Flywheel training is a type of

strength training Strength training, also known as weight training or resistance training, is exercise designed to improve physical strength. It is often associated with the lifting of Weightlifting, weights. It can also incorporate techniques such as bodyweigh ...

where the resistance required for muscle activation is generated by the

inertia Inertia is the natural tendency of objects in motion to stay in motion and objects at rest to stay at rest, unless a force causes the velocity to change. It is one of the fundamental principles in classical physics, and described by Isaac Newto ...

of a

flywheel A flywheel is a mechanical device that uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy, a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, a ...

instead of

gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

from weights as in traditional

weight training Strength training, also known as weight training or resistance training, is exercise designed to improve physical strength. It is often associated with the lifting of weights. It can also incorporate techniques such as bodyweight exercises ( ...

. In contrast to weight training, flywheel training offers variable resistance throughout the

range of motion Range of motion (or ROM) is the linear or angular distance that a moving object may normally travel while properly attached to another. In biomechanics and strength training, ROM refers to the angular distance and direction a joint can move be ...

, which facilitates isoinertial training and eccentric overload. Flywheel training is shown to lead to improvements of strength and power, hypertrophy,

muscle Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...

activation, muscle length, and

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue, dense fibrous connective tissue that connects skeletal muscle, muscle to bone. It sends the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system, while withstanding tensi ...

stiffness. This in turn can improve athletic performance in speed, jump height, change of direction and resilience to injury.

History

An early scientific research paper on flywheel training was conducted by researchers Hansen and Lindhard at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

in 1924 and looked at the maximum realizable work of the elbow flexors. After that, flywheel resistance training was studied in space travelers exposed to

microgravity Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight, i.e., zero apparent weight. It is also termed zero g-force, or zero-g (named after the g-force) or, incorrectly, zero gravity. Weight is a measurement of the fo ...

environments to fight the effects of

sarcopenia Sarcopenia ( ICD-10-CM code M62.84) is a type of muscle loss that occurs with aging and/or immobility. It is characterized by the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass, quality, and strength. The rate of muscle loss is dependent on exer ...

and

bone mineral A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

loss, started at

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally ...

in the 1990s funded by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

and ESA. Since then, flywheel training has been studied in different populations like youth and professional athletes, as well as older adults. Current evidence suggests that flywheel training-based training is superior to gravity-based training for increasing muscle strength, power, and hypertrophy.

References

External links

{{Physical exercise, state=collapsed Strength training Flywheels Athletic training Anaerobic exercise