Curt Leatherbee
10-06-2001, 08:32 PM
In riding my Handcycle I find that the lower level injuries who can use there abdominal Muscles have a real advantage over me especially when it comes to going up big hills. My arms are just as strong as theirs, if not stronger (I am a high Para, t-4 complete) but it seems that the stomach muscles play a role in the power of the pedalling stroke and the more muscles one can use the faster one will go. It is frusterating, as I know if I were a lower level I would probabley be one of the fastest handcyclists in the world.
Anyhow, here is my thought. What if I were to use my small four channel Muscle Stimulator on my Abdominal Muscles and connect it to a position sensor switch located on the crank so as to fire my stomach muscles when the crank was in about the 2 o'clock position? this would tend to push me forward a little on each stroke and would add to the power in each stroke (not to mention the unreal workout it would give my Abdominal Muscles). Then there would be an off switch located on the Crank in the 8' oclock position.
I figure it would not be too hard to do. I would have to wear four stim pads on my abs and could locate the Stimulator behind the seat and run a wire down the frame of the bike for the stim. crank switches that would turn on and off the unit. The off rotation sensor would be located in the 8 o'clock position and the muscles would then be in the relaxed state for the pulling stroke until the unit was stimulating the muscles again when it hit the on position at 2 o'clock.
If I wanted to take it a step further I could also put an on switch at the 8 o'clock position that would direct the stimulator to stim my Parasacrals of my lower back to help out when I was pulling on the pedals and then the off mode for the Parasacrals would be in the 2'oclock position at which point the abdominals would kick in again. I think I might really be on to something with this idea. My abs and Parasacrals would be pulling and pushing me back and forth helping out with the pedalling stroke in a rythmic manner. I could run a another four channel stimulator behind the seat to control the Parasacrals. Curtis
"Life is about how you
respond to not only the
challenges you're dealt but
the challenges you seek...If
you have no goals, no
mountains to climb, your
soul dies".~Liz Fordred
[This message was edited by Curtis on October 06, 2001 at 11:59 PM.]
Anyhow, here is my thought. What if I were to use my small four channel Muscle Stimulator on my Abdominal Muscles and connect it to a position sensor switch located on the crank so as to fire my stomach muscles when the crank was in about the 2 o'clock position? this would tend to push me forward a little on each stroke and would add to the power in each stroke (not to mention the unreal workout it would give my Abdominal Muscles). Then there would be an off switch located on the Crank in the 8' oclock position.
I figure it would not be too hard to do. I would have to wear four stim pads on my abs and could locate the Stimulator behind the seat and run a wire down the frame of the bike for the stim. crank switches that would turn on and off the unit. The off rotation sensor would be located in the 8 o'clock position and the muscles would then be in the relaxed state for the pulling stroke until the unit was stimulating the muscles again when it hit the on position at 2 o'clock.
If I wanted to take it a step further I could also put an on switch at the 8 o'clock position that would direct the stimulator to stim my Parasacrals of my lower back to help out when I was pulling on the pedals and then the off mode for the Parasacrals would be in the 2'oclock position at which point the abdominals would kick in again. I think I might really be on to something with this idea. My abs and Parasacrals would be pulling and pushing me back and forth helping out with the pedalling stroke in a rythmic manner. I could run a another four channel stimulator behind the seat to control the Parasacrals. Curtis
"Life is about how you
respond to not only the
challenges you're dealt but
the challenges you seek...If
you have no goals, no
mountains to climb, your
soul dies".~Liz Fordred
[This message was edited by Curtis on October 06, 2001 at 11:59 PM.]