Patent Application
20250090896
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The disclosure relates to exercise devices and more particularly pertains to a new exercise device enabling performance of a plurality of exercises. Many exercise devices, such as Nordic Ham Curl exercise devices, are dedicated to a particular exercise and are not adaptable to allow users to perform additional exercises. Adaptable exercise devices that can be used for multiple exercises are desirable to reduce overall costs and space requirements.
The prior art relates to Nordic Ham Curl exercise devices but which are not adaptable to allow a user to perform hip thrust exercises.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a base, an upright support, a first rest, and a second rest. The base has an upper surface, a lower surface, a front end, a rear end, and opposed lateral edges, which extend between the front end and the rear end. The upright support has a lower end and an upper end, with the lower end being attached to the upper surface proximate to the rear end and the upright support extending substantially vertically from the base. The first rest is removably couplable to the upper end of the upright support for performing a plurality of first exercises. The first rest is elongated and having a longitudinal axis, which extends bilaterally and perpendicularly from the upright support in parallel with a vertical plane that bisects each of the opposed lateral edges. The second rest is removably couplable to the upper end of the upright support. The second rest also is elongated and has a longitudinal axis that extends bilaterally and perpendicularly from the upright support in parallel with the vertical plane that bisects each of the opposed lateral edges. The second rest is rotatable about its longitudinal axis for performing a plurality of second exercises.
Another embodiment of the disclosure includes a method of performing multiple exercises, which entails provision of a multifunctional exercise device, according to the disclosure above. Steps of the method include inserting the attachment rods of the first rest into the attachment tubes, coupling the first couplers to the second couplers to secure the first rest to the upright support, positioning the second rest atop and across the pair of siderails, and performing respective first exercises, such as Nordic Ham Curls. Additional steps include detaching the first rest from the upright support, inserting the attachment rods of the second rest into the attachment tubes, coupling the first couplers to the second couplers to secure the second rest to the upright support, and performing respective second exercises, such as hip thrusts.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The base 12 comprises a pair of siderails 34, which define the opposed lateral edges 28 of the base 12, a rear rail 36, and a front rail 38. The rear rail 36 is attached to and extends between the siderails 34 proximate to the rear end 26. As is shown in
Other configurations of the base 12 are anticipated by the present invention. For example, the base 12 may not be rectangular, as is shown in the figures. Additionally, one or both of the footrest 40 and the front rail 38 may be deleted and the siderails 34 may not be parallel.
The footrest 40 may comprise a plurality of crossbeams 44 and a foot plate 46. The crossbeams 44 are attached to and extend between the siderails 34. The foot plate 46 is attached to the plurality of crossbeams 44. The foot plate 46 is anticipated to comprise metal, wood, plastic, or the like, and comprise an upper layer 106 of rubber, silicone, or the like, to increase traction.
Each T-bar 48 of a pairs of T-bars 48 is attached to and extends from a respective siderail 34. The pair of T-bars 48 is configured for attachment of one or more resistance bands 50. As will become apparent below, the resistance bands 50 can be utilized in the performance of a variety of exercises with the multifunctional exercise device 10, one example of which is depicted in
As is shown in
One example of a length adjustment means for the base 12 is depicted in the figures, wherein the rear section 52 and the front section 54 have a set of first securing holes 56 and a set of second securing holes 58 positioned therein, respectively, enabling selective alignment of respective second securing holes 58 with respective first securing holes 56 with the footrest 40 being positioned at a user selected distance from the rear rail 36. Each fastener 60, such as a bolt, of a plurality of fasteners 60 is insertable through a respective second securing hole 58 and an aligned first securing hole 56 to removably secure the front sections 54 to the rear sections 52.
While
The first rest 16 and the second rest 18 are removably couplable to the upper end 32 of the upright support 14 for performing a plurality of first exercises and a plurality of second exercises, respectively. Each of the first rest 16 and the second rest 18 is elongated and has a longitudinal axis (62 and 64, respectively), which extends bilaterally and perpendicularly from the upright support 14 in parallel with a vertical plane 66 that bisects each of the opposed lateral edges 28, as is shown in
The present invention also anticipates the second rest 18 being selectively securable at a user selected degree of rotation about its longitudinal axis 64. Also anticipated by the present invention is a third rest (not shown), which also would be removably couplable to the upper end 32 of the upright support 14 and which would have a longitudinal axis extending bilaterally and perpendicularly from the upright support 14 in parallel with the vertical plane 66 bisecting each of the opposed lateral edges 28. While shaped similarly to the second rest 18, the third rest would not be rotatable about its longitudinal axis.
Each of the first rest 16 and the second rest 18 comprises an engagement member 68, which is removably couplable to the upright support 14 so that the first rest 16 and the second rest 18 are interchangeably couplable to the upright support 14. The upright support 14 may comprise a pair of attachment tubes 70 and each engagement member 68 may comprise a pair of attachment rods 72, as is shown in
The first couplers 74 of a pair of first couplers 74 are attached singly to the attachment tubes 70. Each attachment rod 72 has an upper terminus 76 and a lower terminus 78. A plurality of second couplers 80 is attached to the attachment rods 72 so that each attachment rod 72 is fitted with a set of second couplers 80 that extends from proximate to the upper terminus 76 to proximate to the lower terminus 78 of the attachment rod 72. The second couplers 80 are complementary to the first couplers 74 so that each first coupler 74 is positioned to selectively couple to a respective second coupler 80 to removably secure a respective one of the first rest 16 and the second rest 18 to the upright support 14 at a user selected height above the base 12. The first rest 16 and the second rest 18 thus can be positioned at a user selected height above the rear rail 36. This configuration allows the first rest 16 and the second rest 18 to be adjusted to users of a variety of heights. For example, the first rest 16 and the second rest 18 could be adjusted to heights of 36.8, 39.4, 41.9 and 44.4 cm above the surface upon which the base 12 is positioned to accommodate users of different heights.
Each first coupler 74 may comprise a pair of attachment holes 82 and a lock pin 84. The attachment holes 82 are opposingly positioned in a respective attachment tube 70. The lock pin 84 has a first end 86 and a second end 88 and is selectively insertable through the pair of attachment holes 82. Each second coupler 80 may comprise a channel 90, which extends through a respective attachment rod 72 and which is selectively alignable with the pair of attachment holes 82. The user thus is positioned to insert the lock pin 84 through the pair of attachment holes 82 and a respective channel 90 to removably secure the respective attachment rod 72 to the respective attachment tube 70. Additionally anticipated by the present invention are other securing means in place of the lock pins 84, such as, but not limited to, spring-loaded pins, which are attached to the attachment tubes 70 and which are selectively insertable into respective channels 90.
Each clip 92 of a pair of clips 92, which is C-shaped, has a first endpoint 94 and a second endpoint 96. The first endpoint 94 is hingedly attached to the first end 86 of a respective lock pin 84 and the second endpoint 96 of the clip 92 is securable to the respective lock pin 84 proximate to the second end 88 of the respective lock pin 84. The respective lock pin 84 thus is prevented from being inadvertently extracted from the pair of attachment holes 82 and the respective channel 90. For example, the clip 92 may be securable to the lock pin 84 by means of being resiliently deformable to allow positioning of a ring 98 attached to the clip 92 over the lock pin 84, or the clip 92 may include a cotter pin (not shown) that is insertable through a hole in the lock pin 84.
The multifunctional exercise device 10 also may include a tether 100, which is attached to the clip 92 and which is attached to or attachable to the rear rail 36 to retain the clip 92 in proximity to the attachment tubes 70. As is shown in
The present invention anticipates the engagement members 68 and the upright support 14 having alternative configurations, such as, but not limited to, heavy duty hinges to which attachment rods 72 or attachment tubes 70 are attached. The attachment rods 72 may be cylindrical, although the present invention anticipates alternative configurations of the upright support 14 and the engagement member 68. In one example, the engagement member 68 could comprise one or two attachment rods 72 or attachment tubes 70 that have a rectangular cross-sectional profile. A single attachment rod 72 or attachment tube 70 of sufficient strength and having a rectangular cross-sectional profile would be sufficient to support the second rest 18 and the user and also would allow for easy alignment of the pair of attachment holes 82 with a respective channel 90. Additionally anticipated is both the attachment rods 72 and the attachment tubes 70 being tubular.
The first rest 16 comprises a horizontal pole 108, to which a respective pair of attachment rods 72 is attached with the attachment rods 72 extending in parallel from the horizontal pole 108. Padding 110 is attached to and positioned around the horizontal pole 108. The padding 110 has a cross-sectional profile 112, which is arcuate and which may be circular, as is shown in
The second rest 18 comprises a rest plate 114, which has an upper face 116, a lower face 118, opposed edges 120, and opposed sides 122, and a horizontal rod 124. A top pad 126 is attached to and covers the upper face 116 of the rest plate 114. The top pad 126 and the padding 110 comprise materials well known to those skilled in the art of cushioning surfaces of exercise devices, such as foamed elastomer, silicone, rubber, fabric coverings, and the like. The horizontal rod 124 is rotatably attached to the lower face 118 of the rest plate 114 so that the rest plate 114 is rotatable around the longitudinal axis 64 of the second rest 18.
A pair of end tubes 128 is attached to the lower face 118 of the rest plate 114. The horizontal rod 124 has opposed end segments 130 that are positioned in the pair of end tubes 128 so that the horizontal rod 124 is rotatably attached to the rest plate 114. As is shown in
The second exercises that are enabled to be performed comfortably using the multifunctional exercise device 10 include, but are not limited to, double leg hip thrusts, single leg hip thrusts, barbell hip thrusts, and the like. Additionally, the T-bars 48 can be used with one or more of the resistance bands 50 to enable additional second exercises, such as, but not limited to, hip banded hip thrusts, as is being demonstrated in
With the first rest 16 being removably secured to the upright support 14, the second rest 18 is positionable atop and across the pair of siderails 34 to cushion knees of the user who is performing respective first exercises. The second rest 18 thus is configured to cushion knees of a user who is performing a Nordic Ham Curl exercise on the multifunctional exercise device 10, as is being demonstrated in
While typically rectangular, the present invention anticipates the rest plate 114 having opposed edges 120 that are convexly arcuate, with the top pad 126 being shaped complimentarily to the rest plate 114. The opposed edges 120 being convexly arcuate would eliminate sharp corners which could potentially cause injury or discomfort upon contact. The present invention anticipates the opposed edges 120 being separated by from 50.0 to 92.0 cm and the opposed sides 122 of the rest plate 114 being separated by from 20.0 to 56.0 cm, with the rest plate 114 and the top pad 126 having a combined height measuring from 2.0 to 18.0 cm. Typically, the opposed edges 120 would be separated by from 65.0 to 75.0 cm, the opposed sides 122 of the rest plate 114 would be separated by from 27.0 to 33.0 cm, and the combined height of the rest plate 114 and the top pad 126 would measure from 12.0 to 16.0 cm.
In use, the multifunctional exercise device 10 enables a method of performing multiple exercises 132, which entails provision of a multifunctional exercise device 10, according to the specification above. A first step 134 of the method 132 is inserting the attachment rods 72 of the first rest 16 into the attachment tubes 70 to achieve a desired height of the first rest 16. A second step 136 of the method 132 is coupling the first couplers 74 to the second couplers 80 to secure the first rest 16 to the upright support 14. A third step 138 of the method 132 is positioning the second rest 18 atop and across the pair of siderails 34 between the rear rail 36 and the footrest 40. A fourth step 140 of the method 132 is performing respective first exercises, such as Nordic Ham Curls.
A fifth step 142 of the method 132 is detaching the first rest 16 from the upright support 14. A sixth step 144 of the method 132 is inserting the attachment rods 72 of the second rest 18 into the attachment tubes 70 to achieve a desired height of the second rest 18. A seventh step 146 of the method 132 is coupling the first couplers 74 to the second couplers 80 to secure the second rest 18 to the upright support 14. An eighth step 148 of the method 132 is performing respective second exercises, such as hip thrusts.
In the embodiment wherein the front sections 54 are selectively positionable along and securable to the rear sections 52 to adjust the base 12 to fit users having a variety of heights, the method 132 comprises the additional setup steps of positioning the front sections 54 along the rear sections 52 to achieve the user selected distance of the footrest 40 from the rear rail 36, aligning respective second securing holes 58 with respective first securing holes 56, and inserting a fastener 60 through each respective second securing hole 58 and an aligned first securing hole 56 to removably secure the front sections 54 to the rear sections 52.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
