Aquacycling
Aquacycling is physical exercise in water with a water bicycle , a specially adapted for use in water bicycle ergometer . The first underwater bicycles were mentioned in Vienna in 1952 .
It is carried out in the non-swimmer area of conditioned water areas at a water depth of around 135 cm and at 30 ° C. This means that it can be used in indoor or outdoor pools. In natural lakes, seas or rivers, AquaCycling cannot be used at all or only to a very limited extent due to the unsafe situation.
Areas of application
AquaCycling can be divided into three large user groups:
- It can be found in many public pools as group fitness in the course schedule.
- With the possible support of the statutory payers, it is also used with great popularity in the field of primary prevention .
- In addition, AquaCycling is also increasingly a part of aquatherapy in rehabilitation . If the aquabikes comply with the relevant provisions of Directive 93/42 / EEC on medical products and have CE certification, they can also be used in the clinic for therapy and rehabilitation purposes.
Areas of application in therapy
- Orthopedic - after procedures and operations such as B. knees or hips, the AquaCycling offers optimal conditions to shorten the convalescence.
- Cardiological - With heart failure patients, training in water can be used in preference to training on land thanks to the targeted exercise control.
- Obesity - Here people can be specifically trained who can no longer perform adequate training on land. The fat metabolism is significantly increased and the subjective feeling of stress is reduced.
training
AquaCycling takes place in the group under the guidance of a trained trainer, depending on the area of application (average size of ten participants). In contrast to indoor cycling on land, AquaCycling is understood and carried out as full-body training.
Since the body is submerged between the chest and navel, the upper body remains largely out of the water.
In addition to “footwork”, i.e. changing sitting positions (sitting, standing, floating) and pedaling speed (intervals), the entire trunk and upper extremities are trained.
The water resistance and the density of the water offer the possibility to work in any desired direction and thus to train every muscle of the upper body individually and entire muscle chains at the same time.
By changing the lever (stretched or bent arm), the speed and the form resistance (hand position), the intensity can also be regulated here.
This can be determined individually by the participant,
- through the respective setting of the braking system from light to heavy (is determined and set before training)
- by the pedaled speed (during training) and
- by the intensity of the execution of the arm exercise.
Due to the given individuality in group training, a large target group is addressed, and different performance classes can train together.
Due to the constant pedaling movement, AquaCycling is mainly an endurance training, which is supplemented by strength endurance units. By coupling arm and leg movements, AquaCycling also offers ideal conditions for coordination training.
literature
- S. Wiesner, S. Haufe and others: Lipid oxidation during a bicycle ergometric step test in water and on land . In: German magazine for sports medicine . 58, 2007, pp. 7-8.
- JM Whitehill, NL Constanino, ME Sanders: Balance and Agility Performance Responses to a Water Exercise Program for Athletes . In University of Nevada, Reno Abstract of the School of Community Health Sciences Department .
- Klaus Bös, Simon Moser, Susanne Krug, Siegfried Hofmann: Aqua-Cycling and Rheuma - A Study on Quality Assurance (Publisher: Rheuma-Liga Baden-Württemberg (August 1, 2010), Language: German, ISBN 978-3-9813730-0 -4 )
Web links
- Aqua cycling - kicks in the water. In: Frankfurter Rundschau. February 7, 2012.