Kickbike - The Alternate To Exercise Training

I think I have the only Kickbike in Columbus,OH. I was having trouble adjusting the brake and I took it to a major bike shop, and they had NEVER seen one. I was intrigued when I read a short article...

I first saw this unique contraption in a magazine professing it to be the ultimate vehicle for Senior Citizens to exercise with. I wanted one! It took me some time to save up for one, but when I had enough, I ordered it from California.

The tires want to go flat within a week, so I got a tire pump to fill them up when I decide to use the Kickbike... I keep telling myself I need to do it more often. So, since it's gotta be somewhere, I incorporated it into the decorating plans for my new bedroom. But I should probably have new tires because no one seems to know what's wrong with them.

I found a marvelous article when I was searching for the Kickbike that claimed it was the best exercise for Seniors. I lost that information when I lost my web servicer, but the thing I recalled was how lightweight the Kickbike is. You can just pick it up and carry it anytime you need to. And you use it like you would a bike, but it does not stress muscles like biking does.

I have a sister who runs. I would like to see her take up the Kickbike for training... This summer, she ran in a marathon on June 22nd and she damaged about 5 bones in her knee and still ran a few miles without knowing it, until she finally collapsed.

If she were to train on the Kickbike she would not have the high impact exercise actual running would have and work her legs enough to only run in the competition. Maybe it looks strange, but it was invented by a medical student, Hannu, in Helsinki, Finland. He modified a scooter with a flat bed between two tires, the front one larger than the back.

After Roger Behrendt began marketing Kickbikes to personal trainers and physical
therapists in the United States last year, Kickbikes also started appearing
beneath the feet of recreational athletes. (They are on sale at
www.KickBikeAmerica.com and selected bike stores.) There are four models ranging
from the City Cruiser for the commuter to the Millennium Racer, which has hit a
top speed of 60 m.p.h. downhill. Wearing a helmet is, of course, a good idea.

Dr. Dean Cosgrove, a 15-time Hawaiian Ironman finisher and an exercise
physiologist, swears by his Kickbike because he can do outdoor miles with none
of running's pounding or cycling's long hours in a set position. And at 45 he
likes the way alternating his kicking leg increases his balance and spinal
flexibility. "I've had my 75-year-old dad on it," he added, "but my two teenage
daughters have a blast with it, too."

Jim Delzer, a physical therapist who has kicked across America, has his own
theory: Kicking backward loosens his legs. "My knees actually feel better after
a hard kick workout, like I've just done yoga."

The Kickbike is a versital training vehicle for all sorts of sports, such as running, that doesn't damage the muscles as the actual sport does. This includes even biking/racing. There are also actual Kickbike races being held in various countries, including the USA. They started in Europe and the Netherlands and the competition is called Eurocups. They have actual world records for these races.

There are various techniques to training on a Kickbike. One must alternate between the two legs somewhere between 3 to 10 kicks per leg. The experts call them 'Heel Roll' or 'Hop Step'. I think I do something in between them. Of course, you kick to make the bike go forward just like a regular scooter. I never had one as a kid, so this was actually new to me. Downhill is easy. You don't have to kick.

You use some of the same muscles in running or biking. On the Kickbike, the standing leg uses mostly the quadriceps and lower leg muscles, technical names - tibialis, gastrocnemius and soleus. Meanwhile the leg you are kicking with is like a pendulum swinging from the hip and stimulates the glutes, hamstring and calf muscles. It also stimulates arm and abdominal muscles.

Anybody. From light exercise to intense cardio fitness, or crusing the town on bike paths or going to work, the Kickbike is ideal because of the low impact of kicking. It makes it a great cross-training tool for mature atheletes who might have to give up their sport because of knee or hip problems, as with my sister. Being so light weight makes it ideal for any age group, especially Seniors.

When I first got my Kickbike I would carry it in my car to a large empty
parking lot and practice maneuvers there. (I didn't want my neighbors to see me
until I got good at it. Guess what... my neighbors haven't seen it yet...) But, you know, I've got it, and when I take a notion, I'll get good at it!

Tiana Dreymor

Copyright Vista 15

September 14, 2013