Flywheel eccentric trainers are workout machines that rely on rotational energy to provide resistance to the exerciser. The kinetic energy of the spinning discs is transferred to the exerciser as resistance via a nylon strap that is attached to handles, bars or belts that the exerciser interacts with.
Flywheels have quickly become popular in professional, recreational and rehabilitation settings due their space efficiency, the training effects seen, and their versatility. Personally, I absolutely love the Exxentric flywheel systems that we have in our garage gym (the kBox4 and the kPulley Go). We use at least one of them in almost every workout.
I believe that flywheel trainers will soon gain popularity with home gym builders for the same reason, which I will highlight below.
Why Your Home Gym Needs a Flywheel
1. Efficient Use of Space
The small footprint of flywheel systems is one of the main reasons to add a flywheel to your home gym.
A lack of space is one of the most common complaints or limitations that people cite when talking about their home gym. We all want more equipment available to us.
Commercially available platform flywheels take up a very limited amount of floor space. The 3 most common flywheels have a footprint of 4.2 square feet (Eccentric kBox 4 and VersaPulley Squat Deck) and 4.6 square feet (Exxerfly Portable Platform).
Squat racks take up 17.55 square feet of floor space and power racks have a footprint of 18.67 square feet, on average. Click through here to see our analysis of the size of over 130 squat racks, power racks and wall-mounted racks.
It is clear that flywheels are so space efficient compared to squat racks, especially when you consider how versatile a flywheel platform system is.
2. Exercise Versatility
I absolutely love that I can do essentially any compound or isolation/assistance exercise I want on my kBox. Outside of squats and rows, I love performing seated overhead presses, calf raises and bicep curls on my kBox.
Purchasing a few accessories, like a straight bar, stirrup handle and torso harness, in addition to a waist belt will give you a ton of exercise flexibility. You will only be limited by your imagination.
This means that a flywheel system is could be all you need for your training. This of it as an all-in-one home gym system… but one that is actually effective and fun to use.
Plus, research studies show that flywheel training is very effective for building muscle, increasing strength and power. (You can read more about the training effects from flywheels by checking out my ‘Flywheel Training Explained’ article.) These results, coupled with the ability to perform almost any exercise gives flywheels incredible versatility.
3. Unlimited Resistance
Rather than depending on gravity, flywheel training generates resistance through the energy of the spinning disc.
Usually, you will have a few different sizes of flywheel discs. Heavier and faster spinning discs provide greater resistance. So you might use a large disc for a squat and then a smaller disc for an overhead press.
The cool thing about flywheel resistance is that it can be altered mid-set, regardless of disc size. Adding more rotational speed to the flywheel disc by accelerating harder in the concentric motion of an exercise will result in greater eccentric resistance. The 1:1 concentric to eccentric resistance ratio allows for eccentric overloading of muscle, which isn’t seen in traditional training methods.
The unique iso-inertial resistance characteristics of flywheel training means that you are in control throughout your set. You have the ability to modulate the resistance.
Further, you can alter the range of motion where you apply acceleration and deceleration forces. For instance, I love to perform a squat pop and drop. In this exercise I accelerate the flywheel on the concentric portion of a squat and then generate slack in the system by racing down to a half squat position. Eventually, the system ‘catches’ again and I am forced to resist being pulled down further. It’s a great way to work on positional strength.
4. Scientifically Backed Hypertrophy and Strength Gains
Flywheel training has been a focus of strength and conditioning research for nearly a decade. The research is now clear, flywheel training is a very effective way to develop muscle size and increase your muscular strength.
The high eccentric and concentric loads from flywheel training likely increases muscle fiber recruitment and activation. This means that flywheel training may be a more efficient way to train for strength and hypertrophy compared to traditional training methods.
In fact, some research suggests that flywheel training results in a 5-13% increase in muscle size compared to traditional, gravity-dependent training.
5. Budget Friendly
Some people will definitely have a sticker shock when looking to buy a flywheel platform system. I think that this shock can be alleviated once you consider the above reasons to buy a flywheel.
A flywheel platform like the Exxentric kBox retails for about $1600 USD, including a flywheel and some accessories. Though this seems like a lot, it is important to remember that a flywheel platform can replace a squat rack, barbell, bumpers and cable machine.
Even a simple, low-budget Amazon home gym (like a Hulk Fit Squat Rack ($275), Synergee Barbell ($199) and 230lbs of XMark Hi-Impact Bumper Plates ($491)) can quickly add up to $1000.
To get the versatility, small footprint and large training effects of a flywheel system for a bit more than a super budget Amazon home gym is a great option.
Plus, a flywheel can provide similar options to what you find with a cable machine or isolation machines, which regularly run you more than $1500.
Therefore, you can have essentially a full home gym set up with just one piece of equipment.
Remember the classic home gym cliché of buy once, cry once. It’s better to invest in good quality equipment rather than buy cheap now and upgrade later.
Commercial Flywheel Options Available
As highlighted throughout this article, there are 3 main commercial flywheel companies: Exerfly, Exxentric and Versaclimber.
Exxentric is certainly the most popular and budget-friendly option of the three. They provide multiple tiers of their kBox based on usage and robustness. Home gym users would do well with their lowest cost version, the kBox Active Platform and a few flywheels.
Exerfly is a New Zealand-based company that comes in at a much higher price point than Exxentric. I’ve honestly never used the Exerfly products but have seen them in some gyms while I’ve been travelling. I wouldn’t recommend going with this option simply based on the price. You’re looking at about $4500 for their lowest-tiered version of a platform flywheel (shown below on the right).
Versaclimber makes a platform called the Versapulley Squat Deck that is in the $1500 ballpark. Unfortunately, you need to buy the Versapulley unit first, then add the squat deck on top of that – so it’s really not economical either. The Versapulley is unique in that it created its resistance using a conical mechanism rather than a spinning disc. The resistance outcome is the same.
Exxentric is the clear winner here, for both home gyms and commercial spaces.
The Round Up
Flywheel training is unique in that it can maximally challenge both the eccentric and concentric phases of a movement. As a result, muscle fibers are recruited at higher percentages, which translates to increases in muscle size, muscle strength and power.
The small footprint, huge exercise versatility and limitless resistance provided by flywheel systems make them a great option for home gym spaces.
We strongly suggest that you consider a flywheel system as a future purchase for you home gym – especially if you are working with space constraints.