Abdominal Exerciser Utilizing Musculature of Lower Body

Abstract

The present invention is comprised of a frame having two upright side members. The upright side members are linked at their bottom end by a cross member. There may also be an upper member across the top end of the upright side members. A user of the device should preferably assume a sitting posture when initiating an exercise routine involving the device. At the start of the exercise, the user takes hold of both upright members and places one or both feet on the cross member. The user then elevates the foot or feet that is resting on the cross member off the floor by tensing muscles of the abdomen and lower back.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a personal exercise device for tuning lower body and abdomen without putting a strain on upper body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present state of the art in personal exercisers is replete with personal training devices. Due to the highly sedentary environment of many blue and white color jobs, personal training devices are viewed as saviors of the human grace, guardians of health and little miracles. The popularity of personal exercisers has not been lost on the market, and sporting goods manufactures have responded with an exceptional zeal.

[0003] However, some segments on the personal training market are not particularly well served, in part because apparatus designers lack understanding or sensitivity to physical limitations of some users. In particular, survivors of certain upper body surgical procedures or sufferers of muscular disorders and injuries involving upper body, are not able to utilize the majority of apparatuses that are widely available on the market. The general inhibition arises from the overwhelming need to utilize at least some portion of the upper body muscular structure to engage the muscular structure of any other portion of the body.

[0004] The close association of the abdominal muscular complex with that of the upper body is particularly challenging when it comes to isolating the upper body in prevention of further injury or in avoidance of pain during the recovery process. A good example of this predicament is experienced by patients undergoing post mastectomy rehabilitation. The seriousness of the procedure, and the frequent need for multiple surgeries may leave all upper body muscular structure sensitive to pain for extended periods of time, during which, users may feel extremely limited and inhibited in their physical abilities. Few devices exist that overcome this physical limitation and provide users with much needed freedom of movement without needing to suffer through pain of recent wounds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention is comprised of a frame having two upright side members. The upright side members are linked at their bottom end by a cross member. There may also be an upper member across the top end of the upright side members.

[0006] A user of the device should preferably assume a sitting posture when initiating an exercise routine involving the device. At the start of the exercise, the user takes hold of both upright members and places one or both feet on the cross member. The user then elevates the foot or feet that is resting on the cross member off the floor by tensing muscles of the abdomen and lower back.

[0007] The side members may have a slight outward bend at a point where the upright side members are adjacent to the knees of the user. The side upright members may be perfectly vertical and parallel with each other, or they may have an outward diagonal orientation with respect to each other.

[0008] The cross member at the bottom of the side upright members may be a bar of the same thickness as that of the side members, thereby forming a substantially U-shaped device. The cross member also may be in a form of a footboard having straps or brackets or grid like surface, all to secure users feet on the crossmember.

[0009] The intended use of the exercise device is to train the core abdominal muscles of the user without straining the upper body. Most of the training is provided through the use of user's legs. The upright side members serve to stabilize user's feet while these are suspended above the ground during an exercise routine. However, little or no lifting strain needs to be exerted by the arms. Furthermore, while the exercise is in progress, the user's posture may be completely straight so to further reduce the strain on the upper body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1 is front view of one of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a sideview of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

[0012] FIG. 3 is a sideview of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] FIG. 4 is another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] FIG. 5 is a perspective sideview of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3.

[0015] FIG. 6 is another perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

[0016] FIG. 7 is a sideview diagram demonstrating the use of the present invention.

[0017] FIG. 8 is a front view of a present invention showing multiple adjustable elements.

[0018] FIG. 8A is an exploded diagram of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 9 is a side view of one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, showing a multitude of adjustable elements.

[0020] FIG. 10 is a front view of another alternative embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Identical elements in the various figures are identified with the same reference numerals.

[0022] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiment of the present invention. Such embodiments are provided by way of explanation of the present invention, which is not intended to be limited thereto. In fact, those of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate upon reading the present specification and viewing the present drawings that various modifications and variations can be made thereto.

[0023] Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the figures illustrate an abdominal muscle trainer 10.

[0024] Shown in FIG. 1 are the upright side members 20, having a grip area 40, an upper end 42 and a lower end 41. The lower end 41 is linked by a crossmember 50. The sideview of the device shown in FIG. 1 is demonstrated in FIG. 2, which shows the upright member 20, having the grip area 40, the lower end 41 and the upper end 42. The length of the upright side member 20 is preferably between two and a half and three and a half feet.

[0025] FIGS. 3 and 4 demonstrate several other embodiments of the present invention. Shown is one of the upright members 20 having an upper end 42, a lower end 41 and a hand grip section 40. The hand grip section may throughout the length of the upright member 20 to afford multiple griping positions. The hand grips 40 may be an area of brushed steel or may contain an additional gripping surface such as a rubber, plastic or silicone.

[0026] Further shown in FIG. 3 is a 45.degree. bend 43 of the upright member 20 at point 44. The bend 43 extends down to the bottom end 41 and is there to accommodate the knees of the user, who would be using the device while in a sitting posture. In most cases, human arms that are outstretched in front of a person who is sitting down, do not go past the knees. The bend 43 compensates for the space taken by the feet of the user (see FIG. 7) and is thus a more agronomically sound design. Without the bend 43, the feet of the user would exert greater downward pull on user's forearms, thus increasing the challenge level of the device 10. The bend 43 may be of a substantially equal thickness as the rest of the upright member 20, or it may flare out towards the bottom end 41, as shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, the cross member forms a wide foot support panel.

[0027] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Shown are two upright members 20 that are lined together by a crossmember 50. The cross member 50 has special slots 51 for foot placement. The slots 51 may contain frictional surface or may be recessed to accommodate a user's foot with greater security or comfort during exercise. The bend 43 is shown facing the frontal direction 60 of the device 10.

[0028] In FIG. 6, the gross member 50 is substantially flatter than shown in FIG. 5. The flatter crossmember increases frictional coefficient between user's foot and the foot slots 51. Additionally, straps or 52 that are attached to brackets 53 assist with immobilizing user's feet during the back and forth rocking of the feet while using the device 10. The top surface 54 of the cross member 50 may contain frictional elements, such as brushed steel or silicone protrusions throughout the length of the cross member 50.

[0029] As illustrated in FIG. 7, the best usage for the exerciser 10 is for training the abdominal muscles of a user who is unable or indisposed to substantially engaging upper body parts in inducing stretching and contraction of core muscles. For such a user, the alternative is to more completely engage lower extremities of the body. Shown in FIG. 7 is the user 11, presiding in a sitting posture on a chair 12, or any similar device, while having knees 14 and feet 15 elevated off the floor. The user 11 must necessarily flex abdominal muscles in order to accomplish this lifting maneuver. The user 11 maintains tension on the abdominal muscles to build up endurance of these muscles. The exercise proceeds with the user 11 tacking hold of the upright members 20 with user's arms and placing feet 15 on the cross member 50. Exercise then commences with up and down motion 40 of the upright members 20, and with the rocking motion 13 of the crossmember 50, while having user's feet 15 disposed on top of the crossmember 50. During the exercise, the crossmember 50 is elevated above the floor during the entire exercise, or at least when the user 11 lifts feet in accordance with the arch 13.

[0030] The device 10 may be made from polymeric composite materials or light weight alloys. Other materials used in construction of the device 10 may be plastic, foam plastic and wood. The upright members 20 and the crossmember 50, or either component, may be hollow or uniform. The preferred construction uses a substantially tubular structure for the upright members 20 and the crossmember 50, although any other structure may be used as well, such as flat, square, or elliptical

[0031] FIG. 8A demonstrates each individual component. The upright members 20 are shown to be comprised of three telescoping sections, with the top sections 27, the middle section 20 and the lower section 32. The hinge 29, which may be a pivot hinge, or a bolt as shown, may also serve as an adjustment point for the extension distance between the middle section 27 and the lower section 32, or a separate adjustment holding mechanism may be present. The hinge 29 is held in place with a wingnut 26, or another means, such as a pin inserted into the bolt (not shown). The lower section 32 may additionally contain corner hinges 24 that permit the upright members 20 to coaxially rotate toward or away from each other (item 23), otherwise known as adjusting the pitch of the upright members 20 with respect to the crossmember 50, to either accommodate users of different sizes, or to add a degree of difficulty. The crossmember 50 may be used to extend or contract the crossmember 50 in the direction 58.

[0032] FIGS. 8-10 demonstrate additional preferred, desired or alternative features of the present invention. FIG. 8 demonstrates the device 10 having upright side members 20 and a cross member 50. The upright side members 20 may contain telescoping sections 27 that slight into one another for proper sizing of the device to a given user, or for stowage. A particular extension (or contraction) may be maintained through a threaded association among each member segment 27. There may also exist a press screw or a spring-loaded pin on one of the members, that corresponds to an aperture on the other member that admits said spring loaded pin. Such apertures may be set in a line of several apertures, with the spring-loaded pin being capable of adjusting of the extension or contraction of the upright members 20 in the direction 22. Also shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is a wingnut 26. The wingnut 26 is used in operation of the hinge 29. The hinge 29 is utilized to alter the angle of the bend of section 43, with the angle adjusted in direction 25.

[0033] FIG. 10 is an alternative embodiment of the present invention, shown is one upright member 30 that is intended to accommodate both or one hand of a user. User's knees would be enclosed by within the aperture 61, with feet pressing against the cross member 50 that links two side members 20. The side members are then linked to the upright member 30 with diagonal sections 28.

[0034] Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of illustration and that numerous changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An abdominal exercise device comprising; an upright member having a top end and a bottom end, said one upright member being in a substantially parallel orientation as a second upright member, said second upright member having a top end and a bottom end; and a crossmember connecting said one upright member to said second upright member, said crossmember being substantially perpendicular to said upright member and said second upright member.

2. The abdominal exercise device of claim 1, wherein said upright member and said second upright member further comprising a grip surface.

3. The abdominal exercise device of claim 1, wherein said upright member and said another upright member are further comprised of telescoping parts, wherein said telescoping parts of each said upright member capable of collapsing or expanding a length of said upright member and said second upright member.

4. The abdominal exercise device of claim 1, wherein said crossbeam capable of substantially immobilizing user's feet.

5. The abdominal exercise device of claim 4, wherein said user's feet are immobilized using a frictional surface.

6. The abdominal exercise device of claim 4, wherein said user's feet are immobilized using a bracket attached to said crossbeam.

7. The abdominal exercise device of claim 1, wherein said upright member and said another upright member further comprising a bend, said bend originating from said bottom end and terminating along the length of said upright member, wherein said bends of said upright members being in of a substantially parallel orientation with one another.

8. The abdominal exercise device of claim 7, wherein the angle of said bend with respect to the other sections of each upright member, may be altered.

9. An abdominal exercise device comprising; an upright member having a top end and a bottom end, said one upright member being in similar orientation as another upright member, said another upright member having a top end and a bottom end; a crossmember connecting said one upright member to said another upright member, said crossmember being substantially perpendicular to said upright member and said another upright member; and wherein said upright member and said another upright member further comprising a bend, said bend originating from said bottom end and terminating along the length of said upright member, wherein said bends of said upright members being in similar orientation with one another.

10. The abdominal exercise device of claim 9, wherein said upright member and said another upright member having a grip surface.

11. The abdominal exercise device of claim 9, wherein said upright member and said another upright member have telescoping parts, wherein said telescoping parts of each said upright member capable of collapsing or expanding said each upright member.

12. The abdominal exercise device of claim 11, wherein an angle of said bend is adjustable.

13. The abdominal exercise device of claim 9, wherein said crossbeam capable of substantially immobilizing user's feet.

14. The abdominal exercise device of claim 9, wherein a point of intersection of said one upright member with said crossmember and a point of intersection of said another upright member with said crossmember each in form of a hinge, each said hinge determining the pitch of said upright members.

15. An abdominal exercise device comprising; an upright member having a top end and a bottom end, said one upright member connecting to two diagonal members, each one of said diagonal member connecting on their opposite ends to another upright member wherein said upright member connected to opposite ends of said diagonal members being in similar orientation with one another and at bottom end of each said upright members connecting to a crossmember, wherein said crossmember being perpendicular to each said another upright member, and wherein said crossmember linking each said upright member.

16. The abdominal exercise device of claim 15, wherein said upright member further comprises telescoping parts, wherein said telescoping parts capable of collapsing or expanding said member.

17. The abdominal exercise device of claim 15, wherein each said upright member further comprises a bend, wherein the angle of said bend is adjustable.

18. The abdominal exercise device of claim 15, wherein said crossbeam capable of substantially immobilizing user's feet.