• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

FAD WATCH Health Crazes Under the Spotlight This Week: X-Biking

Posted on: Monday, 11 July 2005, 06:00 CDT

X-BIKING?

It's the new stationary biking.

DON'T YOU MEAN SPINNING?

STATIONARY BIKES WENT OUT DECADES AGO No, this is the next generation in stationary-bike workouts. If you thought spinning was good for fitness then think again. X-biking is the all-round workout on a bike.

HOW'S THAT? THE ONE AND ONLY TIME I WENT TO A SPINNING CLASS I THOUGHT I'D NEVER STAND UP AGAIN.

MY LEGS HURT FOR WEEKS X-biking is just as good for the leg muscles as spinning - but it offers an upper-body workout too. The X- bike looks like an indoor bike but it has been fitted with special X- bars.

WHOA . . . TOO MANY XS.

WHAT ARE X-BARS?

The patented X-bars are handlebars that move or pump from side to side, mimicking the action of riding a real bike out of the saddle while climbing or sprinting. You can change the levels of resistance, just as you can alter the effort needed to pedal on an indoor bike.

SOUNDS TOO MUCH LIKE HARD WORK It's meant to be. X-biking is about as close as you'll get to the challenge of mountain biking - but without the mountains. When you cycle off-road you use your arms almost as much as your legs to help you negotiate uphills, downhills and bumpy terrain.

BUT COULDN'T YOU JUST LIFT SOME WEIGHTS WHILE PEDALLING YOUR OLD INDOOR BIKE?

You could but it wouldn't be the same. When cycling off-road you spend time not pedalling at all, for example when you're descending a hill.

I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT.

GOING DOWNHILL IS EASY Not when you're on rough terrain, such as a forest track or a hillside. X-biking claims to offer the only realistic mountain-biking alternative - for when you can't get to the real thing.

BUT SURELY THE "REAL" THING IS THE WHOLE POINT.

MOUNTAIN BIKERS ARE ALWAYS GOING ON ABOUT THE HILLS, THE SCENERY, THE CHALLENGE Absolutely, but cyclists can't always get to the hills or the forests, especially when they've got grown-up jobs. X-biking is the best way to keep in shape for the real thing.

DOESN'T IT GET BORING?

Well, it's unlikely that anything will match the thrills of real mountain biking, but X-biking is about as close as it's going to get.

SO THE X-BIKES COME WITH A VIDEO OF FOREST SCENERY AND SOUNDTRACK OF CRACKING TWIGS?

Not quite, but an X-biking session does claim to replicate a proper mountain-bike ride. The bikes can be set to different modes from flat trail to sustained climbing.

GOOD FOR THE MUSCLES, I'M SURE. SO HOW LONG SHOULD YOU, ER, X- BIKE FOR?

If you can afford your own X-bike - and they're not cheap, starting at pounds-850 from Powerhouse - then you can train for as long as you want, but it's a hard workout and 45 minutes will be the maximum for even the fittest cyclist.

Alternatively, a personal trainer can guide you through a session for your fitness level. The X-bike is also catching on as a workout in Britain, so watch out for new X-biking classes at private or public gyms.

SO THERE'S NO CHEATING?

I CAUGHT AN EPISODE OF EASTENDERS AND ATE A SANDWICH IN THE COMFORT OF MY OWN LOUNGE THE LAST TIME I USED A STATIONARY BIKE. IF YOU JOIN A CLASS YOU'LL NEED TO KEEP UP, WON'T YOU?

If you buy your own X-bike you can do what you like on it, but those who are most likely to do it are using X-biking as a viable alternative to off-road biking, so they want a good workout.

YES, I'VE MET PEOPLE LIKE THEM - ALL MUD-SPATTERED LYCRA, BRIGHT EYES AND GLOWING CHEEKS Mountain biking is one of the fastest- growing sports in Scotland with new routes and courses opening up all the time.

For example, Glentress, near Peebles, is a mountain-biking mecca. It's not just for adrenaline junkies either. Lots of families go out together and there are routes to suit all abilities. You should try it yourself.

I'LL THINK ABOUT IT Great. First step mountain biking.

Next step X-biking - to keep you in shape for mountain biking. It's a virtuous circle.

DO SAY:

X-biking. Sounds like a challenge.

It'll keep me in shape for this weekend's mountain biking.

DON'T SAY:

I'll X that bridge when I come to it.

Source: Herald, The; Glasgow (UK)

More News in this Category