Abstract:
An exercise apparatus is disclosed, which comprises a cushioned strap for providing a soft contact with a person&#39;s body when the exercise apparatus being used for a sit-on-chair exercise, and an elastic strip attached to ends of the cushioned strap to form a closed loop therewith, the elastic strip providing a resistive force to an exercising person when a portion of the elastic strip is restricted by a chair the exercising person sits on.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to body exercise apparatus and method, and, more particularly, to chair-based resistive exercise apparatus and method. 
         [0002]    A need to exercise torso muscles to well recognized especial for office workers. Numerous chair-based exercise systems are well known in the art. However most of the chair-based exercise systems require specially made chairs to accommodate resistive devices for performing the torso exercises. Those specially made chairs are not only uneconomical but also more or less defeat the purpose of a chair to be used in an office for work. 
         [0003]    As such, what is desired is an apparatus for utilizing a regular chair to perform resistive exercises, particularly for the torso muscles of the body. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    The present invention discloses an exercise apparatus. According to one aspect of the present invention, the exercise apparatus comprises a cushioned strap for providing a soft contact with a person&#39;s body when the exercise apparatus being used for a sit-on-chair exercise, and an elastic strip attached to ends of the cushioned strap to form a closed loop therewith, the elastic strip providing a resistive force to an exercising person when a portion of the elastic strip is restricted by a chair the exercising person sits on. 
         [0005]    According to another aspect of the present invention, the exercise apparatus comprises a cushioned strap for providing a soft contact with a person&#39;s body when the exercise apparatus is used for a sit-on-chair exercise, a first and a second elastic strip attached to each end of the cushioned strap, respectively, and a length-adjustable strip attached to both the first and the second elastic strip, the length-adjustable strip having a variable length, wherein the cushioned strap, the first and second elastic strips and the length-adjustable strip form a closed loop, and the first and the second elastic strips provide a resistive force to an exercising person when the length-adjustable strip is restricted by a chair the exercising person sits on. 
         [0006]    According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the exercise apparatus comprises a cushioned strap for providing a soft contact with a person&#39;s body when the exercise apparatus is used for a sit-on-chair exercise, a first and a second elastic strip attached to each end of the cushioned strap, respectively, and a length-adjustable strip attached to both the first and the second elastic strip by at least one hooking device, the length-adjustable strip having a variable length, wherein the cushioned strap, the first and second elastic strips, the hooking device and the length-adjustable strip form a closed loop, and the first and the second elastic strips provide a resistive force to an exercising person when the length-adjustable strip is restricted by a chair the exercising person sits on, and wherein when the hooking device is unhooked, one end of the length-adjustable strip is detached from the first or the second elastic strip by the hooking device. 
         [0007]    The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0008]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate a method for exercising torso muscles of the body according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  illustrates an elastic strip apparatus for performing the exercises depicted in  FIGS. 1A and 1B . 
       
    
    
       [0010]    The drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification are included to depict certain aspects of the invention. A clearer conception of the invention, and of the components and operation of systems provided with the invention, will become more readily apparent by referring to the exemplary, and therefore non-limiting, embodiments illustrated in the drawings, wherein like reference numbers (if they occur in more than one view) designate the same elements. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the description presented herein. 
       DESCRIPTION 
       [0011]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate a method for exercising the torso muscles of the body according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1A , a person  102  sits on a regular office chair  104  with an elastic strip apparatus  110  having a cushioned portion  112  strapped over the back of the person&#39;s head. The elastic strip apparatus  110  forms a closed loop (not shown) with a the cushioned portion  112  strapping over the person&#39;s head, and another portion  114  loops around a supporting pole  106  of the office chair  104 . The elastic strip apparatus  110  is stretched in front of the person  102 , so that the elastic strip apparatus  110  provides a resistive force against the person&#39;s upper body moving upward from a bent down position. The cushioned portion  112  of the elastic strip apparatus  110  is padded with a soft cushion so that the strapping does not hurt the person&#39;s head. A skilled in the art may immediately recognize that the cushioned portion  112  can be strapped over the neck or the shoulders of the person  102  instead. 
         [0012]    Referring to  FIG. 1B , the same person  102  also sits on the regular office chair  104 , but the elastic strip apparatus  110  is stretched behind the person  102  with the cushioned portion  112  strapped over the forehead of the person  102 , and the portion  114  loops around the supporting pole  106  of the office chair  104 . Therefore, the elastic strip apparatus  110  provides a resistive force against the person&#39;s upper body moving forward. A skilled in the art may immediately recognize that the cushioned portion  112  can instead be strapped over the shoulders of the person  102 . 
         [0013]    Although  FIGS. 1A and 1B  depicts only back and forth movement of the person  102  for exercising the abdominal and back muscles, a skilled in the art may recognize that the elastic strip apparatus  110  can also provide resistive force for side-to-side movement of the person  102  when the elastic strip apparatus  110  is stretched around a side of the office chair  104  and the cushioned portion  112  of the elastic strip apparatus  110  is strapped over either a side of the neck or a shoulder of the person  102  (not shown). 
         [0014]      FIG. 2  illustrates an implementation of the elastic strip apparatus  110  for performing the exercises depicted in  FIGS. 1A and 1B . The elastic strip apparatus  110  has a cushioned portion  112 , a pair of symmetrical elastic portions  205 , and a length-adjustable portion  210 , along with two pairs of symmetrical joints  220  and  230  forming a closed loop. The cushioned portion  112  is generally non-elastic and padded a soft member (not shown). The cushioned portion  112  provides a soft contact to the body. The elastic portion  205  is made of a rubber tube. Different wall thicknesses and diameters of the rubber tube can provide different resistive forces to meet the needs of people with different strengths. 
         [0015]    Referring again to  FIG. 2 , a first end of the elastic portion  205  is attached to the cushioned portion  112  by the joint  220 . A second end of the elastic portion  205  is attached to the length-adjustable portion  210  by the joint  230 . The joint  220  is conventionally made of a metal ring  223  riveted through a fabric strip  225  which in term is sewed to an end of the cushioned portion  112 . The first end of the elastic portion  205  is inserted through the metal ring  223 . A bulge  228  provided at the first end of elastic portion  205  prevents the first end of the elastic portion  205  from slipping through the metal ring  223 , so that the elastic portion  205  and the cushioned portion  112  are joined. The joint  230  is similarly constructed with a metal ring  233 , a fabric strip  235  and a bulge  238  at the second end of the elastic portion  205 . The fabric strip  235  is attached with a ring  239  for linking the joint  230  with the length-adjustable portion  210 . 
         [0016]    Referring again to  FIG. 2 , the length-adjustable portion  210  is customarily made of a non-elastic fabric strip. A ring fixture  212  attached to one end of the non-elastic fabric strip allows a part or the whole length of the length-adjustable portion  210  to be double folded. With a fixed overall strip length, the longer the folded portion  214 , the shorter the length-adjustable portion  210 . Adjusting the length of the length-adjustable portion  210  is to meet the needs of people with different body sizes. 
         [0017]    Referring again to  FIG. 2 , at each end of the length-adjustable portion  210 , a self-lock hook  215  is attached. The self-lock hook  215  hooks up with the ring  239  to complete the closed loop of the elastic strip apparatus  110 . The self-lock hook  215  can be easily unhooked from the ring  239  to open up the loop of the elastic strip apparatus  110 , thereby the elastic strip apparatus  110  can be easily wrapped around the supporting pole  106  of the office chair  104 . Although  FIG. 2  shows that both ends of the length-adjustable portion  210  are attached with the self-lock hook  215 , a skilled in the art would realize that the self-lock hook  215  is only needed at one end of the length-adjustable portion  210 , and the other end can be sewed directly to the corresponding fabric strip  235 . While desirable, the length-adjustable portion  210  can, in fact, be eliminated all together and the elastic portion  205  can be just one continuous piece of a rubber tube, and the simplified elastic strip apparatus can still perform the exercises as depicted hereinabove. 
         [0018]    The above illustration provides many different embodiments or embodiments for implementing different features of the invention. Specific embodiments of components and processes are described to help clarify the invention. These are, of course, merely embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention from that described in the claims. 
         [0019]    Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in one or more specific examples, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention, as set forth in the following claims.