Cheburashka Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Does anyone know if riding an EUC has any real & measurable health benefits? Like calories burned, improving muscles, etc? Just curious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fat Unicyclist Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 I honestly believe that EUC riding improves core strength. After a good ride, I am normally short of breath, and "feeling" my muscles. This indicates some level of exercise, but I can't say exactly how much. I'm curious too now... Can someone tell us how we can work this out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefteris Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 there is a thing that if your feet are flat you get a bit of pain, i know i had.. and if you are an anxious rider, like when you first start riding, you get a bit of a back pain, mainly core, cause you get stiff when you are anxious, after a while it resides cause you just don't care, you hop on an ride and that's it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johrhoj Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 Before I started riding EUC i regularly had pains in my lowerback. They are totally gone since. One time, after one of my first longer rides (50 km) I had wind blowing from the left while going over many patches of loose gravel. That evening I had aching muscles in my upper legs. It was quite an excercise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frode Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 I am sure you can use your EUC to train balance (mucle control training). Slow driving, one-footed, backwards, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagsy Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 try to ride with a heavy backpack ... I did that, and I ask other friend to do so. It makes you work out your core equivalent to making the plank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefteris Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 18 hours ago, Pagsy said: try to ride with a heavy backpack ... I did that, and I ask other friend to do so. It makes you work out your core equivalent to making the plank I was using it last winter for daily commute and i my backpack had a 16,6" laptop that weight like 4kg's.. plus charger another kilo and my stuff another kilo, about 6kg total.. it was really hard at first, but i got used to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Tolhurst Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 I find practising step-off step on-tricks for an hour is a great workout Some other tricks should also be good for improving balance and core muscle strength. It would be interesting to try to design a study to show whether there were any measurable benefits to riding EUCs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 @Jonathan Tolhurst such awesome riding! If you were hooked up to EMG to record all of you muscle groups along with conducting a pulmonary study it would show you are getting an excellent workout! @Cheburashka as for the rest of us just cruising around, not so much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponne Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 There are somme advantages in core strenght and balance i believe, but if you are looking for a real workout or health improvement there are better sports to achieve your goal. Ofcourse in comparision to commuting with a car, EUC will be better for your health as long as you do no faceplant etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DS Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 On 8/31/2016 at 11:34 PM, Cheburashka said: Does anyone know if riding an EUC has any real & measurable health benefits? Like calories burned, improving muscles, etc? Just curious! Training the connection brain-muscles and significantly improving your balance skills. Two lateral training effects - in order to prevent bad consequences from unexpected faceplant, I recovered and got to higher level my fall-over-the shoulder skills which alone is a good training For the same reason improved the fast start sprint - with the hope to be able to step off safety in case of emergency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Eisenman Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 I've been wearing a Fitbit Charge HR lately. It has a heart rate monitor. On average the exercise sessions taken while EUC riding gives a HR in the 90's. The HR graphs have a great deal of variation (up&down). Faster rides (10 - 12 mph) on variable (not straight path) paths (turning, sidewalk ramps, gravel paths) maybe tend to give a higher HR. My resting HR during the day is in the 70s and sleeping HR is in the 60s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fearedbliss Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 I don't think there are any health benefits to riding an EUCs.. at least not physically. Mentally though, yea, you have the pleasure and joy of going RAAAAHDING, which means happier life, which means <3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 49 minutes ago, fearedbliss said: I don't think there are any health benefits to riding an EUCs.. at least not physically. Mentally though, yea, you have the pleasure and joy of going RAAAAHDING, which means happier life, which means <3. @Bob Eisenman, good idea, using the heart monitor, I regularly use a Garmin GPS watch to track my speed/route, it hasn't occurred to me to also fit the heart monitor. On days where I've had not reason to go out, withdrawal symptoms (!) will often get me doing half an hour around the garden on the lawn and, perhaps, trying a bit of backwards. These days I'm not at all fit but it is amazing how puffed I am after the ride, way more so then a 30 minute ride actually going somewhere - I guess it is the tight and almost continuous turns. The other thing is that, for years, I've had a lot of knee pain, that has eased considerably now, and surprisingly doing tight twisting turns on the EUC doesn't get the knees complaining. So, it rather looks like the riding actions are either actually strengthening my knees or the rest from walking is doing them good? Since I'm more likely to replace a short car journey with the wheel, than a walk it certainly cannot be doing any harm :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbfrese Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Others above have mentioned the effect of eliminating back pain, and I have to concur. I used to experience upper and lower back pain, but within a month or so of starting to ride, the pain has been totally eliminated. I do believe that an EUC can give a significant enough of a core workout to strengthen abdominal and back muscles, and also helps develop substantial flexibility, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fearedbliss Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 @KeithLet me clarify what I meant by EUCs not having any health benefits, I should have said that EUCs have no health benefits in terms of "exercise" type of stuff. But yea, I can see a situation where maybe arthritis, or inflammation related stuff would benefit from the EUC because of the reduce friction and stress being caused on those areas, due to you operating an electric device (Kinda like if you have bad knees but driving helps you ;D). So in that sense, there is a health benefit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Eisenman Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 As an all day pursuit...you know..like go 7-10 miles, stop for coffee at Dunkin or Starbucks....recharge for an hour+, go another 10 miles...stop at the mall for soda and a 45 minute charge at the charging station...go another 5-10 miles back home....charge up a bit, go 5 miles to the grocery store and back....the EUC activity sure causes some muscle fatigue and warm weather sweat. Not being a runner, 'seeing' through marathon distances by anything other means than EU (or bicycle) are hard to imagine. The HR chart during the day shows a lot of activity and the HR at rest (sleeping) looks good in terms of the norm. I'd agree on the 'eliminates lower back pain' aspect too. I have some issues with my knees when the route gets bumpy on long rides. The impact with some bumps is swift and different than when running. Dr. Sholl's foot inserts and foam soccer shin pads help. I vote YES on helps lower back pain (without falling). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Eisenman Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Here's a Google Drive video link (of mine) of a fun and good for the heart ride: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B07we0osMR1zb1J6WGR2X01SeW8/view?usp=drivesdk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidestreet Reny Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Serious stress relief. I guess that could possibly strengthen your "sanity" muscles. Hehe. Imo all tricks that require you to squat before or after, work your thighs, core, calves and yer ass too. Your reaction time and awareness of your environment and those around you grows exponentially. I guess that's not muscle growth, but it's growth none the less. Yeah, I think your heart rate must go up as well, simply because of the rush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
16bitSprite Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 I know that I tend to ride on bumpy surfaces with my knees bent to create a bit more of a shock absorber effect. Over long periods this will definitely give you some benefit over a long distance. Still better off going for a run. Shame it is nowhere near as fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frode Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 On 5.10.2016 at 3:45 PM, fearedbliss said: I should have said that EUCs have no health benefits in terms of "exercise" type of stuff Hmmm...I don't think this agrees with what is said in for example this article: http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/a-z/balance-training Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Eisenman Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 Riding forward has helped a lot with a sore lower back. Truly it was a health benefit for me. Trying to learn reverse riding has the opposite effect for me...my fixed back says it isn't quite as happy to ride as it was before I started to attempt reverse riding. Here's one the best of my worst reverse videos from today. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B07we0osMR1zYjhDUGNYUUEyUzA/view?usp=drivesdk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpong Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 OMG, the EUC has changed my life! Sure, I was a desk jockey when I started. I was diagnosed with COPD and frankly I wanted to find a lazy way to get around after (in future) I couldn't walk anymore. The EUC was harder to ride than I had bargained for, so I put a lot into learning to ride it. Getting more healthy all along. Today, after going from 186 pounds down to 155 pounds - like I'm saying I lost over 30 pounds - just from riding the beast, I'm finding myself wanting to try new things. I'm riding mountain bikes on mountain bike trails. I recently ordered a unicycle, not that I can ride it yet, but I'm willing to try. For me, this was a complete lifestyle overhaul. Riding the EUC, while not providing any cardio advantage (for me), it did tone up all muscles considered to be the core. My core trimmed up, because of that I burned calories and lost weight. I trimmed up entirely. It has been a wonderful journey for me. Just wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Eisenman Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Regarding back issues....My back was feeling really good before trying reverse riding. Then one day while riding the EUC through a local condominium complex a woman I was passing said 'you look like a strong guy...would you help me'? Minutes later I was lifting a small cabinet up several short flights of stairs....one flight by myself. Trying reverse riding seemed to bring back slight memories of my back issues from months ago. No doubt the cabinet lifting was not in my backs best interest. Reverse riding is still fun to try to learn for short periods of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
16bitSprite Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 1 hour ago, dpong said: OMG, the EUC has changed my life! Sure, I was a desk jockey when I started. I was diagnosed with COPD and frankly I wanted to find a lazy way to get around after (in future) I couldn't walk anymore. The EUC was harder to ride than I had bargained for, so I put a lot into learning to ride it. Getting more healthy all along. Today, after going from 186 pounds down to 155 pounds - like I'm saying I lost over 30 pounds - just from riding the beast, I'm finding myself wanting to try new things. I'm riding mountain bikes on mountain bike trails. I recently ordered a unicycle, not that I can ride it yet, but I'm willing to try. For me, this was a complete lifestyle overhaul. Riding the EUC, while not providing any cardio advantage (for me), it did tone up all muscles considered to be the core. My core trimmed up, because of that I burned calories and lost weight. I trimmed up entirely. It has been a wonderful journey for me. Just wonderful. Love this story. So glad it's helped you. I aim to never stop trying new things. Keeps the mind fresh and the body active. It's how I got in to EUC in the first place and now I love it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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