Lying Down Exercise Cycling with Excy in Bed
Quick Tip: Optimal Pin Placement for the lying down exercise position: Bottom hole (will vary). Place Keeper on the side edge of the bed and connect Excy. Lie back on the bed/Keeper and pedal with your feet. Use stomach and back muscles to stabilize the trunk, pelvis, and to keep hips facing forward. See more positions.
Snapshot of Exercising in Bed with Excy
Live Bedside Lying Down Exercise Cycling
Bedside Lying Down Exercise Cycling Setup
Place the Keeper on a bed with the Keeper End Holes even with the side edge of the bed and the excess material laid flat across the bed. Open your Excy system and place the Clevis Pin in the bottom hole. Place the Rear Base (yellow bar) on the edge of the bed and the Front Base (chrome bar) on the floor. Connect the Excy system using the dual center Keeper Holes and Post Band. Sit on the Keeper on the side of the bed with your legs straddling the Excy system. Place the right crank arm in the top furthest position (between 2 and 3 o’clock). Lie back on the bed/Keeper. Use a slow and controlled movement to raise your right foot off the floor while straightening your leg and place your right heel on the pedal (your knee should be straight with your heel on the pedal). If you have too little or too much angle, adjust yourself on the Keeper until your leg is straight with your heel on the pedal. Pedal forward with the balls of your feet (you should now have a 25-30 degree bend in your knee and be in a position like your are doing a bicycle crunch). Your feet should be close to the crank arm, but never so close that your ankle hits on its way through the stroke. Avoid splaying your feet outwards or rotating them inwards while cycling. The favored foot position is barefoot or with socks. When wearing shoes, make sure they are suitable to allow you to maintain a fixed and stable position on the pedals. Consider placing a pillow under your head or back back for added comfort and support. Resistance bands and hand weights can be added for a whole body workout. Any 9/16” standard pedal thread can be added to the Excy system. This exercise should only be done with beds and physical therapy tables that can be lowered to 2.5ft. Ideal height is 2 ft. Exercise: When cycling, think in terms of square rotations to improve your technique and pedaling efficiency. Envision pushing your foot forward along the top of the square, and then curling your toes and pushing down against the front side of the square and pulling towards your glutes as you pull up the backside of the square. Through the bottom of the pedal stroke you simply need to un-weigh and apply a little of force while pushing the pedal to keep the momentum going. Use your stomach and back muscles to stabilize the trunk, pelvis, and to keep your hips facing forward. Adding abdominal crunches while cycling can engage your core, but also strain your neck. Lacing the fingers behind the head can encourage you to pull on your neck and worsen the strain. Hold your hands above your head or next to your head to ensure the exercise offers challenge; while moving your arms to your chest or the floor minimizes the challenge of the exercise. Always start with easier levels of resistance. Explore other positions for “Back and Forth” and “Backwards Pedaling” exercises.
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. Always consult a doctor before starting a new exercise program.
__________
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.
