Flywheel technology uses machines driven by a flywheel and a strap that is continually cycled around the flywheel shaft. The diameter and the mass of the wheel is what creates resistance. This kind of training is not based on gravity, but rather on inertia. Inertia is the force it takes to get the wheel to start spinning. The inertia is calculated based on the diameter and the mass of the flywheel ( Kg m2 ).

The device converts and stores kinetic energy produced during the concentric action to be absorbed or resisted in the subsequent eccentric action, leading to eccentric overload. Thus, the more energy you exert, the more eccentric energy will be created. Complete fatigue of the muscle is then achieved through constant tension throughout the entire rep, leading to increased strength and muscle growth.

Flywheel training is a training method to develop strength that has increased in popularity during the past decades. Current evidence* suggests that flywheel based training is superior to gravity based training for increasing muscle strength, power, and hypertrophy.

(Reference *Sports Med Open. 2018 Dec; 4: 55.

Published online 2018 Dec 13. doi: 10.1186/s40798-018-0169-5

PMCID: PMC6292829

PMID: 30547232)