Patent Application
20100125030
1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains generally to exercise and fitness equipment and, more particularly, to a compact weight bench which provides lifting assistance in doing stomach, back, and leg exercises.
2. Related Art
Exercise machines of the type commonly known as weight benches have been heretofore been provided for exercising the upper body and arms and/or the legs. Such machines tend to be somewhat complex and bulky because they generally have separate bars and weights for the upper body and arms and for the legs.
It is, in general, an object of the invention to provide a new and improved weight bench.
Another object of the invention is to provide a weight bench of the above character which overcomes the limitations and disadvantages of the prior art.
These and other objects are achieved in accordance with the invention by providing a weight bench having a frame that rests on the floor, a seat mounted on the frame, a backrest pivotally mounted on the frame to the rear of the seat for movement between horizontal, inclined, and declined positions relative to the seat, a plurality of resilient elements which can be selectively connected between the backrest and the frame for lifting the backrest toward the inclined position, a swinging arm pivotally mounted to the frame in front of the seat for movement between raised and lowered positions, a weight bar extending laterally from a free end of the swinging arm for engagement by the legs of a person doing leg exercises, a handle attached to the swinging arm for engagement by the hands of a person sitting on the seat for doing upper body and arm exercises, and weights stored in holders attached to the frame for attachment to the weight bar and for manual use in doing exercises that do not involve the weight bar.
As illustrated in the drawings, the weight bench has a frame 11 which includes a horizontally extending member 12 supported by a front post 13 and a rear leg 14, with laterally extending feet 16, 17 resting upon the floor or other supporting surface at the lower ends of the post and the rear leg. The post is somewhat curved or arched in a forward direction, and the front of the frame member is affixed to the post about half way up the post. The leg slants downwardly and rearwardly from the rear of the frame member.
A seat 19 is mounted on the frame above the horizontally extending member, and a backrest 21 is mounted on the frame to the rear of the seat. The rear portion of the seat is pivotally connected to the frame, and the front portion of the seat can be raised and supported in different positions by a prop 22 that is pivotally connected to the under side of the seat and engagable with stops 23 on frame member 12.
The backrest is pivotally mounted to the frame for movement about an axis 24 between horizontal, inclined and declined positions. A support strut 26 is pivotally connected to the backrest and engagable with stops 27 on leg 14 to support the backrest at different angles relative to the seat.
A plurality of resilient elements 28 are connected between the backrest and the frame to provide assistance in lifting. In one presently preferred embodiment, the resilient elements are elastic cords, although they could be also be springs or other suitable means for urging the backrest to pivot in an upward direction. In the embodiment illustrated, side rails 29 of the backrest extend beyond pivot axis 24, and the elastic cords are connected between the forward ends of the rails and the rear foot of the frame, with the arms acting as levers in lifting the backrest.
The elastic cords can be selectively connected between the backrest and the frame to provide the desired amount of lifting assistance. In this regard, the forward ends of the cords are connected to arms 31 which extend laterally from side rails 29 in front of the pivot axis, and the rear ends of the cords are connected to a cross bar 32 on rear foot 17, with the connections being made by hooks 33 affixed to the ends of the cords. A second set of arms 34 extend laterally from side rails 29 toward the rear of the backrest, and the rear ends of cords not in use are disconnected from cross bar 32 and connected to those arms. The front ends of the cords remain connected to arms 31, and the unused cords are thus stored on the backrest.
A leg 35 is pivotally attached to backrest for abutting engagement with the floor when the backrest is in a predetermined position such as horizontal. This leg limits the downward travel of the backrest and, thus, serves as a depth limiter for it during exercises in which the resilient elements are providing lifting assistance. It also serves to support the backrest in the predetermined position when the resilient elements are not being used.
At the front of the weight bench, a weight support arm 36 is pivotally connected to the upper portion of post 13 for swinging movement about an axis 37 on the front side of the post. A weight bar 38 extends laterally from the free end of the arm, with weight holders 39 on the ends of the bar. The weight holders are adapted for receiving the bars of dumbbells, with straps for retaining the bars in the holders. The weight support arm can be locked in different angular positions relative to the post by a pin 40 engagable between aligned openings in the arm and flanges 41 affixed to the post.
Cushioned leg rests 42 extend laterally from post 13 for supporting the upper legs of a person seated on the seat. Leg pads 43 in the form of cushions or rollers are mounted on the weight bar between arm 36 and weight holders 39 for engagement by the lower legs of a person sitting on seat 19 or standing on front foot 16.
A handle 46 is attached to weight arm 36 so that the weights mounted on the arm can be lifted by the upper body and arms of a person sitting on the seat as well as by his legs. The handle is T-shaped, with a stem 47 that is attached to the weight arm and a crossbar 48 with cushioned grips 49 that can be grasped by the hands of the exerciser. The handle is pivotally attached to the arm for movement between an operative position in which the stem extends from the arm at an angle of about 90 degrees and a storage position in which the stem is next to the arm.
Dumbbells 51 are stored in cradles 52 for attachment to weight bar 38 and for manual use by persons doing exercises that do not involve the weight bar. The dumbbells have weight plates 53 mounted on bars 54 in a manner permitting the plates to be selectively attached to and detached from the bars without removal from the cradles and without passing the plates over the ends of the bars.
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The weight cradles rest on the floor on opposite sides of the frame are attached to the frame by arms 61. These arms are pivotally attached to rear foot 17 for swinging movement between positions adjacent to and away from the frame, and the cradles are slidably mounted on the arms for movement between extended and retracted positions. This permits the cradles to be moved to an unlimited number of different positions for storage and use of the dumbbells and where they will not interfere with the use of the bench. They can, for example, be positioned where the dumbbells can be removed from and returned to the cradles by persons sitting and reclining on the backrest and seat, or they can be swung out to the sides where they will be out of the way of persons doing other exercises.
The upper portion of rear foot 17 is inclined in a forward and downward manner to provide a footrest 63 for elevating the heels of a person doing exercises while standing on the floor and straddling the backrest.
The weight bench can be used for a variety of exercises, both with and without the dumbbells. With the dumbbells mounted in the holders at the ends of weight bar 38, a person can do exercises such as upper body and arm exercises, leg extensions, and leg curls.
For upper body and arm exercises, a person sits on seat 19, facing post 13, and gripping handle 46 with his hands. He then works the desired muscles by drawing the handle toward himself to lift the weights and pushing the handle away from himself to lower the weights.
For leg extensions, the handle is locked in its down position, and the person sits on the bench with his legs extending over leg rests 42 and behind the leg pads 43 on the weight bar. He then works his legs by lifting them against the force of the weights.
For leg curls, the person stands on one side of the post, facing toward the rear of the bench, with one foot resting on foot 16 and the calf of the other leg against the leg pad on the near side of the weight bar. He then works that leg by bending it at the knee to lift the weights.
The dumbbells can also be used as free weights in doing exercises both on and off the bench. For, example, a person can do exercises such as shoulder presses, lateral raises, and arm curls while sitting on the seat with the backrest in an upright position and his back against the backrest. Exercises such as bench presses and lateral flys can be done with the backrest and seat in their horizontal positions and the exerciser reclining on the backrest, with his buttocks on the seat and his feet on the floor in front of the seat. Similar exercises can also be done with the backrest in an inclined or declined position. If desired, the resilient cords can be connected between the backrest and frame to assist the lifter in lowering his back to the horizontal and declined positions as well as raising it up from those positions.
Leg squats can be performed with lift assistance by extending leg 35 to limit downward movement of the backrest and engaging the resilient cords to urge the backrest toward its upright position. The exerciser stands on the floor, facing forward, with his heels resting on footrest 63, his legs straddling the backrest, his arms hanging down at his sides, the dumbbells in his hands, and the backrest in the upright against his backside. As he bends his knees and moves from the standing position to a sitting position, the backrest is pressed down against the force of the cords until it reaches the horizontal position and leg 35 abuts against the floor. As he straightens his legs to return to the upright position, the cords assist him in doing so.
For exercises such as inclined arm curls and overhead arm extensions which require inclined or upright back support and a shorter backrest and/or additional room in front of the exerciser, the backrest can be moved to its horizontal position and the seat to an inclined or upright position, with the exerciser sitting on the backrest facing toward the rear of the bench and his back against the seat.
The bench can also be used to provide assistance in exercises such as abdominal crunches and reverse crunches. For standard abdominal crunches, leg 35 is extended to limit downward movement of the backrest to the horizontal position, and the resilient cords are engaged to urge the backrest toward its upright position. The exerciser sits on the seat and slowly lowers his back against backrest until the backrest reaches the horizontal position, then he slowly raises up to a 45 degree crunch position, with cords assisting him in doing so.
For decline crunches, leg 35 is locked against the underside of the backrest, and strut 26 is positioned for engagement with the stop 27 on leg 14 corresponding to the desired angle of declination to limit travel of the backrest in the downward direction.
For reverse crunches, leg 35 is once again deployed to limit downward movement of the backrest to the horizontal position, and the exerciser reclines on the backrest and seat with his head toward the post, his lower back resting on the backrest, and his legs extending in an upward direction. He then tightens his abdominal muscles and rolls his hips toward his ribs until he reaches a crunch position with the backrest inclined at an angle of about 45 degrees and the resilient cords assisting him in lifting his hips. He then slowly returns to the starting position, with the resilient cords once again assisting him in doing so.
The amount of weight on the dumbbells is adjusted by changing the number of plates on the bars. To add or remove plates, the dumbbells are returned to the weight cradles, with the bars resting in the semicircular openings in sections 53a. Plates are attached to the bars by swinging sections 53b into position above sections 53a and engaging latches 58 and pins 59 to secure the plates to the bars. Plates are detached by disengaging the latches and swinging sections 53b to the open position beside sections 53a. When the dumbbells are removed from the cradles, the detached plates remain behind in the open position in the cradles.
The invention has a number of important features and advantages. It allows the arms, legs, and other parts of the body to be exercised with a single set of weights, and it can also be utilized in doing exercises that do not involve weights. Both the backrest and the seat can be moved between horizontal and inclined positions, and the backrest can also be moved to declined positions. With resilient cords urging the backrest toward an upright position, the backrest can provide lifting assistance for exercises such as abdominal crunches and leg squats.
It is apparent from the foregoing that a new and improved weight bench has been provided. While only certain presently preferred embodiments have been described in detail, as will be apparent to those familiar with the art, certain changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
