension as it is easy to get very sore muscles almost immediately doing high tension cranking motions that a person is not use to.
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Upper Body Setup Guidelines
- Palms facing each other
- 5-10 degree in elbow
- Pedal axis at shoulder or 1-2″ below
- Never hyper extend elbow
- Focus on good posture and engage core
- Pin placement will vary based on user preferences and goals
Lower Body Setup Guidelines
- Start with heel on pedal with straight leg
- Cycle with the balls of your feet (aligned with metatarsal)
- 20-30 degree bend in knee while cycling
- Hips/feet/knees properly aligned (do not splay feet or knees inwards or outwards)
- Barefoot and socks favored
- Never hyper extend knee
- Pin placement will vary based on user preferences and goals
On-Demand Exercise, Home Physical Therapy, and Strength Training Instruction!
Download the free Excy mobile coaching application for on-demand, live, and guided workouts. Save workouts, set goals, and keep track of progress over time! Watch instructional videos from physical therapists to learn proper technique. Contact with questions at excy@excy.com or 425-205-9444.
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