Patent Application
20240382801
The present invention relates to exercise apparatus. More particularly the present invention relates to exercise apparatus for exercising a user's core body muscles.
Lower back pain (LBP) is a major health problem, having a substantial effect on peoples' quality of life and placing a significant economic burden on healthcare systems and, more broadly, societies. A primary cause of lower back pain is weak core muscles.
A well-established method of exercising abdominal muscles is the so-called sit up. This classic exercise is performed by lying on one's back and lifting the torso, making use of the user's own bodyweight to strengthen and tone the core-stabilizing muscles of the body. Sit ups recruit a number of muscles including rectus abdominis, obliques and transverse abdominis, hip flexors, neck muscles and the like.
One issue with performing sit up exercises is providing an anchor for a user's lower limbs, particularly feet, against which the exercise can be better performed to isolate and concentrate the effort on those core muscles required for supporting posture and a user's lower back.
Known methods include the participation of another person to hold onto and anchor another person's feet to enable them to perform a sit up or else use a device to perform the same function. The use of a device is particularly beneficial when exercising alone.
Known devices tend to have a means to secure the device to a fixed structure, for example a door or door frame, and a means to interface with a user's feet, such as a T-bar having deformable foam or the like to provide a little more comfort to a user when operating the device.
Such devices suffer from requiring a fixed structure to anchor to and dictate the orientation of a user's foot that doesn't allow for varied foot positions which would assist in recruiting different muscles depending on the orientation and in varying degrees.
In addition, it would be beneficial if the device could perform more than one exercise function and/or be portable.
It would be advantageous to overcome or alleviate one or more of the problems associated with the prior art.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided, exercise apparatus comprising a base having a substantially planar lower surface, a platform for receiving at least one foot of a user that is moveably mounted on the base, wherein the platform is moveable from a stowed configuration in which the platform is substantially parallel to the plane of the lower surface and a deployed configuration in which the platform is inclined to the plane of the lower surface.
The platform is preferably pivotally mounted to the base.
The platform may accommodate two feet of a user.
The base may be centrally located and the platform pivotally mounted by means of pivots disposed either side of the base.
The apparatus may comprise two platforms, one for each foot which are moveably independently of one another but can be fixed in a desired orientation to facilitate more variable exercise routines.
The base may have means for mounting weight so that the weight of the apparatus may be varied according to, for example, the body weight of a user to improve the exercise experience.
The weight may be received by the base of the apparatus.
The weight may be retained by nay suitable means. Advantageously, the retaining means disposed on the apparatus may receive and retain the weight by means of magnetism. The weight or the retaining means may comprise one or more magnets. Advantageously, the base comprises a retaining member for receiving and retaining at least one weight. The retaining member may comprise a metal member.
The weight may be in the form of one or more weighted plates. Weighted plates may be received on the base and stacked on top of one another until the desired total weight is achieved for a given exercise.
The pivots may permit a number of predetermined configurations of the platform relative to the base to facilitate different exercises. The platform may have three configurations: the first being parallel to the lower surface of the base; the second being inclined substantially 60 degrees to the plane of the lower surface of the base; the third being substantially perpendicular to the plane of the lower surface of the base.
The first, second and third configurations may be used for sit up exercises whilst the third configuration may facilitate the use of the device for weight training and/or efficient storage.
The apparatus may comprise one or more supports to support the platform in a given configuration.
Advantageously, the one or more supports may comprise a fin shaped to support the platform when in its second configuration, wherein an element of the support rests on the surface on which the base is placed and helps resist the platform pivoting between the second and first configuration.
The one or more support may comprise at least one substantially triangular fin. Advantageously the one or more support comprises three substantially triangular fins.
More advantageously, the apparatus comprises two supports each associated with one side of the platform and disposed adjacent to the pivot.
The apparatus may be portable. The apparatus may comprise means to facilitate portability, such as at least one handle. The handle may be integrally formed in the platform and/or the base.
The apparatus may comprise two or more handles so that different weight lifting exercises can be more easily performed.
The apparatus may comprise means for retaining a foot on the platform. The means for retaining a foot on the platform may comprise one or more straps. The straps may have means for adjusting their length to accommodate different sized feet or footwear. The strap may comprise a buckle and/or hook and loop adjustment means.
The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
The base has a planar lower surface 16, a rear face 18 inclined to and extending upwardly from the lower surface, an inclined front face 22, side faces 24, 26 and upper surface 28.
The platform is pivotally mounted at one end by two pivot points 30, 32 either side of the base on the side faces 24,26 respectively. The platform can be pivoted from a stowed configuration in which the plane of the platform is parallel to the plane of the lower surface of the base and a deployed configuration in which the plane of the platform can be inclined with respect to the plane of the lower surface of the base.
The platform 14 has a generally ‘U-shaped’ body whose free ends 40,42 are pivotally mounted to the base 12.
Distal to the pivot points 30,32 and located on the platform 14 are handles 44, 46, 48 integrally formed in the platform in the form of elongate cut-outs. These cut-outs may serve two functions. They may facilitate the apparatus to be carried, to facilitate portability, and/or provide different grip positions for a user to use the apparatus for strength/resistance training in lieu of a dumbbell or the like.
The platform is capable of adopting three configurations relative to the base and achieves this by pivoting about pivot points 30,32. The first is shown in
To unlock the mechanism, handle 20—which has an elongate body from which two pins extend substantially perpendicularly from either end—is pulled away from the base to overcome the bias of the spring, disengaging the locking pins from the pivots. The platform is then free to rotate about the pivot points until the desired configuration is achieved at which point the locking pins engage the complimentarily shaped bores and are received therein to lock the platform in the desired configuration.
Located on the platform either side of the base are two foot straps 50,52 that provide a means to secure a user's foot to the apparatus. Each strap has means for varying its length to accommodate differing sized feet and/or footwear.
Each strap is received in a pair of spaced apart slots 60, 62 and 60′, 62′.
Disposed proximal to the pivot points 30, 32 are heel cups 64, 66 each associated with one foot strap 50, 52, respectively. Heel cups 64, 66 extend substantially perpendicularly with respect to the plane of the upper surface of the platform 14 and receive the heel of the foot of a user. The heel cups assist in securing a user's foot during use.
Platform 14 has a planar upper surface 80 and a planar lower surface 82. Disposed on upper surface 80 are a series of parallel grip members 84 for providing additional grip to the foot of a user.
Downwardly depending from the lower surface 82 are disposed two sets of fins 86, 88. Each set comprises three generally triangular fins 90 whose function is to serve as supports when the platform is in its second configuration, 60 degrees to the plane of the lower surface of the base, to assist in preventing the platform from moving into another configuration. In use for sit ups, the platform may be inclined to the degree desired and a user may place their feet on the platform and retain them in place using the adjustable straps. In this way multiple foot/lower leg positions can be accommodated to exercise to differing extents areas of the core whilst also anchoring the feet in one position to facilitate the sit up movement.
The upper surface of the base has a circular recess 70 for receiving circular weights. These weights can be retained by an upstanding lip 72 and/or magnetic means. Disposed in recess 70 is a circular ring of metal 74, one member of a mating pair for releasably securing weight to the base.
The weights have magnetic material integrally formed or secured thereto to co-operate with the circular ring of metal 74. Thus the weights can be releasably secured to the base of the apparatus.
To release and undock the weights, a lever 76 is provided which assists in creating separation between the weights and the ring to diminish the magnetic attraction between ring and weights to facilitate their removal from the apparatus.
The present invention may also be used to perform deadlifts, bicep curls, and other resistance training exercises.
Associated with the cylindrical member 100 are two elongate locking pins 110, 112 that extend from handle 114.
The pins 110,112 are biased into an engaged configuration with complementarily shaped apertures in the side wall of the cylindrical member to releasably secure the cylindrical member in a given orientation within the trough.
If the handle to which the pins are operatively connected is moved away from the base, once the spring bias has been overcome the pins are disengaged from the cylindrical member and permit the cylindrical member to freely rotate. A subsequent configuration of the platform may then be adopted and the handle released to permit the pins to engage another set of apertures in the cylindrical member which corresponds to a different configuration and orientation of the platform relative to the base.
In this embodiment, there are 3 pairs of apertures around the circumference of the cylindrical member each pair corresponding to a given predetermined configuration of the platform relative to the base.
While the invention has been described in detail, modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art. Such modifications are also to be considered as part of the present invention. In view of the foregoing discussion, relevant knowledge in the art and references or information discussed above in connection with the Background of the Invention, the disclosures of which are all incorporated herein by reference, further description is deemed unnecessary. In addition, it should be understood that aspects of the invention and portions of various embodiments may be combined or interchanged either in whole or in part. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended to limit the invention.
Thus, the present invention has been described herein with reference to a particular embodiment for a particular application. Although selected embodiments have been illustrated and described in detail, it may be understood that various substitutions and alterations are possible. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the present teachings may recognize additional various substitutions and alterations are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and as defined by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2117804.1 | Dec 2021 | GB | national |
The present application claims priority of PCT/GB2022/053145, filed on Dec. 9, 2022, which claims benefit from Great Britain Application No. 2117804.1, filed on Dec. 9, 2021 and entitled “EXERCISE APPARATUS”, the disclosure of which being hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/GB2022/053145 | 12/9/2021 | WO |
