Exercise device

An exercise device for exercising a user's upper body including a U-Shaped guard mounted around a user's waist, a non-elastic cord extending around a central portion of the guard, guide means on said guard for positioning the cord to allow free longitudinal sliding movement and a hand hold at each end of the cord to allow the user to grasp one of the hand holds in each hand and force the cord to slide alternately in opposite directions along the guard.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to the field of exercise devices and particularly to 
a device for exercising the arms and torso and directly controlled by the 
effort put into it by a user. 
2. The Prior Art 
A number of exercise devices have been suggested for exercising at least 
the user's torso and arms by having the user apply arm force against an 
elastic cord or other elastic structure harnessed to the user's body. This 
has the disadvantage that, if the user desires to change the force that 
must be supplied by his or her arms, some adjustment must be made in the 
elastic structure. In addition, the rigid attachment of elastic cords to 
structures that are attached to the body of a user results in 
uncomfortable movement of these structures against the body. 
Patents based on the use of an elastic structure are: 
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Inventor U.S. Pat. No. Issued 
______________________________________ 
Frappier 5,518,480 May 21, 1996 
Romney 5,514,059 May 7, 1996 
Davies 5,433,688 Jul. 18, 1995 
Block 5,141,223 Aug. 25, 1992 
Wilkinson 5,137,272 Aug. 11, 1992 
Castellanos 
5,129,647 Jul. 14, 1992 
Wehrell 5,961,573 Oct. 9, 1990 
Hopkins 4,540,173 Sep. 10, 1985 
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In addition to elastic structures, some of the patents have additional 
structural differences that distinguish them from the present invention, 
and some place additional constraints on movements by the users. 
Other prior exercise devices, while not relying on elastic cords to provide 
the resistance against which the user's arms have to apply force, also 
fall short of the present invention. 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,518 to Hatley et al. does not require that the user's 
arms work against each other, as in the present invention. 
Marshall, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,618,249, issued Apr. 8, 1997, uses recoilers 
on separate ropes, not one rope that forces the user's arms to exert force 
against each other by way of an inelastic rope. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,402,179, Piscitelli shows an exercise device that not 
only uses a rubber cord but also fails to provide protection for the 
user's body and thus requires that, instead of moving in a forward 
direction, the user's arms must move out to each side. 
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of this invention is to provide an exercise device that 
allows a user to determine instantly how much exercising force to use. 
Another object is to provide a simple, lightweight exercise device that can 
be easily carried by a user while it is being used and can provide 
exercise, particularly for the user's arms and torso, while the user is 
standing, walking, running, or sitting. 
Still another object is to provide an exercise device in which only one 
component is to be moved during use of the device. 
Yet another object is to provide an exercising device that exhibits little 
or no uncomfortable rotational movement to the body of the user due to the 
low-friction movement of a non-elastic cord operating against a smooth, 
rounded guard structure. 
Those who are skilled in the technology with which this invention deals 
will recognize further objects after studying the following description. 
In accordance with this invention, a relatively rigid U-shaped guard that 
fits around the user's back and sides is supported by an adjustable 
harness, either a belt or straps that hang over the shoulders, to permit 
the guard to be suspended approximately at level occupied by the user's 
elbows when the user's upper arms are hanging straight down. This places 
the guard about at the user's waist. The U-shaped guard protects the user 
from abrasion by a non-elastic cord loosely carried on the outer surface 
of the guard with the ends of the cord extending out of the ends of the 
guard to be grasped by the user's hands and pulled by each hand, 
alternately, against resistance provided by the other hand. The cord 
extends though guide means on the guard to keep the cord in contact with 
the guard, not allowing it to rise above the upper edge of the guard nor 
to drop below the bottom edge. At each of the forward ends of the guard, 
the corresponding ends of the cord pass through an aperture shaped to 
minimize frictional engagement of the cord with any edge of the guard. The 
ends of the cord are attached to handholds to be grasped by the user's 
hands, and the only adjustment that need be made in the device is to set 
the length of the cord to be sufficient to extend from one of the 
handholds, rearwardly through the aperture in the guard on that side of 
the user's body, around the user's back, forwardly along the other side of 
the user's body, through the aperture on the latter side, and out to the 
other handhold. The total length of the cord in use should be 
approximately enough so that, when one of the user's arms is extended 
fully forwardly, the other handhold is pulled back almost to the front end 
of the guard on that side. 
One form of exercise of the user's arms is achieved by applying forward 
force to both handholds, the forward force applied by one arm being enough 
greater than the forward force applied by the other arm to move the one 
handhold forward, forcing the other back. When the one arm is extended as 
far as the user wishes, the amount of force applied to that handhold is 
reduced and the force applied to the other handhold is increased to move 
the latter handhold forward and draw the other one back. Since the only 
force applied to the cord is that provided by the user's arms, it is under 
the user's control at every instant. The reversal of forward movement of 
either arm can be halted at any position, and the rearward movement of 
that arm can begin at the selected position. The amount of force exerted 
by the user's arms need not be equal if the user has any impediment in arm 
strength or movement that would make such unequal force or movement 
necessary. 
Another form of exercise is to use the right hand to hold the handhold 
attached to the end of the cord extending from the is left side of the 
guard and the left hand to hold the handhold attached to the other end of 
the cord. In so doing, it is necessary for each hand to pull the 
respective handhold forward and somewhat across the user's body against 
restraining pulling force by the other hand rather than to push it forward 
against restraining force pushing by the other hand, and different muscles 
are exercised. 
The invention will be described in greater detail in connection with the 
drawings, in which like serial numbers in different figures indicate the 
same item.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an exercise device 11 on a phantom user shown in 
broken lines so that all parts of the device can be seen. The exercise 
device 11 includes a generally U-shaped guard 12, which may be a band of 
sheet metal or other material, such as plastic or leather, that has a 
relatively low coefficient of friction and enough strength to withstand 
the wear to which it would be subjected. The guard 12 may be formed 
originally to have the U-shaped configuration illustrated, or it may be 
formed as a flat band and then bent into a approximately a semicircle 
large enough to embrace a person's waist. Bands can then be further 
adjusted to accommodate different waist sizes, or bands of different sizes 
may be formed to be used by people having different waist sizes. 
The guard needs to be wide enough, as measured in its vertical direction, 
to be comfortable to the user and not so wide as to be unduly heavy or to 
have either its upper or lower edge be pressed sharply against the user's 
body. It is also important that the guard not be restrictive of the user's 
movements while it is being worn. I have found that a width of about 4" is 
quite satisfactory. About an inch of the guard 12 at each of its ends 13 
and 14 is curved or bent outwardly with respect to the U-shaped curvature 
of the guard for the safety of a user and to provide guide holes 16 and 17 
through which a rope, or cord, 18 extends. As shown, the cord extends 
around the back part of the guard and is vertically located approximately 
in the center of the guard. The end 19 of the cord extending from the 
right side of the guard 12 is looped around a stirrup-like handhold 21 and 
secured by a barrel lock 20. The end 22 of the cord 18 extending from the 
left side is tied to a similar stirrup-like handhold 23 and secured by 
another barrel lock 25. The handholds are provided with grips 24 and 26 
that can be grasped more comfortably by the user than can the stirrup-like 
handholds. Also for the safety of a user, all edges of the guard are 
smooth and rounded. 
The device 11 in this embodiment has a shoulder harness 27 that allows the 
guard 12 to be comfortably suspended from the user's shoulders. In 
addition, this embodiment also includes a partial belt 28 that can also be 
adjusted to cinch the ends of the guard close enough together to support 
the device 11 comfortably by means of the belt, alone. 
In one form of exercise, which is illustrated in FIG. 1, the user of the 
exercise device 11 extends his or her left and right arms alternately, 
pivoting them from the shoulders and keeping the forearms pointed more or 
less straight ahead, about in the plane of the cord 18. The length of the 
cord is adjusted to be short enough so that both hands cannot be extended 
forward at the same time. As the heel of the right hand pushes the 
handhold 21 forward, the handhold 23 applies a pushing force to the heel 
of the left hand forcing that hand back toward the guard 12. At any point, 
the user can reverse the amount of forward pressure on the hands and push 
the left handhold 23 forward with a force great enough to push the right 
handhold 21 back toward the guard 12. 
The amount of force required to extend either hand forward is directly 
proportional to, and instantaneously controlled by, the forwardly directed 
force of the other hand. This causes the cord to slide back and forth 
along the central plane of the guard 12. If the user allows one hand to be 
freely moved back by forward motion of the other hand, minimum exercise is 
obtained, but that may be perfectly all right if the user's intent is 
simply to improve the freedom of movement of the arms or shoulder joints. 
As the user increases the resistance of each hand to be pushed back by 
forward movement of the other one, the muscles, particularly in the upper 
arms and shoulder and upper back areas, are more vigorously exercised. 
Since the only thing that changes the resistance of the user's hands to 
being pushed back is the user's own determination that that be so, the 
intensity of the exercise is entirely and immediately under the user's 
control. 
An alternative form of exercise is for the right hand of the user to grasp 
the handhold 23 and the left hand to cross over and grasp the handhold 21. 
Then, by pulling one handhold forward by means of force exerted through 
the fingers of the respective hand, the other handhold will be pulled back 
toward its end of the guard 12. This pulling force exercises different 
muscles than were exercised by the pushing force applied au previously 
described. 
No part of the device 11 in FIG. 1 is connected to the user's legs or to 
any part of the user's body below about waist level, and, thus, the device 
can be operated when the user is moving in any direction at any speed or 
is sitting or even lying down, provided there is no undue drag on movement 
of the cord 18. This allows the arm and torso exercise using the device 11 
to be combined with a variety of other exercises of other parts of the 
user's body. 
The harness 27 in this embodiment comprises flexible shoulder straps 29 and 
31 of material that will not abrade the user's body and yet will hold the 
guard 12 safely in place. FIG. 2 illustrates that one of the shoulder 
straps 29 is attached to the guard by being threaded through slots 32 and 
33 near the upper edge of the guard 12. There are similar slots on the 
other side of the guard directly behind the slots 32 and 33. The lengths 
of the straps 29 and 31 can be adjusted by and length-adjustment buckles 
34 and 36 to position the guard at the most comfortable height along the 
user's body. To some extent, the preferred height depends on the exercise 
being performed, but it is usually approximately at the same level as the 
user's elbows when the user's upper arms are hanging straight down. This 
level is close to the level of the user's waist. Another strap 37 connects 
the straps 29 and 31 together at the upper part of the chest of the user. 
This strap has to be opened to allow the harness 27 to be put on easily, 
and so it is provided with a snap buckle 38 and length-adjustment means 35 
to help fit the shoulder harness to the user's chest. 
The cord 18 used in this embodiment is made of nylon, although it may be 
made of other materials sufficiently flexible and smooth to slide easily 
on the surface of the guard 12. The type of nylon used in back packs and 
on jacket hoods is satisfactory, although the invention is by no means 
limited to that type of cord 18. The cord must also have enough strength 
to withstand the stress due to forces exerted on it by the user. The cord 
should be flexible enough to allow easy sliding movement back and forth on 
the convex outer surface of the belt and to allow the ends 19 and 22 to be 
attached and secured to the handholds 21 and 23 by means of the barrel 
locks 20 and 25. 
At the rear center of the guard 12, the cord 18 passes through an eye 39 
that cooperates with the other guide means 16 and 17 to prevent the cord 
from sliding off of the guard, either by rising up over the top of the 
guard or dropping down below the guard 12 and, in either case, being drawn 
across the user's unprotected back as the cord is pulled back and forth. 
Any part of the surface of the eye, including any edge portion, that the 
cord 18 may rub against should be smoothed off to allow easy and 
friction-free movement of the cord 18. The same is true of the guide holes 
16 and 17 at the front ends 13 and 14 of the guard. As shown in FIG. 2, 
the guide hole 17 is located in the area where the front end 14 of the 
guard starts to bend outward. To minimize friction of the cord against the 
edge of the guide hole 17, its rear edge 40 is smoothed off where the cord 
rubs across it. The guide hole 16 at the other end 13 of the guard 12 is 
treated similarly. 
FIG. 3 is a front view of the exercising device 11 and shows slots 41 and 
42 that are symmetrically placed with respect to the slots 32 and 33 to 
receive the ends of the shoulder strap 29. 
The belt 28 consists of two parts 43 and 44 attached to slots 46 and 47 at 
the ends 13 and 14 of the guard 12. When a user dons the device 11, the 
two parts of the belt are snapped together by a snap buckle 48 and the fit 
of the guard and belt around the user's waist is adjusted by a 
length-adjustment buckle 49. The guard can be supported in place by either 
the shoulder harness or the belt. 
FIG. 4 is a top view of the device 11 showing the way the cord 18 can slide 
directly backward and forward through the guide holes 16 and 17, which, 
themselves, can be seen in FIG. 1. It is not necessary that the ends of 
the cord move exactly parallel with each other; it may be more natural for 
a given user, based on the user's physical structure, to pull the 
handholds 21 and 23 somewhat toward or away from each other, but given the 
smoothing off of the rear edges of the guide holes, as illustrated by the 
edge 40 in FIG. 2, and given the fact that the dimensions of the guide 
holes are preferably on the order of twice to four times as great as the 
diameter of the cord 18, the handholds need not be limited to a 
straight-ahead movement. As stated above, the handholds can, in fact, be 
crossed over and held by the opposite hands to allow them to be pulled 
instead of being pushed. 
The invention has been described in terms of a specific embodiment, but it 
will be apparent to those skilled in the technology with which this 
invention deals that the concept may be embodied in other forms without 
departing from the true scope of the invention.