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Help! Are there health benefits to unicycling?



 
 
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  #41  
Old November 11th 08, 02:40 AM posted to rec.sport.unicycling
boisei
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Default Help! Are there health benefits to unicycling?


goldenchickenIV;1128582 wrote:
Isn't energy burning a very narrow definition of "health benefits" which
was the original topic of this thread?




Yes it is, although it was relevant to the question particularly as it
was revived by Ducttape. That it spun off into such a lengthy
discussion shouldn't be taken as a disproportionate level of importance
attributed to it though.


chuckaeronut;1128568 wrote:
This has been beat to death both in this thread and others, but I just
found it funny that we're not talking about "extreme speeds where air
resistance becomes significant." On any good road bike, air resistance
is pretty much all there IS! (I'm assuming you're on a smooth road with
tires up in the 120 PSI range.) And on a geared 36, just bending down
over the handlebar will easily turn your 17mph into 19.5mph with the
same effort.




Yes, that was probably a poor choice of words and one that I
backpedaled on since. To be clear, I spend most of my time on a bicycle
at a recreational and commuting speeds, focusing on it much less than
running or unicycling.

I think the point I was groping for was more to do with where that
increase in resistance becomes very steep with respect to increase in
speed. I also think that the speeds that we're talking about have more
to do with performance than exercise. I don't train for any kind of
bicycle racing, but if training is at all like running then the
"exercise" of training is mostly at a slower pace than the "performance"
of racing. Finally, I think that the energy sinks involved in
unicycling increase quickly with speed too - we're nowhere near as
aerodynamic as a bicyclist, and it seems to me that the variances in
balance that suck up energy on a unicycle grow at higher velocities as
well. At this point I'm outside of the range of my systematic empirical
observations though. It would be fun to explore these further with my
fairly well calibrated magic number device.

Thanks for your insights chuckaeronut.

Cheers,
Z


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  #42  
Old November 11th 08, 04:16 AM posted to rec.sport.unicycling
critter
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Default Help! Are there health benefits to unicycling?


Conrad.Nguyen;1102267 wrote:
Mile per mile maybe, but hour per hour I'd have to disagree. It really
depends on the person though. Potential for better exercise goes to
biking rather than unicycling.

Running shouldn't be that hard on your knees or spine if you have
correct form. You will get a lot more fit running than MUniing for the
same amount of time, assuming you run and don't jog.

Lifting weights does nothing for aerobic, but it doesn't mean nobody
should lift weights. Lifting weights builds muscle which burns calories
even after you're done lifting. So if you want improved fitness, lifting
weights should be included in your overall workout plan.




Hour per hour is a better measurement. I can keep a target heart rate
for as long as I can push myself. I ride a series of small hills for
almost an hour.

Running is high impact. More things in the body are shaken up. Like
banging on your razor to clean out the whiskers. It's hard on it and
shortens the life. It's better to brush it.

Weight lifting can be aerobic if you do a speedy circuit. Quick reps
with little rest.


skilewis74;1102311 wrote:
Unicycling, swimming, rock climbing and wresling give me the best
workouts of the sports I've tried (but rock climbing and wresling are
hard to do constantly, so the workout is often less).



Also, rollerblade/ice skating is a great workout using a lot of
muscles. But it's hard for me to find a good place to get the full
stokes and good speed.
Swimming is great; sometimes perfect. But I think sometimes it's
almost too low impact.
Stand up paddle surfing uses every muscle without trying. Paddle hard
if you want aerobic.


chuckaeronut;1127019 wrote:
but it's not consistently aerobic like what you can do on a road bike
unless you're going up a perfectly smooth fire road with something like
a 10% grade (assuming you're on a 24ish inch wheel).



You don't need a perfect cadence for perfect aerobic workout. Muni can
go as hard as you want. Just don't stop. Usually we muni not for the
workout but for the fun. It nice to rest on the ride and play on some
fun lines.

Lastly, I pretty sure a unicycle uses a lot of muscles(much more than a
bike). Lots of upper body muscles are involved without putting pressure
on your hands, neck, and lower back.

I heart unicycles!!


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  #43  
Old January 11th 09, 05:28 AM posted to rec.sport.unicycling
gambling
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Default Help! Are there health benefits to unicycling?


Until 1992, the only schools offering unicycling instruction were the
few that had unicycling clubs. When education guidelines were revised in
1992 to include the sport in physical education programs, lessons for
schoolteachers were held throughout Japan. At first the teachers
themselves were the ones struggling to master the unicycle. Thanks to
their efforts, though, the sport is now taught at 95% of all Japanese
elementary schools. Some schools have even built special unicycling
courses on their grounds, with obstacles including slopes and even
stairsteps along the way.It naturally follows that the majority of
Japan's unicycling population are elementary schoolchildren. One
sixth-grade boy says, "Unicycling is tough but worth the challenge. It's
a lot of fun because you can do things like turn suddenly and go
backwards." For children, one fascination of unicycling is that it
allows them to do tricks not possible on their bikes.


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