In this three-part series, we’ll examine how Xebex Fitness is staking its claim as a leading manufacturer of quality cross-training and HIIT equipment – and how three Xebex products are backing that claim with some fantastic goal-achieving features.
PART 1: Cross-Training, HIIT, and the Xebex Air Bike AB-1
“The Best Cross Training HIIT Brand,” the Xebex Fitness website emphatically states. It’s likely the first line you’ll see when you visit, displayed in the upper left-hand corner. It’s there for two reasons:
- CrossTraining and HIIT (high-intensity interval training) are popular exercise methods because of the results they produce, how fast they produce them, and the scientific validation of both.
- Xebex can back up its claim. Besides the inclusion of their equipment in major fitness competitions, the company can boast 30 years of experience in the fitness industry, a full-line of HIIT equipment, and its reputation for being rated the best cross-training HIIT brand. This is also prominently displayed on the Xebex website – and justly so.
To zero in on what makes Xebex a leader in this exercise arena, we’ll highlight three of its most popular offerings. We’ll explore why these specific types of equipment are favoured for cross-training and HIIT, then show how Xebex expands on these advantages. But first, we’ll need to briefly back up a step for those who want a little more background and establish the guiding principles behind Xebex equipment design.
The Advantages of Cross-Training and HIIT
As our lives get busier, more compact exercise regimens gain popularity. Both cross-training and HIIT offer plentiful fitness benefits in a limited time, but each approaches these benefits from its own angle.
Cross-training is about variety - putting users through their paces performing multiple quickly executed circuits, with each circuit focusing on a specific exercise benefit. For instance, you might start with an explosive power circuit with two sets each of dumbbell jump squats, single-arm dumbbell snatches, etc. Then you move on to a muscle growth circuit with sets of presses, pulldowns, curls and other exercises targeting specific muscle groups. Finally, you do a cardio circuit that might include burpees, stationary sprints and lateral-movement exercises. Each set is a short burst of energy expenditure, followed by a short rest/recovery period – a characteristic cross-training shares with …
… HIIT, more properly High-Intensity Interval Training. The principle behind it is exercising as hard as you safely can then slowing down to recover. Those slowdowns are important. There is a “sweet spot” in which your body is getting maximum fitness benefits. The closer you get to your maximum capabilities, the better the returns, but overdoing it risky – leading to anything from fatigue, headaches and an aversion to more serious long-term effects impacting your muscles, heart, bones, cognition, and immune system. Women may experience eating disorders or loss of menstrual regularity, bone density and minerals. Men may see a drop in their testosterone levels. Both may develop a physiological addiction to “going hard,” even when they know it's hurting them. HIIT limits your high-intensity exertions to short bursts, followed by short recovery periods – allowing you to benefit from your time in the sweet spot without pushing yourself over the limit.
Studies have shown it to outdo moderate-intensity continuous training (MCT) exercises like cycling, jogging, running, walking and aerobics when it comes to weight loss, cardio fitness measures like VO2 max, time to exhaustion, peak power and trial times. Extra benefits for those with hypertension and diabetes were also indicated. Some studies show wider margins for these advantages than others, but when time is a factor, HIIT is a great way to go (just check with your doctor and remember: DON’T OVERDO!)
Now imagine an exercise machine (or a line of machines) designed to provide the benefits of both cross-training and HIIT in workouts conducted in one place. This is the creative philosophy that’s earned Xebex products their sterling reputation. Let’s see how that bears out in the design and function of the first of three outstanding Xebex Products:
The Xebex Air Bike AB-1
Benefits of Air Bikes: Air bikes are named for their resistance type. Instead of flywheels, which have their resistance controlled by brakes or magnets, air bikes have fans upfront. The blades are angled to displace air and create drag, so the harder you push it, the more resistance will push back. And it’s not just the pedals your pushing. The air bike’s also powered by lever-like handlebars you push and pull. As a result, you’re developing your biceps, triceps, lats, pecs, abdominals, obliques, hamstrings, quads and calves to work at the same time you’re building up your cardio. This is one reason the name “cross-training bike” is often used. As for HIIT, you couldn’t ask for better than a challenging short-burst machine that allows you to slow down by slowing down – no level selections to mess with. It can also be a low-impact alternative if you have injuries (again, check with your doctor). Air bikes even have a reputation for helping with rehabilitation – oh, and they’re refreshingly breezy and quiet.
What Xebex brings to the game: The Xebex Air Bike AB-1 is competition-ready – meaning you won’t just be getting everything you’d expect in progress monitoring. You’ll be getting pretty much everything a competitive athlete would expect. The large, easy-to-read console follows the identical formula used in competitions – showing you seven different key measurements: Calories Burned, Heart Rate, Watts, Speed, Total Distance, Time, Work/Rest Periods and offering you the choice of Interval Training, Target Training, Heart-Rate Training, and more. You can follow distance in meters or miles and follow your burn down to 1/10 of a calorie. (This bike’s fully compatible with 5 kHz chest belts for accurate heart rate measurement.) You can set up Custom Interval Work, Rest, and Number of Rounds in less than 5 seconds or SET or TARGET distance, calories, and time while the console counts down from your targeted goal, so you know just how much longer to work for.
If you want to focus on upper-body work or just give your tired legs a break, you can take advantage of handy diamond-plate footrests. They’re positioned to stay out of your way while you work out and are securely welded to the AB-1’s rock-solid, heavy-duty steel frame. Like the experience it provides, this bike is amenable to almost any user with features like a well-padded seat with four-way adjustability and a maximum weight capacity of 350 lbs. Forged chro-moly cranks, a sealed cartridge bottom bracket, and sealed ball-bearing cartridges at every joint mean you can keep up the short bursts for a long, long time.
In Part 2, we’ll get to know the Xebex Air Rower 2.0, which has just posted its third straight Best Buy award win on FITPROF.NET.
See the Air Bike AB-1 and other top Xebex Fitness products at Flaman Fitness.
Crossfit. HIIT. Strength. Xebex Fitness has spent 30 years creating leading-edge equipment to meet a variety of fitness goals. Our experts are ready to show you the AB-1 and other products that have cemented Xebex’s reputation as a fitness innovator and industry leader. Call or visit your nearest Flaman Fitness location to learn more.