Abstract:
A weight lifting system consisting of thin light-weight sandals to be strapped to a person&#39;s shod feet, the sandals having additional parts that are designed to attach to and detach from corresponding hardware on weights and weight holding devices. The sandals are designed and built so they will not interfere with walking or other exercises. The hardware works quickly and easily and a plurality of different weights is preferred with the net result being that the user can quickly and easily pick up and put down weights with their feet, change the amount of weight, and change weights from foot to foot and, hence, can easily move from one exercise to another, and there is no need to remove the sandals when performing other exercises.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 61/400,463 for Weight lifting sandals and their weights filed on Jul. 27, 2010 by Thomas Jay Zeek 
         [0002]    This application claims an invention that is shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/583,854 filed on Aug. 26, 2009 for “Weight Lifting Shoes” from Thomas Jay Zeek, and uses much of the same hardware that is shown and claimed in that application. The invention claimed herein first appeared in Provisional Application for Patent No. 61/191,171 filed on Sep. 4, 2008 for “Weight lifting shoes and their weights” from Thomas Jay Zeek. 
     
    
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0003]    Not Applicable. 
       SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM 
       [0004]    Not Applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    This invention pertains to weight lifting, specifically to a device that improves the quality and number of exercises that a person can do with their legs. It is a pair of sandals that enable the user to easily pick up and put down weights with their feet and to change weights quickly and they do not interfere with the user&#39;s ability to walk or to do other exercises. 
         [0006]    While exercises for the upper body have always been easy to do and plentiful, exercises for the legs have been fewer and much more difficult to coordinate. One of the reasons for this discrepancy is the simple ability of a person to pick up and put down weights with their hands, while no such ability exists for leg exercises. 
         [0007]    This problem is normally addressed by the use of large expensive weight lifting machines. Machines called leg curl or leg extension machines take up a lot of room in the user&#39;s house and are only good for a couple of exercises. Other weight lifting machines such as donkey kick machines are more expensive and for most people require a gym membership. 
         [0008]    Many devices have been invented for attaching weights to the user&#39;s ankles or feet to increase the number of exercises that can be done. Weighted shoes have been invented which don&#39;t hurt the ankles like ankle weights but they make changing and removing weights difficult, and they hamper walking and other exercises because they remain heavy. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,517,928 to Shanahan; 3,785,646 to Ruskin; and 6,052,924 to Sabat are examples of such shoes. Methods of adding weights to normal shoes include weights that tie into shoelaces U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,709 to Walsh and a sort of sock that fits over the shoe U.S. Pat. No. 5,728,032 to Glass. In both of those inventions changing weights is time consuming and difficult. All of these inventions are hampered by the limited amount of weight they can employ. 
         [0009]    Closer to the mark have been devices that attach to shoes and which in turn receive various amounts of weight, as in my current invention. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,114,790 to Venables; 2,849,237 to Simithis; 3,343,836 to James; and 6,196,950 to Emick are all examples of such devices. All of these devices are excellent while the user is actually doing the exercise. They all accommodate heavy weight and in one case the ease of changing weights rivals my own invention, but all have the same drawback, namely that they interfere with walking and doing other exercises. 
         [0010]    U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,114,790 and 3,343,836 both use a very thick sole plate through which a dumbbell passes to add weight. The thickness of the sole plates makes walking awkward and makes other exercises awkward and dangerous as the user could easily “fall off their heels.” They would have to be removed when the user is switching between upper body and lower body exercises. U.S. Pat. No. 2,849,237 uses a thick sole plate as the actual weight and carries with it the same problems as above. U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,950 uses a thin sole plate but changing weights requires the user to fumble with individual weight plates instead of trading out the entire dumbbell. The sole plate is very rigid and flat and not at all conducive to walking. 
         [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,927 to Catanzano describes a similar device in which the sole plate is made up of a plurality of weights which can be thin but it is rigid and still awkward and is limited in the amount of weight it can incorporate. U.S. Pat. No. 2,214,052 to Good refers to an exercising boot “preferably made by casting suitable metal in a shaping form or mold.” It is intended to be worn in place of shoes and not over shoes and therefore will be difficult to fit properly. Its rigid design again makes walking and other exercises difficult and dangerous. 
         [0012]    The best inventions heretofore that are suitable for heavy weights, allow quick and easy changing of weights, and consider the user&#39;s ability to walk and to perform other exercises as well as the user&#39;s safety are my own weight lifting shoes claimed in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/583,854 which uses much of the same hardware as the current invention, and U.S. Pat. No. 757,983 to Vaile, which discloses a shoe of substantially normal fit and construction with some parts added to accommodate the addition and quick removal of weights, even heavy weights. The mostly normal construction of both inventions provides comfort, safety, and convenience because they can be worn throughout the user&#39;s workout and walking and performing other exercises is still possible, and they provide a solid dependable base for a person who is standing on one foot while exercising with the other foot. 
         [0013]    Both inventions however still carry with them some drawbacks that need to be addressed. 
         [0014]    The first drawback of Vaile&#39;s invention as well as my own weight lifting shoes is that the shoes must be replaced as often as a person&#39;s shoe size changes, which can be very expensive for a person whose feet are still growing. 
         [0015]    Vaile&#39;s design also has the drawback of having the weight over the toes of the user&#39;s foot. This weight forward design forces the user to exercise their ankle and lower leg muscles and upper leg muscles at the same time. During lateral leg raises for instance the weight will put a twisting force on the user&#39;s ankle. Being forced to exercise too many muscles at the same time reduces the effectiveness on the target muscles because the user will get tired before the target muscles have been fully worked. The weights will also have a tendency to hit the floor when the user is doing donkey kick exercises. 
         [0016]    Vaile&#39;s shoe and my own weight lifting shoes will also be more difficult to fit than the weight lifting sandals of this current invention. They would have to be offered in a variety of odd widths which few retail stores would want to stock, and they still wouldn&#39;t offer a proper fit for everyone. Many people require special shoes because of bone deformities in their feet, or need one shoe sole thicker than the other, etc. 
         [0017]    Consequently there remains a need for, and it is the object of the current invention to provide a means for a person to quickly and easily pick up and put down heavy weights with their feet that is safe, does not hurt, does not hamper walking or other exercises, is inexpensive, and easy to fit properly. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    The current invention is a pair of thin, substantially flat, rigid but flexible platforms in the shape of a shoeprint further consisting of a heel yoke and straps to secure it to a normally shod foot. They may be curved to fit the bottom of a normal shoe and they have additional hardware that attaches to corresponding hardware on weights and weight holding devices. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a top view of a weight lifting sandal of the current invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a side view of a weight lifting sandal. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a weight lifting sandal. 
           [0022]      FIGS. 4 ,  5 , and  6  show a weight lifting sandal properly strapped to a user&#39;s shod foot. 
           [0023]      FIGS. 7 and 8  show weight lifting sandals with open back heel yokes and abbreviated tabs  32  which attach to corresponding hardware on weights or weight holding devices. 
           [0024]      FIGS. 9A-B  show a tab assembly which is an integral part of the sole of the sandals shown in  FIGS. 1-6  and  FIGS. 19A-20C  and which attaches to corresponding hardware on weights. 
           [0025]      FIGS. 10A-C  show a peg assembly that can be used in place of the tab assembly for use with the weight holding device shown in  FIG. 17 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 11  shows a weight holding device for use with the tab assembly of  FIGS. 9A-B  and any shoe or sandal that uses such a tab assembly. 
           [0027]      FIG. 12  shows the weight holding device of  FIG. 11  with normal barbell weights attached properly. 
           [0028]      FIGS. 13 ,  14 , and  15  are a top and two side views of a weight holding device with locking pliers type clamps for use with the tab assembly of  FIGS. 9A-B  and any shoe or sandal that uses such a tab assembly. 
           [0029]      FIG. 16  is a cross sectional view of the plunger  82  which is part of the locking pliers type clamp shown in  FIGS. 13 ,  14 , and  15 . 
           [0030]      FIG. 17  is a perspective view of a weight holding device with hardware corresponding to the peg assembly shown in  FIGS. 10A-C  and any shoe or sandal that uses such a peg assembly. 
           [0031]      FIGS. 18A-B  show a weight and some attachments for use with the tab assembly of  FIGS. 9A-B  and any shoe or sandal that uses such a tab assembly. 
           [0032]      FIGS. 19A-C  show a sandal of this invention properly strapped to a user&#39;s shod foot with a weight holding device attached correctly. 
           [0033]      FIGS. 20A-C  show a person using the sandals of this invention to perform various exercises. 
           [0034]      FIG. 21  shows a perspective view from the front of a shorter version of this invention wherein the front area of the sandal is left off. 
           [0035]      FIG. 22  shows a perspective view from the rear of the same short sandal as  FIG. 21 . 
           [0036]      FIG. 23  shows a top view of the short sandal of  FIGS. 21 and 22 . 
           [0037]      FIG. 24  shows an exploded side view of the short sandal with several parts not shown. 
           [0038]      FIG. 25  shows an exploded perspective view of the short sandal with several parts not shown. 
           [0039]      FIG. 26  shows the short sandal correctly strapped to a user&#39;s shod foot. 
           [0040]      FIG. 27  shows the short sandal correctly strapped to a user&#39;s shod foot and weights correctly attached to the sandal. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0041]    One embodiment of the sandal of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1  (top view),  FIG. 2  (side view), and  FIG. 3  (perspective view). 
         [0042]    The sandal  40   a  consists of a thin, rigid but flexible and substantially flat main body  2  and has hardware that attaches to corresponding hardware on weights and weight holding devices. The sandal is made so that the hardware protrudes at the sides when the sandal is strapped to a normally shod foot. The hardware in  FIGS. 1-6  comes in the form of tabs  6 L and  6 R which are part of a tab assembly  116  that is shown in  FIGS. 9A-B  which is integrally incorporated into the main body  2 . Each tab has a notch  24  and a concavity  22  for accepting corresponding hardware that is attached to weights or weight holding devices. The tab assembly  116  is claimed in patent application Ser. No. 12/583,854 filed on Aug. 26, 2009 for “Weight Lifting Shoes” by Thomas Jay Zeek. 
         [0043]    The sandal has a thin rubber sole  30  on the bottom and a non-slip upper surface  28  that can be created by adding a layer of a tough sand paper type material of the kind normally found on the upper surface of skateboards. It has toe clamps  26  toward the front end, with each said clamp having a toe strap  16  with a toe buckle  14 . The sandal also has a main strap  8  and has a main buckle  10  to accept and hold the main strap  8 . The main buckle  10  is permanently attached to the main buckle strap  12 . The sandal also has a heel cup  4  which has two crossing straps  18  permanently attached on either side, which work in conjunction with the toe buckles  14 . The main strap  8  and the crossing straps  18  are hook and loop straps that stick back to themselves after passing through the buckles. The main body  2  has a front curve  3  to make it fit the bottom of a normal shoe. It is desirable for the toe clamps  26  to be adjustable for the width of a shoe, which can be done in the same way as the heel yoke anchors  160  shown in  FIG. 25 , or it can be done by making the toe clamps out of thin flexible steel that can simply bend to fit wider shoes.  FIGS. 4 ,  5 , and  6  show the sandal  40   a  correctly strapped to a user&#39;s shod foot. 
         [0044]    The best material for the main body  2  including the integral tab assembly  116  is polycarbonate, but a wide variety of materials can be used including several kinds of metal, plastic, fiberglass, or plywood, provided that the material isn&#39;t brittle and can be glued securely, or a variety of differing materials can be used. All of the sandals shown in  FIGS. 1-8  and  19 A- 20 C have a main body  2  that is made of a single piece of flexible but somewhat rigid material, but it is desirable to have most of the front curve  3  made of flexible rubber to allow the user to push his or her toes down toward the floor and to help the sandal to fit a wider variety of shoes. 
         [0045]    If the open backed heel yoke  5  or the preferred adjustable heel yoke  150  is used then the heel area can be made of flexible rubber and can also be curved to prevent the heel from hitting the floor too soon when the user is walking. The open backed heel yoke  5  is shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8  and the preferred adjustable heel yoke  150  is shown in  FIGS. 21 ,  22 ,  23 , and  26 , and it&#39;s described in paragraphs 0070-0073 below.  FIGS. 24 and 25  show a rubber sole  182  that has a flexible thick rubber heel section and a similar design can be used for the front curve  3  of the full footprint sandals  40   a  and  40   b.    
         [0046]      FIGS. 4-6  show the sandal  40   a  correctly strapped to a user&#39;s shod foot  50 . 
         [0047]    Advantages of the full footprint design of the weight lifting sandals shown in  FIGS. 1-8  and  19 A- 20 C over the short sandals shown in  FIGS. 21-27  include enabling the toe clamps  26  to be positioned farther forward, creating a smoother walking surface than the short sandals, and providing enough thickness to make the toe clamps  26  adjustable, whereas the short sandals are very thin at the front edge. 
         [0048]      FIGS. 7 and 8  show a top and a perspective view of a sandal  40   b  that uses slightly different hardware to attach to weights. The tabs  6 L and  6 R are replaced by abbreviated tabs  32 L and  32 R. This can be made by simply sawing the ends off of the tabs  6 L and  6 R shown in  FIGS. 1-6 . The sandal  40   b  also has an open backed heel yoke. 
         [0049]      FIGS. 9A-B  show the tab assembly  116  that is an integral part of the sandal  40   a . The tab assembly  116  consists of a body  114 , two tabs  6 L and  6 R, and each tab has a notch  24  and a concavity  22  for accepting corresponding hardware that is attached to weights or weight holding devices. The concavity can be created by the addition of ordinary metal washers with notches cut into them 20 as shown here, or the concavity  22  can be created by drilling directly into the base material as is the case in  FIGS. 21-26 . The body  114  is made so that the tabs  6 L and  6 R protrude at the sides when the sandal is strapped to a normally shod foot, and so it changes in size with the size of the sandal that it is a part of. 
         [0050]    In the preferred embodiment the distance between the notches  24  in the tab assembly  116  would remain constant over several shoe sizes so that the distance between the posts  64  or  90  on the weights  100  and the weight holding devices  61   a ,  61   b  can remain constant. This would enable different members of a single household to share weights and weight holding devices or a single person to use the same weights while their feet grow and their shoe size changes, and retailers would not have to stock the weights in a large variety of sizes. About four sizes of tab assembly  116  should be plenty even if the main body  114  of the tab assembly changes with every shoe size. 
         [0051]      FIGS. 10A-C  show a top, front, and right side view of a peg assembly  117  that can be used to make the sandals of this invention instead of the tab assembly  116 . The peg assembly  117  works in conjunction with the latch mechanism  131  shown in  FIG. 17 . The spacers  111  vary in thickness according to the size of the sandal so that a constant width is maintained for the same reasons described in paragraph 0050 regarding the tab assembly. The weight holding device  61   c  shown in  FIG. 17  has two latch mechanisms  131  and the spacers  111  should abut both of them to prevent lateral movement of the sandal. 
         [0052]    The tab assembly  116  and the peg assembly  117  are claimed in patent application Ser. No. 12/583,854 filed on Aug. 26, 2009 by Thomas Jay Zeek (me). 
         [0053]      FIG. 11  shows a weight holding device  61   a  for use with the sandals  40   a ,  40   b , and  40   c . It consists of a 1″ diameter bar  62  that is fitted with a platform  60  and two threaded posts  64  and two wing nuts  66 . The approximate dimensions of the platform  60  are 7″ in width, 2.5″ front to back, and about 0.25″ in thickness, although the thickness is only for strength and can vary according to the material it is made of. The other dimensions of the platform can vary according to the size of the sandal that is being used since the sandal needs to fit between the threaded posts  64 , but the platform  60  and the distance between the posts  64  should be limited to a few sizes to match the few sizes of the tab assembly  116  for the reasons listed in paragraph 0050 above. The platform  60  also acts as a weight collar and prevents the weights  68  from moving any closer to the user&#39;s sandal and maintains space for the user&#39;s fingers to operate the wing nuts  66 . 
         [0054]    The bar  62  is of a standard diameter for accepting normal barbell weights  68  that are available at most sporting goods stores. 
         [0055]      FIG. 12  shows the weight holding device of  FIG. 11  with normal barbell weights  68  added to the bars  62 . The weights  68  are held onto the bars  62  with ordinary weight clamps  70  which are available at most sporting goods stores. The user of this invention would ideally have several of these weight holding devices  61   a  with a different amount of weight on each or several weights  100  to completely obviate the need for fumbling with the barbell weights  68 , but the invention is still very valuable for picking up and putting down the weight even if the user only has one. 
         [0056]    The sandals and weights of this invention work by the user wearing the sandals as shown in  FIGS. 4-6  and sliding the tabs  6 L and  6 R under the wing nuts  66  so that the notches  24  accept the threaded posts  64  and the concavities  22  are directly under the wing nuts  66 . The user then tightens the wing nuts  66  into the concavities  22  until they are pressing firmly on the tabs  6 L and  6 R and are mostly surrounded by the washers  20 . The weight  100  or weight holding device  61   a  is now locked firmly to the sandal because the notches  24  will not allow the threaded posts  64  to move left, right, or back; the washers  20  reach around the wing nuts  66  and will not allow them to move forward; and the wing nuts  66  will not allow the tabs  6  to come up off of the platform  60 . Additionally, the thin rubber laminate  30  on the bottoms of the tabs is being pressed firmly to the platform  60  which creates friction preventing any horizontal movement of the sandal on the platform. The user is now free to lift his or her foot and hence the weight in any manner they desire. 
         [0057]    After performing the desired number of repetitions of a given exercise the user can quickly and easily remove the weight by loosening the wing nuts  66  and sliding their foot back off of the platform  60 . The user can then attach the weight to their other foot or attach a different weight to the same foot and continue exercising, or they can leave the weights off and do some upper body exercises with no weights attached to their feet. The sandals will not interfere with pushups, sit ups, walking, or almost any other exercise. The wing nuts  66  never need to be removed from the threaded posts  64 , only loosened enough to provide clearance for the washers  20 . 
         [0058]      FIGS. 13 ,  14 , and  15  show a top view and side views of another weight holding device  61   b  that can be used with the sandals of this invention. It replaces the threaded posts  64  and wing nuts  66  with smooth posts  90  and locking clamps  94 .  FIG. 13  (top view) lacks the locking nuts  86 . 
         [0059]    The locking clamps  94  work in the same way as Visegrjp® locking pliers and use most of the same components. With the locking clamps open as is shown in  FIG. 14 , the sandal  40   a  is slid onto the platform  60  so that the notches  24  accept the smooth posts  90 . With the concavities  22  mostly encircling the smooth posts  90  and directly under the plungers  82 , the user locks the locking clamps  94  down onto the tabs  6 L and  6 R by pushing down on the thumb levers  80  which causes the plungers  82  to go down into the concavities  22 .  FIG. 15  shows the locking clamp  94  in the position for holding down on a tab. When the user wants to release the clamps they can simply pull up on the thumb levers  80 . This weight holding device also works with the sandals  40   b  in  FIGS. 7 and 8  and the sandals  40   c  in  FIGS. 21-27 . 
         [0060]    The locking clamps  94  can be adjusted by means of the threaded rod  84 . With the locking clamps  94  open as in  FIG. 14  the user can slide the sandal  40   a  into position and depress the thumb levers  80 . If the user determines that a clamp is too tight or too loose they can release the clamp and then twist the threaded rod  84  and close the clamp again. When the desired tightness is achieved the user should tighten the locking nut  86  which will hold the threaded rod  84  in place. Clamps of this type are available from Good Hand Inc., 7141 Paramount Blvd., Pico Rivera, Ca. 90660. 
         [0061]      FIG. 16  shows a cross sectional view of the threaded rod  84  and plunger  82  from the locking clamp  94 . This view shows the hole  96  which accepts the smooth post  90  when the plunger  82  goes down into the concavity  22 . The smooth post  90  prevents the plunger  82  from moving on a horizontal plane and makes sure the plunger  82  goes in exactly the right place. 
         [0062]    The hole  96  has to be deep enough to keep the smooth post  90  from hitting the top of the hole  96  because that would prevent the plunger  82  from fully descending into the concavity  22 . There should always be some air space above the smooth post  90  when the locking clamp  94  is closed. 
         [0063]      FIG. 17  shows a weight holding device  61   c  for use with sandals or shoes that have the peg assembly  117  shown in  FIGS. 10A-C . The user wearing the shoes or sandals engages the latch mechanisms  131  by stepping down on them so that the pegs  110  are forced through the latches  112 . The latches  112  have a spring and close automatically to hold the pegs  110  in place. The spacers  111  contact the sides of the latch mechanisms  131  to prevent any lateral movement by the shoe or sandal. The distance filled by the spacers  111  should remain constant over several shoe sizes for the reasons discussed in paragraph 0050 above. When the user of this device wants to release the shoe or sandal from the latch mechanisms  131  they only have to depress the latch levers  113 L and  113 R and the latches  112  will move out of the way. 
         [0064]      FIG. 18A  shows a special weight  100  designed specifically for use with the sandals of this invention or shoes with similar hardware. It has a curved bottom  102  to facilitate walking a few steps to or from a chair and it can be made of plastic filled with sand, concrete, lead, etc. or it can be made of a single piece of cast iron. The weight  100  can be made in various sizes. It has a threaded hole  190  on each end to receive the threaded bars  192  shown in  FIG. 18B  so that more weight can be added. The threaded bars  192  are of a standard diameter to accept normal barbell weights available at most sporting goods stores. 
         [0065]      FIGS. 19A-C  show the sandals  40   a  of this invention correctly strapped to the user&#39;s shod foot  50  with weights and weight holding devices attached in the proper way. 
         [0066]      FIGS. 20A-C  show a person using the sandals of this invention to perform various exercises. 
         [0067]      FIGS. 21-23  show perspective views and a top view of the most preferred embodiment of this invention. 
         [0068]    The short sandal  40   c  is made by leaving off the front curve  3  of the full sandal completely, allowing the ball of the user&#39;s foot to contact the floor normally, and the sandal tapers to a very thin front edge to ease the transition from sandal to floor when the user is walking or performing other exercises. The front clamps  168  shown in these drawings are not adjustable because the sandal is too thin at the front to have room for any kind of mechanical devices, but they could be made out of thin steel which would allow them to bend around wider shoes. In these drawings they are part of the same piece of polycarbonate as the rest of the body  180  and are formed by being bent into the desired position. The front clamps  168  could also be left off entirely and the short straps could be attached directly to the flat part of the sandal&#39;s body. 
         [0069]    The front clamps  168  each have a short strap  170  with a buckle  158  to receive the long strap  154  which works by weaving back and forth across the user&#39;s foot through the buckles  158 . The long strap  154  is a hook and loop strap and sticks back to itself after passing through the buckle  158  on the heel buckle strap  156 .  FIG. 26  shows the short sandal  40   c  correctly strapped to a user&#39;s foot. 
         [0070]    The long strap  154  and the heel buckle strap  156  are attached to the heel yoke  150  with a circular shaped grommet  152  to allow adjustment of the angle of the straps. The grommets  152  should be loose enough to allow the straps to be adjusted but not to move freely. The same means can be used to attach the short straps  170  to the front clamps  158  or to attach the toe straps  16  to the toe clamps  26  on the full footprint sandal. 
         [0071]    The heel yoke  150  is made of a single piece of polycarbonate 1.2″ wide and 0.1″ thick. It is made from an arc with a radius of 4″ bent into the horseshoe shape that is shown. The open back design of the heel yoke allows it to fit a variety of different shoes, whereas a solid heel cup might contact the shoe at some low point and leave a gap at the top. The heel yoke  150  is held to the heel yoke anchors  160  with holding screws  162  which pass through the vertical slots  153 . The vertical slots  153  allow the heel yoke  150  to be adjusted for height. 
         [0072]    The heel yoke anchors  160  are made of polycarbonate 0.1″ thick and have a horizontal slot  163  that the holding screws  162  pass through. The horizontal slot allows the holding screw  162  and hence the heel yoke  150  to slide forward and backward and the heel yoke  150  can be tilted forward and backward so that along with the height adjustment enabled by the vertical slot  153  it is fully adjustable and can fit any shoe within the sandal&#39;s size range. The holding screws  162  should not have a circular head as shown because that will leave dents in the heel yoke anchor  160  which impede adjusting the heel yoke&#39;s position, or the heel yoke anchors can be made of steel. 
         [0073]    The holding screws  162  are held by the holding wing nut  164  which can be loosened to allow adjustment of the heel yoke and then tightened to hold the heel yoke in the proper position. A more aesthetic holding nut is preferred to the holding wing nut  164 , and a rubber washer can be added between the heel yoke and the heel yoke anchor to improve the hold. The heel yoke is held in place mostly by the straps. The screw and wing nut only keep the bottom end of the heel yoke from moving. 
         [0074]      FIGS. 24 and 25  show exploded views of the short sandal  40   c  without the rough surface  172  or the heel yoke  150  or any of the straps or buckles. 
         [0075]    The heel yoke anchors  160  fit into the deep recesses  174  in the body  180 . The anchor adjustment screws  166  pass through the slots  167  in the bottom of the yoke anchors  160  and they fit into the threaded holes  175 . When the short sandal  40   c  is fully assembled the heel yoke anchors  160  can be adjusted for a shoe&#39;s width by loosening the anchor adjustment screws  166  about a half of a turn and then sliding the heel yoke anchors  160  into the desired position and then tightening the screws. In the preferred embodiment a steel T nut would be used to avoid damaging the threads in the threaded holes  175 , and the body  180  of the sandal  40   c  might be about 2 mm thicker to provide more threads for the anchor adjustment screws. 
         [0076]    The covering plates  178  fit over the heel yoke anchors  160  and are glued into the shallow recesses  176  to create a flat surface for the rough surface  172  to be applied to. The depth of the deep recesses  174  is exactly equal to the thickness of the heel yoke anchors  160  so that the covering plates  178  will be in contact with the heel yoke anchors instead of all of the stress being born by the anchor adjustment screw  166 . 
         [0077]    The screw  166  does not hold the covering plate  178  because the adjustment screw hole  179  is bigger than the head of the screw. 
         [0078]    The concavities  22  are created by drilling directly into the tabs  7 R and  7 L. 
         [0079]      FIGS. 24 and 25  also show the rubber sole  182  and the heel curve  184 . The heel curve  184  is flexible and has a tighter radius than the bottom of almost any shoe, so that it will conform to the shape of the bottom of the user&#39;s shoe. The heel is curved only to prevent the heel of the sandal from hitting the floor when the user is walking and because it is flexible it does nothing to help the sandal keep its position on the shoe. If the heel curve is too rigid it will tend to apply pressure to the heel of the user&#39;s shoe during some exercises and tend to pull the user&#39;s shoe off. Instead the sandal hangs on by the heel yoke above the user&#39;s heel where it will not tend to pull the shoe off. 
         [0080]      FIG. 26  shows the short sandal  40   c  correctly strapped to a user&#39;s shod foot. 
         [0081]      FIG. 27  shows the short sandal  40   c  strapped to a user&#39;s shod foot with weights correctly attached. 
         [0082]    Accordingly the reader will see that the sandals and weights and the various hardware of this invention will provide a method of lower body exercises that is effective, safe, easy to operate, low cost, and can be used and kept easily in a small room or apartment. 
         [0083]    Although the description above contains many specificities, exact descriptions of the sandals, of how they are secured to the user&#39;s foot, and the hardware used to attach the weights to the sandals may be innumerable, and examples shown should not be construed as limiting the scope of this invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments. 
       REFERENCE NUMERALS USED IN DRAWINGS 
       [0084]      
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                  2 
                 main body 
               
               
                   
                  3 
                 front curve 
               
               
                   
                  4 
                 heel cup 
               
               
                   
                  5 
                 open backed heel yoke 
               
               
                   
                  6L 
                 left tab 
               
               
                   
                  6R 
                 right tab 
               
               
                   
                  7L 
                 left recessed tab 
               
               
                   
                  7R 
                 right recessed tab 
               
               
                   
                  8 
                 main strap 
               
               
                   
                  10 
                 main buckle 
               
               
                   
                  12 
                 main buckle strap 
               
               
                   
                  14 
                 toe buckle 
               
               
                   
                  16 
                 toe strap 
               
               
                   
                  18 
                 crossing strap 
               
               
                   
                  20 
                 washer 
               
               
                   
                  22 
                 concavity 
               
               
                   
                  24 
                 notch 
               
               
                   
                  26 
                 toe clamp 
               
               
                   
                  28 
                 non-slip surface 
               
               
                   
                  30 
                 thin rubber laminate 
               
               
                   
                  30b 
                 other rubber laminate 
               
               
                   
                  32L 
                 left abbreviated tab 
               
               
                   
                  32R 
                 right abbreviated tab 
               
               
                   
                  40a 
                 full sandal 
               
               
                   
                  40b 
                 sandal with abbreviated tabs 
               
               
                   
                  40c 
                 short sandal 
               
               
                   
                  50 
                 user&#39;s shod foot 
               
               
                   
                  60 
                 platform 
               
               
                   
                  61a 
                 weight holding device with wing nuts 
               
               
                   
                  61b 
                 weight holding device with locking clamps 
               
               
                   
                  61c 
                 weight holding device with latch mechanisms 
               
               
                   
                  62 
                 bar 
               
               
                   
                  64 
                 threaded post 
               
               
                   
                  66 
                 wing nut 
               
               
                   
                  68 
                 barbell weight 
               
               
                   
                  70 
                 weight clamp 
               
               
                   
                  80 
                 thumb lever 
               
               
                   
                  82 
                 plunger 
               
               
                   
                  84 
                 threaded rod 
               
               
                   
                  86 
                 locking nut 
               
               
                   
                  90 
                 smooth post 
               
               
                   
                  94 
                 locking clamp 
               
               
                   
                  96 
                 hole 
               
               
                   
                 100 
                 special weight 
               
               
                   
                 102 
                 curved bottom 
               
               
                   
                 110 
                 peg 
               
               
                   
                 111 
                 spacer 
               
               
                   
                 112 
                 latch 
               
               
                   
                 113L 
                 left latch lever 
               
               
                   
                 113R 
                 right latch lever 
               
               
                   
                 114 
                 main body of tab assembly 
               
               
                   
                 116 
                 tab assembly 
               
               
                   
                 117 
                 peg assembly 
               
               
                   
                 131 
                 latch mechanism 
               
               
                   
                 150 
                 adjustable heel yoke 
               
               
                   
                 152 
                 grommet 
               
               
                   
                 153 
                 vertical slot 
               
               
                   
                 154 
                 long strap 
               
               
                   
                 156 
                 heel buckle strap 
               
               
                   
                 158 
                 buckle 
               
               
                   
                 160 
                 heel yoke anchor 
               
               
                   
                 162 
                 holding screw 
               
               
                   
                 163 
                 horizontal slot 
               
               
                   
                 164 
                 holding wing nut 
               
               
                   
                 166 
                 anchor adjustment screw 
               
               
                   
                 167 
                 slot 
               
               
                   
                 168 
                 front clamp 
               
               
                   
                 170 
                 short strap 
               
               
                   
                 172 
                 rough surface 
               
               
                   
                 174 
                 deep recess 
               
               
                   
                 175 
                 threaded hole 
               
               
                   
                 176 
                 shallow recess 
               
               
                   
                 178 
                 covering plate 
               
               
                   
                 179 
                 adjustment screw hole 
               
               
                   
                 180 
                 body 
               
               
                   
                 182 
                 rubber sole 
               
               
                   
                 184 
                 heel curve 
               
               
                   
                 190 
                 threaded hole 
               
               
                   
                 192 
                 short weight holding bar