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Athletic velocity training deviceRelated Patent Categories: Exercise Devices, Having Specific Electrical Feature, Monitors Exercise ParameterAthletic velocity training device description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070021270, Athletic velocity training device. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application relies on a previously filed provisional application STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not applicable REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING [0003] Not applicable BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] The current device relates generally to muscle exercise apparatus and, more specifically, to exercise apparatus capable of providing both cardiovascular and timed strength training. [0005] Human muscle is made up of fast contracting fibers and slow contracting fibers. The fast contracting fibers are recruited only infrequently--generally for rapid power movements or high intensity isometric contractions. The slow contracting fibers, on the other hand, are recruited for repetitive low-intensity activity, such as long distance running or cycling. The neuro-muscular organization characteristic of the most rapid or "ballistic" types of muscle activities is believed to differ from that which characterizes slow muscle activity. [0006] Researchers believe that human voluntary muscle strength is determined not only by the quantity (i.e., muscle cross-sectional area) and quality (muscle fiber type) of the muscle mass involved, but also by neural factors governing the extent to which the muscle fibers making up the muscle can be activated. According to one theory, the neural adaptation of muscle to high velocity training is associated with an accentuation of the manner in which fast twitch motor units are preferentially activated. In other words, fast muscles (those with a relatively high proportion of fast twitch motor units) may preferentially be activated over slow muscles in the execution of high velocity movements. This theory further posits that slow muscles (i.e., those with a relatively low proportion of fast-twitch motor units) are preferentially activated in the course of executing slower movements. [0007] The proper exploitation of this model of human muscle physiology in a strength training machine requires an apparatus capable of accommodating high velocity movements across a full range of machine supplied resistance levels, from high to low, as well as lower velocity movements across a similarly full range of resistance levels. [0008] Still other variables are relevant in considering cardiovascular response--the other side of the fitness equation. Cardiovascular output is responsive in great measure to the demands placed on the musculature of the human body. While such physiological parameters as heart rate, blood pressure and cardiac output rise in response to increases in the quantity of muscle mass activated, the response is not linear. Still other variations have been observed to occur depending on the type of exercise involved. For example, it has been observed during the course of repetitious exercises involving concentric and eccentric motions that higher blood pressures occur during the eccentric portion of the exercise than in the concentric portion. While cardiac output is significantly lower during the concentric as compared to the eccentric portion of an exercise repetition, the heart's rate of beating is the same during the eccentric and concentric portions; the difference in cardiac output results from the smaller stroke volume during the concentric phase of the exercise. These and other findings strongly suggest that exercise equipment should preferentially be able to accommodate a wide array of workout regimens. [0009] Many different types of fitness equipment have been developed to assist the individual in enhancing his muscle strength, and still other machines have been developed to enhance the individual's cardiovascular fitness. Treadmills, climbers, rowing machines, and stationary bikes are a few examples of apparatus that focus on enhancing cardiovascular fitness. Weight systems, hydraulic and air resistance devices, and electronic resistance devices are but a few of the types of apparatus that focus on the strength side of fitness. The general state of the technology is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,465,592 to Perrine; U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,142 to Eckler; U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,562 to Flavell/and U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,351 to Ehrenfried, the contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. [0010] These types of exercise machines are quite expensive, difficult to use or adjust, and offer the user only limited success in enhancing either cardiovascular fitness or muscle strength. Typical among the deficiencies present in such machines is their tendency to focus on a small range of physical fitness considerations to the exclusion of others, and often while utilizing expensive components. Where they are of simple construction and lower expense (e.g., a weight stack) they are often cumbersome to use, e.g., when changing loads. Where load changing has been made more automatic; the machines are often prohibitively expensive. [0011] There remains a need for an exercise apparatus that addresses both muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness concerns by accommodating a wide array of exercise regimens. There remains a need for a machine that can afford the user the option of varying the speed of his workout independently of the level of machine supplied resistance he wishes to work against, and that does so in an ergonomically suitable manner. 2. Description of the Prior Art [0012] It has long been known that particular levels of light attribute to health and psychological benefits. Although both ocular as well as non-ocular techniques have been employed in an attempt to achieve various such effects, ocular treatment appears to be most efficacious. Not only are the eyes highly specialized organs specifically adapted for sensing light, but a sizable portion of the brain is exclusively devoted to processing data generated by the retinas. Moreover, neurologists and anatomists have relatively recently demonstrated the existence of nerve pathways extending from the retinas that are separate and apart from the pathways linked to the sight center of the brain. [0013] An example of an organ whose regulatory function is responsive to light sensed by the eyes is the pineal gland which secretes the hormone melatonin. The hormone is released during periods of darkness while production is abruptly halted when the eyes perceive bright light. Melatonin is distributed throughout the body via the blood and cerebrospinal fluid and can affect the function of organs by which it is metabolized to thereby influence sleep cycles, feeding cycles, reproduction cycles and other biological rhythms. It has therefore been suggested that phototherapy may effectively be employed to correct a melatonin imbalance which may have resulted from, for example, shift work, jet lag or life in the Polar Regions, and thereby remedy the accompanying symptoms. [0014] In these respects, the dimmable light therapy device according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of effecting automatic closing of a sliding screen door. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0015] The current device is composed of five major components; [0016] 1. Modified OLYMPIC weight bar [0017] 2. A laser timer [0018] 3. A laser display [0019] 4. A SCANDISK [0020] 5. Winch and cable system [0021] Built around a laser-timed bar with a digital read out display ( 1/1000 of a second) and a cage that allows the bar to be launched (wench and cable catch the bar after ballistic movements so that athlete does not have to reduce bar speed at the end of lifts.) The result is accurate measurement of bar speed for most conventional lifts including: squat, dead lift, bench press, military press, lunges, power cleans and snatches. Example; athlete loads bar to equal body weight and lowers bar to chest for bench press movement. Bar is exploded past the usual top of the lift and laser time is shown on meter read out. Athlete can complete the lift for several reps with best time and aggregate time being kept. Time is stored onto a SCANDISK for later loading into a PC so that speed improvement can be monitored. Athletes can train for speed and power through all movements never decelerating the bar which retards neurological speed development. [0022] The current device is designed to allow athletes to safely perform speed and ballistic movements that result in increased power production. The Velocity training device allows the ballistic movements to traditional lifts such as: [0023] a. squats [0024] b. bench press [0025] c. military press. [0026] d. dead lifts [0027] e. snatches [0028] The unique design of the current device allows these lifts to be accomplished without decelerating the bar at the completion of the repetition performed. Deceleration of a moving bar at the end of any lift trains the athlete to decelerate and not accelerate or explode into a power movement. If the athlete explodes without the current device the bar and weight load becomes a dangerous projectile. The unique design of my invention allows explosion without deceleration or danger. Continue reading about Athletic velocity training device... Full patent description for Athletic velocity training device Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Athletic velocity training device 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. 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