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Apparatus for circuit and other fitness trainingRelated Patent Categories: Exercise Devices, User Manipulated Force Resisting Apparatus, Component Thereof, Or Accessory Therefor, Utilizing Resilient Force Resistance, And User Supplied Counter Force, Against User Occupied PlatformApparatus for circuit and other fitness training description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060128540, Apparatus for circuit and other fitness training. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to United States provisional applications Ser. No. 60/635,105, filed Dec. 10, 2004, and Ser. No. 60/662,405, filed Mar. 16, 2005. FIELD OF INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to exercise equipment, and more particularly to an item of exercise equipment which may be used alone for a series of circuit training exercises which depend upon selectively and sequentially using one or more of a plurality of resistive components anchored at one side of a three-dimensional housing and displaced therefrom through the housing to be accessed through a slot at an opposite side of the housing. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART [0003] Much of contemporary fitness exercising combines resistance strength training simultaneously with aerobic conditioning. Combining aerobic and anaerobic conditioning elements stimulates participants' cardiovascular, muscular, and skeletal systems, providing measurable results in a short period of time. This form of exercise is commonly referred to as circuit training. Developed in the 1950's, circuit training has been used to train individuals ranging from those interested in weight loss to Olympic athletes. In short, circuit training is considered by those trained in fitness arts to permit individuals to achieve maximum results in minimum time. [0004] Traditionally, circuit training is conducted on several pieces of equipment, sometimes referred to as stations. However, it is considered advantageous for individuals to perform substantially all circuit training exercises on one piece of equipment to eliminate delays associated with changing equipment or waiting for equipment at another station to be available in a location where multiple individuals are exercising. Performing a total body conditioning program involves engaging in a planned body conditioning program and enhancing weight loss and toning while simultaneously maintaining elevated heart rates to benefit the cardiovascular system. [0005] The wide variety of circuit training exercises includes the following: [0006] Leg exercises including lunges, step-back lunges, squats, inner and outer thigh building, the glute press, extensions, curls and dead lifts. [0007] Back exercises including bent single arm row, low back extensions, seated row, mid row, and single cross over pulls. [0008] Chest exercises including bench presses (one and two arm), flies, seated incline press, seated incline flies, and incline and decline push-ups. [0009] Shoulder exercises including an upright row, a seated military press, cross-overs, and lateral shoulder raises. [0010] Biceps/triceps exercises including standing bicep curls, alternating curls, reverse French curls, triceps kick backs, seated triceps extensions, and lying triceps extensions. [0011] Abdominal exercises including lying crunches, knee crunches, and leg lifts. [0012] A user typically wishes to perform a wide variety of exercises in rapid succession in order to maintain high levels of respiration and cardiovascular activity between exercises. It is therefore readily apparent that it is advantageous to perform all exercises on the same piece of equipment. [0013] Various forms of multipurpose exercise equipment are known in the art. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,001 to Matt Siaperas ("Siaperas") discloses an apparatus based upon a boxlike main body. The top surface of the body is hinged transversely to create a storage container and an adjustable section is fixed at various angles in relation to the main body by using a pivotal adjustment arm extending from the bottom of the boxlike body. Siaperas teaches a plurality of clip rings affixed about the outside of the body and attached through sturdy extensions to resistive elements used in exercise procedures. The resistive elements are generally elastic. [0014] A similar apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,994 to Christine A. Rich ("Rich"). Rich teaches a platform on which a user can sit, stand, lie, or kneel while performing a wide variety of exercises by exerting force on one or more resistive elements that are attached to the sides of the platform. [0015] Other apparatuses in the prior art teach that part of a resistive element can be enclosed in the apparatus itself. U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,450 to William A. Schollmeyer ("Schollmeyer") and U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,667 to Owen D. Snyder and Crammer W. Wilson ("Owen") both teach a boxlike housing in which resistive elements are contained so that a user may place himself or herself on the housing and grasp the resistive elements where they extend through an aperture in the housing. A wide variety of exercises can be performed by assuming different positions relative to the housing and grasping different of the resistive elements positioned within the housing and extending through apertures therein. [0016] Each of these prior art devices teaches use of a single resistive element at a given location on the housing of an apparatus. Some of the resistive elements used springs with ropes; others are resilient members. Siaperas teaches that resistive elements can have different resistances, but nothing in the prior art teaches an adjustable resistive force; nor does any invention in the prior art teach a technique for providing, at a single location on the apparatus, a resistive force that can be easily selected or adjusted by a user. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0017] In summary, this invention discloses an apparatus that allows continuously and selectively exercising through a predetermined training cycle on a single apparatus where the resistive force provided by components of the apparatus can be rapidly and easily selected and adjusted by a user. This is done by providing a separate resistive force at multiple locations on the apparatus, each one being capable of providing an adjustable resistant force, as selected by a user. The apparatus itself is suitable in structure for use in a variety of exercising postures. [0018] As an example, a training cycle may be devised such that each muscle group is exercised during a complete circuit. Such a training cycle may be followed by a cardio interlude and flexibility training cycle. Combining flexibility and strength training using the same piece of equipment reduces the risk of injury and leads to improved results. Systematically moving from one muscle group to the next, without the delays required to move between different pieces of exercise equipment, allows one muscle group to recover while another muscle group is engaged. An apparatus constructed according to the present invention thus permits a variety of exercises to be performed, with thirty seconds or less of rest between each exercise. This allows heart rates to be maintained in a zone that promotes cardiovascular fitness; heart rates do not fall as they would during the time needed to change the configuration of prior art exercise equipment or move to different equipment before starting the next training cycle. [0019] Basic to one form of the instant invention is a three-dimensional box or shell (the "Housing") having a top surface. The Housing may optionally have a material affixed to the top surface that provides a non-skid and/or padded surface to enhance safety and comfort during exercise. [0020] The Housing can be constructed of a single piece of material, or of multiple pieces of material that are then assembled together. Manufacturing cost and ease of assembly are two important but non-limiting factors to be considered when selecting the material and construction manner for the Housing. In the present embodiment, the Housing comprises a top portion and a bottom portion, each formed from a molded thermoplastic. [0021] The preferred shape of the Housing includes an open bottom and sides which provide stable support for the top when disposed on a planar surface. Generally, each side has at least one location where one or more elastic cords or other resilient members (herein the "band" or "bands") may be securely affixed, and from which the bands are displaced for access outside the Housing through an opening on an opposing side of the Housing. Generally, each band has a "Rest State" length, which is the length of the band when no force is being applied by a user of the present invention; and a variable "Stretched State" length, evident when a user of the invention exerts a force on a band, the maximum Stretched State being considerably longer than the Rest State. Preferably, the Rest State length of each band closely approximates the distance between the point at which that band is securely affixed to the Housing and where it exits from the opposite side of the Housing. [0022] When the bands have material characteristics which emulate the force and distance characteristics of a spring, the relationship of an applied stretching force (f) to the Stretched State length (x) may be represented as follows:f=k*x where k is the spring constant of the material. Increased force is required to increase the length of an elastic material; the ideal materials for use in the present invention are those that retain elasticity over a relatively wide range of lengths. For example, if bands are made from medical tubing, the ratio of Rest State length to the maximum value of the Stretched State length is approximately 1:6. [0023] When a band has a Rest State length equal to the distance between opposing openings in the sides of the Housing, the band provides immediate retarding force as a user stretches the band from its Rest State length. [0024] The present invention may include a plurality of bands placed along parallel pathways within the Housing and exiting the Housing through the same opening. These bands may have either similar or different spring constants. [0025] A means for grasping the end of the band is attached to the end of each band at the point where it exits the Housing, opposite the side where it is securely affixed to the Housing. In a preferred embodiment, the means for grasping the end of the band comprises a combination of a ring attached to the end of the band, a carabineer, and a ring attached to a handle. Using the carabineer, the handle can thus be attached to a single band, or to multiple bands, so that the bands available at a single opening in the Housing could provide a wide variety of retarding pull forces when the handle to which the bands are attached is displaced by a user of the invention. This arrangement permits a wide variety of exercises for persons having varying degrees of strength. Further, providing a Rest State length for each band that is approximately equal to the distance between the point where the band is securely affixed to the Housing and the opening through which the band exits the Housing allows exercises to be completed which require that pull resistance begin at or very near the opening out of which a band issues. This permits exercises that include a full range of motion. [0026] The means for grasping the ends of bands may include a rigid bar suitable for grasping by a single hand, typically attached via a loop of flexible material. The means for grasping may also comprise a longer rigid bar, suitable for grasping by two hands, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. The means for grasping may also comprise soft or flexible material alone, suitable for looping over a portion of a user's body such as a foot, or forearm, in order to permit exercising a broad range of muscles and muscle groups. As a further example, the means for grasping may comprise a larger loop of flexible material, suitable to encompass a user's entire torso, in order to exercise back or abdominal muscles. Padding may be added to any of these types of handles to increase comfort, particularly when the handle is to be manipulated by a portion of the user's body that could be easily bruised, such as the top portion of a foot. Continue reading about Apparatus for circuit and other fitness training... Full patent description for Apparatus for circuit and other fitness training Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Apparatus for circuit and other fitness training patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Apparatus for circuit and other fitness training or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Pressure muscular strength enhancing system and controller, and method being carried out by controller Next Patent Application: Low impact exercise system Industry Class: Exercise devices ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Apparatus for circuit and other fitness training patent info. 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