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SPORT & FITNESS » Keep Fit Throughout Your Life » High-level Training for Triathletes, Runners and Cyclists » Kickbike Training at Health Clubs » Injury Recuperation » Kickbiking As A High-Fitness Sport » Kickbike User Quotes Keep Fit Throughout Your Life Most of us could do with more physical exercise than we get in modern life - we are designed for exercise and are diminished by its absence. We will almost certainly live longer and get ill less often if we build some exercise into our lives. Doing ½ an hour moderate exercise every day will make you more mentally alert, feel better and allow you to tackle problems with more confidence. You must enjoy your exercise to do it regularly - it shouldn't be a chore. The most rewarding exercise is that which has a secondary or primary purpose - as it always was - working the garden, walking briskly or swimming, riding, jogging or cycling to get somewhere; far better than sitting in a sweaty gym working machines. Riding Kickbikes is enjoyable - even addictive! Plus you get the added value of being outside, getting where you want, doing mild to moderate aerobic/cardiovascular exercise and using lots of different muscle groups for whole body fitness. Almost anyone of any age or level of fitness can benefit from the exercise gained by riding a Kickbike. The sartorial benefits of riding will be firm buttocks and legs, a tighter stomach and improved pectorals. Note:- If you have never exercised and are unsure about whether you should start, or have any chronic medical condition, it would be wise to just check with your GP or NHS Direct before starting.
How intensive can Kickbike Training Be? The following data compare the heart rate during a 10km run and a 47km kickbike race. The graph below shows the heart rate (vertical axis) of a runner competing in a 40minute (horizontal axis) run (10km race) where the heart rate is mostly in the 90%+ zone for the duration of the run - intense exercise, but subject to impact injury ) (click picture to enlarge)Compare this with the graph following heart rate (vertical axis) against time (horizontal axis) in a 2hour 47km Kickbike race. You can clearly see that similar intensive exercise is achieved in the 90%+ zone but with very low impact injury risk. ) (click picture to enlarge)What Joints and Flexures are involved in the Kicking Action? The kicking action involves almost maximal hip rotation and ankle/knee flexure. The 'kicking' and 'standing' legs have quite different actions, but since legs are changed every 3-6 kicks depending on gradient, so both legs get the benefit of both types of flexure and rotation. The diagrams below show the sequence of movement involved in the kicking cycle 'frozen' at regular time intervals. The animation shows the same images so that you can see how the movements join into a fluid sequence.
The kicking leg goes through a wide range of flexure of all three joints during the cycle. The knee of the kicking leg is flexed by about 90-100° at the very start and then progressively straightens towards the end of the kick itself to return back to 90° on the recovery stroke. The ankle remains mostly flexed until the contact (with the road) part of the cycle where it progressively straightens. Hip flexure is extremely good starting at about 120° and extending to almost straight at the end of the kick. Maximum work and speed coincide on the kicking leg as and while it makes contact with the road surface and drives the rider forward. It is speed and strength at this point which determines the road speed of the Kickbike and whether you will beat your opponents! Riding Kickbikes involves a very wide range of movements and flexure plus intensive work similar to that involved in running during each cycle, but with very little road impact. As can be seen from the diagrams, shoulder and elbow movements are also involved in the cycle. Now look at the excellent kicking demonstration (click here for movie demo) video of the kicking action by Andries Koers, the Dutch National Footbike Champion (and Elite triathlete). This is the action you should emulate. Which Muscles are Used and How? During Kickbike training, muscle use on the 'kicking' leg and 'standing' leg are again quite different but roughly emulate cycling and running leg muscle usage respectively. Of course, legs are changed every 3-6 kicks depending on gradient so both legs get the benefit of both types of muscle use.
The Standing Leg does a surprising amount of work during the kick cycle of the other leg and is the leg in which fatigue is first felt if legs are not changed frequently enough. At the start of the cycle, the leg is held almost straight with the foot slightly flexed and with the heel off the footplate. All the weight is on this leg as well as vertical and fore-aft forces generated by the kicking action and consequent body movement. The muscle work (which is effectively isometric) is mostly felt in the quads ¤, but almost all groups of lower leg muscles are used (tibialis ¤ and calf ¤ - gastrocnemius and soleus) . The standing leg is straight at the end of the kicking cycle. The kicking leg, as noted above, goes through an extended movement cycle where muscles used and forces developed are very simialr to running without the impact damage. So hamstrings ¤, calves and glutes ¤ are the main muscles used. It should be noted that on the leg uplift prior to starting the cycle, the abdominals come into play as do pecs and biceps/triceps to counteract the forewards-backwards body movement generated by the kick. Maximum efficiency of motion is gained by minimising up and down movement (hence the tendency of most competitive racers to fit back wheel lowering brackets so that there needs be less compensation for the height of the footboard) and by minimising forward-backwards movement of the body (use of shoulders and arms to steady body position). How to Build Kickbikes into your Training Programme Kickbike training is a time-efficient training where effective high-intensity workouts can be achieved in quite short time periods or where more extended sessions can dramatically improve endurance (both mentally and physically). Working uphill or at speed on the flat is high intensity work. The energy input is almost exponentially higher for each incremental increase in speed or incline. Mix these intensive bursts with steady lower speeds to work through your heart rate zones up to and sustaining close to 100%. A typical 20 minute session might start with 5mins warm up at about 10mph followed by about 10mins building up to your maximum speed then a short cool down period at the end - you should cover about 3-5 miles depending on the terrain and your fitness. Give yourself speed and distance objectives building up to 10mile rides at varying speeds and mixing up and downhill. Fit a bike computer to your Kickbike and keep records, attempt a known course every 2-4 weeks to log your fitness improvements. The fitness targets are of course the international records held for 1km (1min 50s), maximum speed achieved on the flat (~26mph) and marathon (1h 20min). There are now races in the UK (see events and races) where you can compete with other riders and the Eurocup series currently in northern Europe, but soon I hope, in the UK too. We want a UK rider to win the Eurocup series or take one of the official records soon - it could be you!
Injury Recuperation Because of the low impact and flexible riding action, training on a Kickbike is probably one of the best ways to recover fitness and strength after knee, back or ligament injury - typically those sustained by runners. The diagrams below show the reaction forces acting on your feet when running compared to riding a Kickbike. It is this low impact property of riding which most contributes to the value of Kickbikes for recuperative training but also the ability to easily control work output and duration.
It is easy to progress through from low output through medium effort to high intensity training by adjusting speed, gradient and duration of exercise to get back to full fitness. Likewise, Kickbikes are an excellent means of returning to fitness and function after back injuries or injuries sustained in non-sporting life, from extremely gentle exercise to regain mobility, through to full fitness (and beyond!). You should always seek advice from your trainer or GP/physiotherapist before embarking on a recovery programme.
There are now races in the UK (see Events and Races) where you can compete with other riders and the Eurocup series currently in northern Europe (see www.iksaworld.com for race rules, timetable, results, news and lots of pictures), but soon I hope, in the UK too. We want a UK rider to win the Eurocup series or take one of the official records soon - it could be you! It is a cheap sport - you need only a low-maintenance Kickbike (much cheaper than an equivalently competitive bicycle), some local cycle tracks or circuits and some energy - communicate with fellow riders to set up local races on our messageboard. Many of the fastest riders are also involved in other endurance sports (triathlons etc.) and use kickbiking to improve their times.
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