Patent Application
20110256992
The invention generally relates to weight lifting and fitness exercise, and relates more particularly to a bar grip that is an easily donned and doffed gripping interface between a user's palm and an exercise bar.
Athletes and fitness enthusiasts commonly incorporate strength-building routines that use exercise equipment such as weight machines, barbells, dumbbells, bench press bars. Often, the apparatus between the user and the weight or forces used for fitness conditioning is a simple bar.
Traditional exercise bars are made of metal and have smooth portions of its surface that can slip in one's hand easily, and designated rough portions of the surfaces that are designed for increased friction, but are abrasive to a user's skin. The standard Olympic diameter of a workout bar is 2.80 centimeters (1.10 inches). Depending on the user and the particular exercise, considerable amounts of weight can be transmitted to a relatively small area of the palm.
When strength-building routines utilize significant weight and/or high repetitions, the intensity of the exercise creates conditions where the skin of the user's palms are subject to callusing. The process of callusing can be painful enough to reduce one's full capacity for physical training. Additionally, thick skin and the roughness of calloused hands are undesirable in most other areas of a person's functioning life.
Users commonly wear workout/weightlifting gloves to help evenly distribute the compressive forces over the anatomy of the hand and to avoid slipping and callusing problems. Workout gloves are somewhat cumbersome to put on and take off, even properly fitting ones. Workout gloves cover a significant portion of the hand and when gloves are worn continually, excessive body heat and sweating are common problems. Because gloves wrap around the base of all fingers and thumbs, and wrap around the hand, bunching material usually causes uncomfortable constrictions and uneven areas of pressure.
Calluses built from these strength-building routines most commonly form on a narrow region of the hand predominantly comprising the strip of palm just below the fingers, and on the first pads of the fingers closest to the palm.
In one embodiment, a bar grip is configured to grasp a bar or similarly shaped object used in a physical fitness environment such as a weightlifting bar, barbell, pull-up bar, or rowing paddle where significant grip force is required. The bar grip includes a palm portion having a palm surface for contacting a region of the palm of the hand and a grip surface for contacting a physical fitness device. The palm portion may include at least one layer disposed between the palm surface and the grip surface for additional padding, comfort, or weight distribution. The palm surface and the grip surface may be opposite sides of a common layer of material. The bar grip may include a strap portion configured to extend around the back of the hand to provide a means to secure the palm portion to the hand. The strap portion may be an adjustable closed loop configured to extend around the back of the hand or a semi-rigid open loop configured to cradle both sides of the hand. Each disclosed embodiment allows for variable positioning of the bar grip on the hand to provide customized protection for a wide variety of exercises that require the gripping force of a hand. Some or all of the palm portion or strap portion may be constructed from positively buoyant material for floatation in water sports.
The grip surface is contoured in a C-shape to substantially match the outer shape of a cylindrically shaped bar, which can be circular, elliptic, parabolic or hyperbolic. Various embodiments of the palm portion have various cross-sectional shapes to accommodate differently shaped or sized fitness bars. An alternative embodiment has built-in multi radius options. For example, in one embodiment the palm portion is configured to flex under pressure of a gripping hand to conform around the outer surface of a bar. The arc of the grip surface on various embodiments of the bar grip may vary to provide coverage ranging from minimal coverage to nearly complete coverage around the circumference of the bar in order to suit the demands of various fitness training styles and hand protection needs. The cross-sectional thickness of the palm portion of the bar grip may vary between different embodiments of the bar grip to allow extra padding or to optimize force distribution and comfort to the hand. The cross-section of the palm portion forms a C-shape or crescent shape.
The advantages and characteristic features of the bar grip summarized above are outlined in the Detailed Description of the Drawings below. For clarity, the following figures will be referred to throughout the detailed description.
By simultaneously focusing specifically on the narrow regions of the palm needing the most protection, and by introducing the option of variable positioning of a bar grip on the hand, and by considering and accommodating for the shape of a workout bar, the bar grip outlined here provides an optimized solution to the problem of hand protection while working out.
In
Referring to
Palm portion 15 extends between hand 70 and bar 80. A grip surface 30 of palm portion 15 is C-shaped to substantially match the outer shape of bar 80 allowing for easy and secure contact and positioning of hand 70 in the various exercise options. An alternative embodiment has built-in multi radius options. For example, in one embodiment, palm portion 15 is configured to flex under pressure of a gripping hand to conform around the outer surface of a bar.
Referring to
Referring to
In one embodiment, some or all of palm portion 15 or strap portion 50 is constructed from positively buoyant material for flotation in water sports.
To remove bar grip 10 from hand 70, the user simply extracts hand 70 from the region between palm portion 15 and strap portion 50.
bar grip 10 has many benefits. The reduction in material required for hand protection allows for a product that does not prevent hand 70 from naturally cooling during exercise, which subsequently reduces the undesirable moisture build-up from sweat. In addition, the reduced material from the optimized design minimizes the possibility for material to bunch while in compression during exercising. Such bunching of material causes uneven pressure points and sheer forces on hand 70 which reduces comfort and contributes to callusing of hand 70. Extra material can also be cumbersome both visually and functionally. Bar grip 10 looks refined and sleek. The small volume of material used makes bar grip 10 compact and light which makes it easy to wear and easy to carry and pack away for transportation. Putting on, positioning, and taking off bar grip 10 is simple, straightforward, quick, and easy. Bar grip 10 provides focused protection where protection is needed and leaves the rest of hand 70 exposed to contact the exercise equipment. Increasing direct contact allows for greater interaction with and sensitivity to the exercise equipment which results in greater control during the exercise process. Bar grip 10 provides an opportunity to protect the most negatively impacted area of hand 70 while maintaining a significant amount of direct interaction and control.
The invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The foregoing description and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/342,741 entitled “PALM GRIP,” filed Apr. 19, 2010. The subject matter of the related application is hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61342741 | Apr 2010 | US |
