How to choose the right flywheel training machine for your goals

A flywheel training machine (also known as an isoinertial machine) is a strength training tool with characteristics defined by the manufacturer that will determine your training objectives. Thinking that there is a flywheel training machine that works for everything is a serious mistake. That’s why in this post we explain how to choose the right flywheel training equipment based on your needs.

When making a choice, it is essential to define the training or rehabilitation goal in order to select the most suitable flywheel training device.

In this article we are going to define a series of basic principles that will help you to choose the most suitable inertial flywheel training technology for your sports training or rehabilitation objectives.

1. Types of flywheel training machines: conical pulley or fixed radius

This is the first major decision to be made as it will define the orientation of the flywheel training system.

• Fixed Radius: This type of flywheel machine has a constant acceleration for the same application of force. They have a more structural orientation at a muscular level due to the longer time of tension during execution.
  These machines are the most advisable for all the more general movements of strength work.
• Conical Shaft: The conical pulleys are ideal for working the specific gestures of the sport modalities that require high intensity accelerations.
  It is important to highlight that the eccentric phase (braking) can only be of high intensity if we have previously been able to perform an intense concentric phase (acceleration). That is why the quality of the flywheel training machine, its components and its manufacturing process is vital to achieve this objective, avoiding a very common mistake which is to confuse the resistance of the pulley with its friction. The conical pulley at low intensity should always turn smoothly and smoothly, as we apply force and the speed increases, the demand increases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Inertia value.

This parameter will determine the intensity in the phase change from acceleration to braking. It is related to the characteristics of the sport implement of each sport.

In RSP inertial each machine is designed for specific objectives and the inertia values respond to this criterion:

• High inertia values: We will use them whenever our whole body is involved in the action. The objective is to work on breaking 0 speed, i.e. we start from a standstill.
• Medium inertia values: We will use them whenever the objective of the work is to improve the capacity to accelerate. They will be the most common in our day to day life and one of the most important work objectives is to reach maximum speed as soon as possible.
• Low inertia values: We will use them whenever we are working at high speed, this will allow us to greatly reduce the transition time between each acceleration and braking phase, thus being able to reproduce very well the intensity of high speed cyclic actions, where the transition between one repetition and the next occurs at high speed. This will require a good technical execution of the movement and a correct timing in the application of force.

 

Conclusion:

1. If you want a simple to use, very versatile flywheel training machine for a general population centre, the RSP Wall will be a very good choice.
2. If you are looking to enhance the rehabilitation area and to be able to start training in early stages of rehabilitation with a very gentle and progressive machine, the RSP Conic will be the best.
3. If I want to work on the global actions of acceleration and braking, starts, jerks ….., the RSP Conic Pro is the perfect conical pulley.
4. In my centre or clinic I have a large volume of lower body rehabilitation work, knee and hip pathology…., the RSP Squat will help your athletes to return as soon as possible in the best conditions.
5. The trick question: “Ramón, I only have a budget for one flywheel training machine and I want to have as much versatility as possible covered”. In this case my recommendation is always the RSP Conic, as the greatest value of flywheel eccentric training lies in being able to accelerate specific body segments at high intensity and then coordinate the braking phase with quality.
6. If after reading the article you still have doubts, contact us—we’ll be happy to help you choose the right flywheel training solution.

Ramón Lago Ruiloba

info@einercial.com

+34 659910685