Hand Bike Exercise for Limited Lower-Body Mobility

A hand bike is an exercise option for those who have limited lower-body mobility or are simply in need of a workout change. A hand cycle has pedals, similar to a bicycle, but instead of pedaling with your legs, you pedal with your arms. A hand bike is also known as an arm ergometer, and hand bike classes are referred to as kranking. Check with your health care professional before making changes in your exercise plan.
Cardiovascular
An arm cycle provides a cardiovascular workout. Your heart and breathing rates increase as you rotate the flywheel with your arms. The American Council on Exercise studied 20 krankcycle participants during a 30-minute workout. The average exercise heart rate of the study participants during the kranking workout was 156 beats per minute. That pace qualifies arm cycling as an intense cardiovascular exercise.
Endurance
When you hand bike in your aerobic heart rate zone, which is at a moderate pace, your body uses fat as fuel. Maintain your exercise for 30 to 45 minutes, and do it at least four times a week if you want to lose weight and improve your heart health. Weekly endurance arm cycling sessions also strengthens your aerobic capacity, which leads to an ability to cycle for longer periods.
Imagine you are cycle on a flat road, so the resistance level on the wheel is light. Cycle for 30 minutes on this flat road at an even pace to increase your endurance. Add 30-second sprints in which you cycle faster to further improve your aerobic endurance.
Unilateral Kranking
One of the features of an arm cycle is the ability to use one arm at a time to rotate the flywheel. The muscles in each of your arms work independently as you push and pull against the handle to turn the wheel. This leads to an equal amount of training and toning on both of your arms. When you use both arms at once to pedal your arm bike, your dominant arm can take over most of the movement.
Strength
Your muscular strength is improved when you increase the resistance on your hand bike. Added resistance also improves your tendon and ligament strength. Although you may not consider a hand bike a strength training workout, the added resistance can increase your heart rate into an anaerobic training zone. When you train at a higher heart rate, your body improves its ability to tolerate lactic acid buildup that is a result of increased resistance. As your tolerance increases, so does your arm strength, speed and power.
Rotate the resistance knob until you feel the tension as you pedal. Pedal forward for 30 to 60 seconds then pedal backward an equal amount of time. For additional strength benefits, continue to increase the resistance as if you were pedaling up a large hill.