Patent Grant
7998030
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for providing resistance to the legs of an athlete while training to improve sudden movement, along with a measurement record thereof, and more particularly to a resistance and measurement system conformed to align behind the athlete during his or her accelerating movement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Those engaged in the training of athletes for sporting endeavors that entail complex body movements may recognize the negative and deleterious effect of fatigue on the efficacy of the training program. Simply, the course of training by sheer repetition of complex or changing movements often fails to obtain the expected result since the onset of fatigue in a muscular grouping is rarely uniform and the imperceptible fatigued muscle compensation then results in all sorts of poor habits. For example, the musculature grouping of a sprinter that may be first involved in a sudden start and thereafter down the track and then the finish includes not just the large leg muscles but also various other smaller ones that control body and joint alignment, and the like, and it is manifestly unlikely that all the involved muscles will coherently tire at the same rate.
This is particularly pronounced amongst the more competitive athletes that by their dedication are constantly working out since most current exercise facilities favor just one or another large muscle group that results in an uneven muscular development in which the smaller ones are deferred to inattention. When strained by repetitive training these transient movement patterns include smaller muscles then invariably tire at a faster rate, resulting in compensatory changes which grossly distort the efficacy of further repetition, to a point where continued training may simply induce improper habits that produce a negative, rather than a positive, result.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that while prolonged repetitive exercise is effective in the collective training of large muscular groupings, such as those of a long distance runner, the same effect is more difficult to achieve in the training of transient patterns that include those entailed in a sudden start and thereafter the movement down the track for the reasons that I note above. Thus while I and others have described in the past various training systems and mechanisms exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,652,427 and 5,197,931 issued to me; U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,186 issued to Stewart et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,394 issued to Michaelson, and many others, each of these examples relies on training repetition as the driving mechanism for the coordinated development of the whole muscular group. The target efficacy of these mechanisms, therefore, is in the improvement in the most limiting component of the group, a result focused on the development of whole muscle array.
Unlike this coordinated development path where the exercise focus is easily determined by the total time needed to reach a finish line, the dynamics of a sudden lunge out of the starting blocks, for example, present a more difficult analytic assessment. While one may choose a point on the track to somehow quantify these transient, such a measurement alone is simply insufficient as it often hides negative habits that often manifest themselves only much further along the track.
In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,427 that I have noted above I have described a resistance arrangement useful in deploying an elastomeric restraint to the legs of an athlete while training on a treadmill in which a fabric panel stretched between the athlete and a vertical post behind the treadmill serves to guide and stabilize the stretched restraining elastomeric strap. While quite useful in inducing added effort during a steady state treadmill driven exercise, this combination provides little information, and thus little training utility, useful in the development of transient capabilities like those during all the movement patterns from the starting blocks to the finish. A restraint mechanism that produces continuous measurement information while tied to the athlete during all such transient patterns and that fully records all the parameters thereof is therefore extensively desired and it is one such a tethered measurement system that is described herein.
Accordingly, it is the general purpose and object of the present invention to provide a measurement attachment aerodynamically aligned to trail a measurement wheel behind a person while training to provide measurement signals indicative of the rate changes of the movement and the distance traversed.
Other objects of the invention are to provide a measurement system which also includes resistance inducing attachments tethered to a training athlete and also aerodynamically stabilized so as to minimize any interference in the course of the exercise.
Yet additional and further objects of the invention shall become apparent upon the inspection of the description that now follows, in conjunction with the accompanying illustrations.
Briefly, these and other objects are accomplished within the present invention by providing an exercise resistance structure attachable to the waist and upper legs of a training athlete in a manner generally similar to the attachment described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,427 issued earlier to me, modified however in accordance with the teachings herein. More precisely, a generally L-shaped trailing frame defined by two linear frame pieces joined to each other at an obtuse angle is releasably attached to the athlete's waist at the free end of one of the frame pieces while the end of the other piece is trailed behind the athlete on a pivotally mounted trailing roller or wheel carrying a ballast weight to increase the inertia of the structure. One or more magnets mounted in spaced increments on this trailing wheel are then each aligned to pass adjacent an inductor coil in a manner similar to that described in my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/661,010, which I incorporate in its entirety herein by reference, in a manner known in the art is then useful to generate periodic signals indicative of the wheel's rolling rate which can then by accumulated with time to provide an indication of the distance, the maximum rate achieved and the various combinations thereof.
A dimensionally conformed generally triangular fabric panel is then secured at two of its edges to the respective frame pieces with the third edge once again folded over to form an envelope or sheath through which an elastomeric band is stretched from the trailing end of the frame to a split harness having its ends respectively secured to the athlete's thighs. Preferably the dimensions of the frame and the included angle between its pieces are each selected such that the ground contact of the trailing wheel assembly is spaced behind the athlete's concurrent foot prints on the ground, thereby insuring a generally centered alignment of the frame behind the athlete.
To maximize this aerodynamically centralized alignment behind the athlete while he or she is moving down the track, the trailing fabric panel in the instant invention is both perforated by a plurality of openings and is also stretched to its full planform by ribs or battens that extend to its folded over free edge within which the elastomeric restraint band is stretched. Thus in the course of each of the athlete's strides a substantial fabric area is laterally moved in coordination with the leg movement that is aerodynamically attenuated towards the trailing end, resulting in a highly decreased lateral displacement of the trailing wheel assembly to thereby keep it generally centered on the course or track. The relative dimensions along with this centering tendency and the generally triangular planform result in a mechanism that presents little interference to the athlete while insuring a running leg motion that has minimal lateral components.
In this form both the aerodynamic drag and also the elastic restraint combine to impose a repeatable training resistance to the movements of the athlete while moving wholly unrestrained down the course or track. Moreover, since the source of these repeatable restraining loads is trailed directly behind the athlete in the course of the lunge or sudden start, the mechanism is also useful as a reliable measurement tool by which the troubling aspects of localized muscular fatigue can be discerned and avoided. Notably, this same trailing structure also aligns the restraining forces along the movement path, thereby limiting unwanted lateral leg movement components while reinforcing the movements in a plane along the running path. Of course, one will further appreciate that these same motion aligning aspects are useful not only in the training of a sprinter but also in other competitive events like skating or walking in which all unnecessary muscular movements only detract from the result.
In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,427 issued to me on Nov. 25, 2003, I have described a treadmill resistance apparatus, which I now generally summarize by reference to
The foregoing apparatus has been particularly useful in a steady state exercise arrangement provided within the limited confines of a treadmill. These same limited dimensions, however, of this exercise modality cannot accommodate transitory events like those associated with the starting lunge by a sprinter, the high jump approach transient, toss of a javelin, and the like. These, simply, have to be carried out at the track or field and the limited stationary aspects of this prior arrangement are therefore all resolved in the inventive adaptation described by reference to
By particular reference to
A generally triangular conforming fabric panel 15 is attached along two edges thereof to the respective frame pieces 11F and 11R with the third edge folded over to form a sheath 25 through which an elastomeric band 24 is stretched from the wheel pivot 11P to the midpoint of a split harness 21 comprising a pair of leg straps 22 respectively fastened around the left and right thigh of the athlete AT. A length adjusting chain segment 23 at the end of band 24 is then useful, by selecting the appropriate link for attachment, to adjust the band tension between the attachment end and the harness, thereby setting the desired resistance tension restraining the athlete's leg movement which also stretches the fabric panel 15 to maximize its aerodynamic effect. To enhance even further the aerodynamic drag of the panel as it is trailed behind the athlete AT a set of battens or ribs 33 is sewn into the panel to insure its full planform extension to expose a set of holes 34 to the relative wind, the small forward area of the panel then complying with the lateral movement of the harness 21 with each stride while the path of the larger stretched trailing area remains generally centered on the track.
In this manner a lightweight, aerodynamically stabilized, trailing structure is devised which is supported by a pivoted trailing wheel at its trailing end that is virtually completely attenuated in its lateral excursions. This smoothed result interferes only minimally with the athlete's movement while providing a very stable platform which facilitates accurate measurement for the trainer indicating whether the training should cease because of unwanted localized muscular fatigue. This measurement can be conveniently effected by well known mechanisms, like the measuring mechanism sold under the mark ‘Astrale 8’ by CatEYE USA, 2300 Central Ave., Unit L, Boulder Colo. 80301 for a bicycle, that are effected by one or more magnetic slugs 41 peripherally spaced on wheel 13 to pass adjacent an inductive pickup 42 fixed on frame 11 which, in turn, is connected to a meter and/or recording device RC also on the frame.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing inventive apparatus is not just limited to athletic endeavors engaged on a field or track. By particular reference to
It will be further appreciated that in each instance both all the parameters that produce resistance loading and also those developing measurement input are completely resolved between the person of the athlete and the trailing end of the frame. This particular aspect allows for convenient size modifications that may even further reduce any potential negative influence on the athlete's movement as noted above.
Obviously many modifications and variations of the instant invention can be effected without departing from the spirit of the teachings herein. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be determined solely by the claims appended hereto.
This application obtains the benefit of the earlier filing date of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/213,536 filed on Jun. 18, 2009.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 61213536 | Jun 2009 | US |
