| Method and apparatus for speed controlled eccentric exercise training -> Monitor Keywords |
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Method and apparatus for speed controlled eccentric exercise trainingRelated Patent Categories: Exercise Devices, Having Specific Electrical Feature, Equipment ControlMethod and apparatus for speed controlled eccentric exercise training description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060199700, Method and apparatus for speed controlled eccentric exercise training. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of and claims benefit of priority to U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 10/650,455, filed on Aug. 27, 2003, and also entitled "Method and Apparatus for Speed Controlled Eccentric Exercise Training", which application is a continuation of and claims benefit of priority to U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 10/330,611 filed on Dec. 27, 2002, and also entitled "Method and Apparatus for Speed Controlled Eccentric Exercise Training", which application is a continuation-in-part and claims benefit of priority to U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 10/203,909, filed on Oct. 29, 2002, and entitled "Method and Apparatus for Torque-Controlled Eccentric Exercise Training". FIELD OF INVENTION [0003] The present invention relates, generally, to a method and apparatus for increasing muscle size and strength, as well as lung capacity, at low training intensities by utilizing eccentric ergometry and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing speed controlled eccentric exercise. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION [0004] It is commonly accepted that at least minimal physical activity is necessary to maintain muscle mass. If such minimal activity is lacking, the muscular system becomes atrophied and muscle mass diminishes. Muscular activity is energetically consuming, i.e. oxygen consumption by the muscular system increases heavily during physical activity. For example, oxygen consumption for a healthy person at rest may increase 10-15 times with physical activity. If an adequate amount of oxygen fails to reach the muscle, physical activity will be limited. Inadequate oxygen delivery may be due to a disorder in oxygen reception in the lungs or to insufficient transport of the oxygen to the muscles. Insufficient pumping of the heart is designated heart insufficiency. Muscle reduction begins in those with heart disease as a result of insufficient activation of the heart muscles. This in turn leads to a further reduction of the pumping performance of the heart thereby resulting in circulus vitiosus. The present invention can be used to interrupt this process or condition. [0005] Stength gains occur when muscle produces force. If the muscle shortens while producing force, it produces concentric (Con) positive work. If it lengthens while producing force, work is done on the muscle resulting in eccentric (Ecc) negative work. A muscle action is designated "concentric" if the force of a muscle overcomes an applied resistance and a muscle action is designated "eccentric" if the muscle force is less than the applied resistance. "Acceleration work" results from concentric contractions and "deceleration work" results from eccentric contractions. For example, one may imagine that ascending a mountain requires exclusively concentric work and that descending the same mountain requires mostly only eccentric work. From a physical point of view, equal energy is converted in both cases. In ascending, potential energy is gained while in descending, the same amount of energy is lost. Although physically the same energy amounts are converted, the amount of energy to be spent by the muscular system for ascending is much higher than the amount of energy lost in descending. Five to seven times more energy is spent for concentric work as is spent for physically equal eccentric work. [0006] The magnitude of strength gains seems to be a function of the magnitude of the force produced regardless of its Ecc or Con work. Ecc training has the capability of "overloading" the muscle to a greater extent than Con training because much greater force can be produced eccentrically than concentrically. Accordingly, Ecc training can result in greater increases in strength. [0007] Furthermore, the Ecc mode of contraction has another unique attribute. The metabolic cost required to produce force is greatly reduced; muscles contracting eccentrically get "more for less" as they attain high muscle tensions at low metabolic costs. In other words, Ecc contractions cannot only produce the highest forces in muscle vs. Con or isometric contractions, but do so at a greatly reduced oxygen requirement (Vo.sub.2). This observation has been well-documented since the pioneering work of Bigland-Ritchie and Woods (Integrated eletromyogram and oxygen uptake during positive and negative work, Journal of Physiology (Lond) 260:267-277, 1976) who reported that the oxygen requirement of submaximal Ecc cycling is only 1/6-1/7 of that for Con cycling at the same workload. [0008] Typically, single bouts of Ecc exercise at high work rates (200-250 W for 30-45 minutes) result in muscle soreness, weakness, and damage in untrained subjects. Therefore, the common perception remains that Ecc muscle contractions necessarily cause muscle pain and injury. Perhaps because of this established association between Ecc contractions and muscle injury, few studies have examined prolonged exposure to Ecc training and its effect on muscle injury and strength. Nonetheless, Ecc contractions abound in normal activities such as walking, jogging, descending/walking down any incline, or lowering oneself into a chair to name just a few. Obviously, these activities occur in the absence of any muscular damage or injury. [0009] Accordingly, there is a need for providing chronic Ecc training techniques and/or apparatus that can improve locomotor muscle strength without causing muscle injury. SUMMARY OF INVENTION [0010] Because muscles contracting eccentrically produce higher force, and require less energy to do so, Ecc training possesses unique features for producing both beneficial functional (strength increases) and structural (muscle fiber size increases) changes in muscles, and especially in locomotor muscles. For example, because Ecc work can overload muscle at Vo.sub.2 levels that have little or no impact on muscle when the work is performed concentrically, then strength and muscle size increases might be possible in patients who heretofore have difficulty maintaining muscle mass due to severe cardiac and respiratory limitations. Ecc training may also increase the strength and size of other muscles in addition to locomotor muscles and may also be used to increase lung capacity. [0011] The present invention is directed to an apparatus for performing speed controlled eccentric exercise which includes a frame, at least one support attached to the frame for supporting a user's body, at least one engagement member for engaging a part of the user's body where the engagement member is attached to the frame and moveable in opposite directions, means for supplying power to the engagement so the engagement member can exert a force in a first direction at a predetermined speed, means for detecting any change in the predetermined speed after the user supplies force to the engagement member in a direction opposite the first direction, and means for adjusting the output from the power supply to maintain the original predetermined speed. [0012] In one aspect of the invention, the support may be a seat which in turn may be a seat that is recumbent and/or adjustable. The apparatus may also include a support structure for the seat which is positioned between the seat and the frame. [0013] In another aspect of the invention, the engagement member may comprise a bar press or a turn crank, either of which may further include a pedal or a hand grip. In addition, a drive mechanism, powered by the power supply, may be attached to the engagement member to move the engagement member. If the engagement member is a turn crank, the drive mechanism may move the turn crank in a counterclockwise direction. Alternatively, if the engagement member is a bar press, the drive mechanism may move the bar press in alternating forward and backward directions. [0014] In yet another aspect of the invention, the apparatus may include a safety element which prevents a user's joints from fully extending and locking while operating the apparatus. The apparatus may also include a control panel for operating the apparatus and a display means for displaying pertinent data. Moreover, the apparatus of the present invention can be used to perform a variety of eccentric exercises including lower body eccentric exercise where the engagement member(s) engage a user's feet or legs and upper body eccentric exercise where the engagement member(s) engage a user's hands or arms. [0015] The present invention is also directed to a method for providing speed controlled eccentric exercise which includes the steps of providing an exercise apparatus capable of applying a force against a user in a first direction at a predetermined speed, allowing the user to resist the force in the first direction by applying a force in an opposite direction, monitoring the user applied force, and controlling the apparatus applied force in response to the user's applied force to maintain the predetermined speed of the apparatus. [0016] In one aspect of the inventive method, the step of controlling the apparatus applied force may include the step of adjusting the apparatus applied force to equal the user applied force. [0017] In another aspect of the invention, the inventive method may further include the step of displaying pertinent data relating to the eccentric exercise such as, for example, deceleration power, time elapsed, a user's heart rate, and a number of revolutions or reciprocations per minute. [0018] In still another aspect of the method of the present invention, the step of providing an apparatus may include the step of providing a recumbent exercise bicycle capable of applying a force against a user in a first direction by providing a torque in a counterclockwise direction or the step of providing an apparatus having reciprocating bar presses. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES [0019] The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and: [0020] FIG. 1 is a side elevational and partial cross-sectional view of an eccentric ergometer in accordance with the present invention; Continue reading about Method and apparatus for speed controlled eccentric exercise training... Full patent description for Method and apparatus for speed controlled eccentric exercise training Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Method and apparatus for speed controlled eccentric exercise 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. 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