Abstract:
A resistance chair includes an elevated stationary seat with a front edge and a back edge. An arm is rotatably engaged with the back edge of the seat and is rotatable to a position below horizontal with respect to the elevated stationary seat. A back support is secured to the arm and supports the back of a user sitting on the elevated stationary seat. At least one resistance element is connected to the elevated stationary seat and urges the first arm to an upright start position and assists a user performing an abdominal crunch to return to an upright abdominal crunch position from a fully extended abdominal crunch position with the arm below horizontal with respect to the elevated stationary seat. The resistance element also resists against rotation of the arm away from the upright start position and resists against the user moving from the upright abdominal crunch position to the fully extended abdominal crunch position.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    The following description relates generally to the field of exercise equipment and more specifically to the field of low impact abdominal exercisers. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    In an age of exercise and fitness, the time-honored abdominal crunch is under attack as potentially damaging if done incorrectly especially if performed by someone in poor physical condition. What is needed is an exercise tool to enable anyone to perform a correct abdominal crunch, and provide varying levels of resistance or assistance to accommodate people unaccustomed to exercise. 
         [0003]    Additionally, there is a need for an exercise tool that enables a user to perform alternative variations of the abdominal crunch. For example, traditional abdominal crunches performed on a flat surface such as the ground only allow a user to recline to a horizontal position. In order to increase the difficulty of a traditional abdominal crunch, it would be desirable to provide a device that allows a user to recline beyond a horizontal position while still ensuring that the user maintains proper form in order to prevent injury. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    The devices disclosed below satisfy these and other needs. The following simplified summary is provided in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the claimed subject matter. This summary is not an extensive overview, and is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope of the claimed subject matter. Its purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. 
         [0005]    A resistance chair with wheels assists users with performing correct abdominal crunches by guiding the user&#39;s effort and eliminating the initial jerking motion commonly experienced when doing an abdominal crunch. The resistance chair includes a seat connected to a hinged back with back support that extends to support the user&#39;s back and assist in the crunch recovery following the crunch extension. 
         [0006]    In operation, a resistance chair provides support for a user&#39;s back, adjustable resistance moving from the start position to the extended position thus exercising muscles that ordinarily don&#39;t receive work in abdominal crunches. The back support and the adjustable resistance of the resistance chair also assist the user by overcoming a portion of gravity to help the user perform a correct crunch moving from the extended position to the start position. 
         [0007]    By providing resistance to the backwards movement, the user engages the lower back muscles and thereby exercises the front and the back of the abdominal muscles. The backrest further permits core rotation providing the user the ability to do a sideways twist and engage the oblique muscles. 
         [0008]    In another embodiment, a resistance chair includes an elevated stationary seat with a front edge and a back edge. An arm is rotatably engaged with the back edge of the seat and is rotatable to a position below horizontal with respect to the elevated stationary seat. A back support is secured to the arm and supports the back of a user sitting on the elevated stationary seat. At least one resistance element is connected to the elevated stationary seat and urges the first arm to an upright start position and assists a user performing an abdominal crunch to return to an upright abdominal crunch position from a fully extended abdominal crunch position with the arm below horizontal with respect to the elevated stationary seat. The resistance element also resists against rotation of the arm away from the upright start position and resists against the user moving from the upright abdominal crunch position to the fully extended abdominal crunch position. 
         [0009]    In another embodiment, a resistance chair also includes a second arm having a first end and a second. An adjustable hinge is attached to the first arm and is movable between fixed locations along the first arm. The first end of the second arm is connected to the adjustable hinge and the second end of the second arm is connected to a roller, for example an axle with wheels. Moving the adjustable hinge along the first arm changes a maximum recline angle of the first arm. For example, moving the adjustable hinge upward along the first arm increases the maximum recline angle of the first arm, and moving the adjustable hinge downward along the first arm decreases the maximum recline angle of the first arm. 
         [0010]    To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the claimed subject matter may be employed and the claimed subject matter is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features may become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a rear perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a resistance chair with an elevated seat. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the resistance chair with an elevated seat of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of the resistance chair with an elevated seat of FIG. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a front elevation view of the resistance chair with an elevated seat of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a side elevation view of the resistance chair with an elevated seat of  FIG. 1 , showing the arm rotated beyond horizontal with respect to the elevated seat. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    In one aspect of the disclosed embodiments, an elevated resistance chair includes an elevated stationary seat. By elevating the seat, the user can recline to a position beyond horizontal relative to the seat because the ground (or other support surface) does not prevent the arm from rotating beyond horizontal with respect to the seat. This allows the user to perform more difficult variations of the abdominal crunch because a greater range of motion is permitted. The user&#39;s torso being in a position below the seat when in the fully extended abdominal crunch position requires the user to perform a more difficult abdominal crunch as the total range of motion is greater as compared to an abdominal crunch performed while seated on the ground. 
         [0017]    As shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , resistance chair  100  includes elevated seat  112 . As opposed to the previously disclosed embodiments, it can be seen that elevated seat  112  is spaced above the ground or other support surface upon which resistance chair  100  is resting. One advantage of spacing elevated seat  112  above the ground is that it allows first arm  115  to recline to a position below horizontal with respect to elevated seat  112 . Thus, spacing seat  112  above the ground allows first arm  115  to have a greater range of motion compared to a resistance chair in which the seat rests directly upon the ground rather than spaced above the ground. Elevated seat  112  may be formed by providing a fabric or mesh panel  113  suspended by parallel arms  157  of U-shaped member  156 , as shown in the figures. U-shaped member  156  also includes rear support member  158  spanning between parallel arms  157 . Alternatively, elevated seat  112  may be a solid flat member made from a suitable material such as plastic or metal. 
         [0018]    To spaced elevated seat  112  above the ground, front support legs  150  and rear support legs  152  are provided. Elevated seat  112  is attached to these support rails near the upper ends of front support legs  150  and rear support legs  152 . The attachment means may be fasteners such as bolts or screws, welding, adhesive, or any other suitable means. Front support legs  150  and rear support legs  152  may be inclined with their upper ends adjacent elevated seat  112  and their lower ends spaced in front of and behind the front and rear edges of elevated seat  112 , respectively. By inclining front support legs  150  and rear support legs  152  relative to vertical, greater stability of elevated seat  112  is achieved. For example, if a user sitting on elevated seat  112  leans or reclines backward, the incline of rear support legs  152  will prevent elevated seat  112  from flipping over. However, it is also contemplated that front support legs  150  and rear support legs  152  may be vertical. 
         [0019]    In addition to front support legs  150  and rear support legs  152 , horizontal support rails  154  may be provided. Horizontal support rails  154  may be integrally formed with front support legs  152  and rear support legs  154  as depicted in the figures. Alternatively, horizontal support rails  154  may be attached to the upper ends of front support legs  150  and rear support legs  152 . Also alternatively, horizontal support rails  154  may be attached to or integrally formed with elevated seat  112 . Horizontal support rails  154  may be spaced above elevated seat  112 , as shown in the figures, or alternatively may be at the same level as elevated seat  112 . Additionally, horizontal support rails  154  may be splayed outward relative to parallel arms  157  of U-shaped member  156 , as depicted in the figures. Horizontal support rails  154  are gripped by a user sitting on elevated seat to help brace the user and perform abdominal exercises. 
         [0020]    Resistance chair  100  also includes first arm  115  and second arm  117 . First arm  115  is hinged about its lower end at hinge  114 . At least one shoulder support roller  125  is attached to the front surface of the upper end of first arm  115  for rollably supporting the shoulders of a user sitting on elevated seat  112  and reclining against first arm  115 . Similarly, at least one back support roller  124  is attached to the front surface of first arm  115  below the upper end of first arm  115  for rollably supporting the back of a user sitting on elevated seat  112  and reclining against first arm  115 . Although shoulder support roller  125  and back support roller  124  are advantageous because they facilitate sliding movement between the user&#39;s back and first arm  115  during abdominal exercises, they are not strictly necessary and may be omitted or replaced by non-rolling support members in some embodiments. 
         [0021]    The upper end of second arm  117  is hingedly connected to first arm  115  by hinge  135  which is attached to the rear surface of first arm  115  adjacent the upper end of first arm  115 . As shown in the figures, hinge  135  may be spaced slightly below the ultimate upper terminus of first arm  115 . The lower end of second arm  117  engages with a rolling device such as axle  121 . Second arm  117  may be integrally formed with axle  121  as shown in the figures, but in other embodiments second arm  117  and axle  121  may be formed separately and then attached to one another by welding, fasteners, or other suitable means. Axle  121  is rollably supported by rolling means such as wheels  122  that are rollably mounted on each end of axle  121 . 
         [0022]    Axle  121  is hingedly connected to lower resistance engagement elements  133 . For example, as shown in the figures, lower resistance engagement elements  133  may comprise sleeves that wrap around axle  121  so that lower resistance engagement elements  133  may rotate relative to axle  121 . Additionally, upper resistance engagement elements  134  are hingedly attached to the rear edge of elevated seat  112 . For example, as shown in the figures, upper resistance engagement elements  134  may comprise sleeves that wrap around rear support member  158  of U-shaped member  156  so that upper resistance engagement elements  158  may rotate relative to rear support member  158 . Although a pair of lower resistance engagement elements  156  and a pair of upper resistance engagement elements  158  are depicted in the figures, it is to be understood that there may be more or less than two of each of lower and upper resistance engagement elements  156  and  158 . 
         [0023]    Spanning between lower resistance engagement elements  156  and upper resistance engagement elements  158  are elastic resistance elements  126 . In general, there will be the same number of elastic resistance elements  126  as there are lower and upper resistance engagement elements  156  and  158 . For example, in the embodiments depicted in the figures, there are two lower resistance engagement elements  156 , two upper resistance engagement elements  158  and two elastic resistance elements  126 . However, other configurations are also contemplated. For example there may be more or less elastic resistance elements  126  as there are lower resistance engagement elements  156  or upper resistance engagement elements  158  without departing from the general concept of the present disclosure. Examples of possible elastic resistance elements  126  include rubber bands, resistance bands, springs or any other element that is elastic, resists against stretching and tends to return to its original length after stretching forces are no longer applied. 
         [0024]    It can thus be seen that elastic resistance elements  126  resist against reclining first arm  115  (i.e., a counter-clockwise rotation of first arm  117  in  FIG. 3 ). As most clearly shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , as first arm  115  is reclined, the upper end of second arm  117  is forced to rotate about hinge  135  while the lower end of second arm  117  simultaneously moves away from elevated seat  112  due to the rolling of wheels  122 . This motion continues until reaching the fully reclined position depicted in  FIG. 5 . Notably, in the fully reclined position of  FIG. 5 , first arm  115  is reclined beyond horizontal with respect to elevated seat  112 . Once the force causing first arm  115  to be reclined beyond the starting position depicted in  FIG. 3  is no longer applied to first arm  115 , elastic resistance elements  126  will pull axle  121  back toward elevated seat  112 . In general, the force provided by elastic resistance elements  126  is sufficient to return first arm  115  and second arm  117  to the starting position depicted in  FIG. 3  if there is no reclining force applied to first arm  115 , but is not sufficient to lift a user from the fully reclined position of  FIG. 5  to the starting position of  FIG. 3 . In other words, the user must still use abdominal muscles to return to the starting position, but the force provided by elastic resistance elements  126  will assist the user&#39;s upward sit-up motion. 
         [0025]    In alternative embodiments, one or more of the structures disclosed above may be adjustable in nature. For example, first arm  115  or second arm  117  may be formed from two telescoping members with multiple apertures that are engageable with a locking pin. By telescoping the two telescoping members to a desired length and engaging the locking pin, a user can vary the length of first arm  115  or second arm  117 . Similarly, the location of hinge  135  on the rear surface of first arm  115  may be adjustable by sliding hinge  135  along first arm  115  and securing the position with a locking pin that engages an aperture in first arm  115 . Adjusting the position of hinge  135  varies the difficulty of exercises performed by modifying the starting angle between first arm  115  and second arm  117 , and also by changing the starting position of axle  121  relative to elevated seat  112 . It can be seen that moving the position of hinge  135  upward along first arm  115  (i.e. away from elevated seat  112 ) allows for a greater maximum recline angle of first arm  115  in the fully reclined position. Similarly, moving the position of hinge  135  downward along first arm  115  decreases the maximum recline angle of first arm  115 . Finally, elastic resistance elements  126  may be adjustable. For example, if elastic resistance elements  126  are multiple resistance bands, it is possible to vary the resistance provided by disengaging one or more resistance bands from lower resistance engagement elements  156  or from upper resistance engagement elements  158 . 
         [0026]    To use resistance chair  100 , a user sits on elevated seat  112  with his back and shoulders resting upon back support rollers  124  and shoulder support rollers  125  respectively. The user may grip one or both of horizontal support rails  154  with one or both hands, or not grip horizontal support rails  154  at all. A basic exercise the user can perform is an assisted extended sit-up. The user uses his abdominal muscles to push backwards against first arm  115 , a motion which is resisted against by elastic resistance elements  126  pulling against motion of axle  121  away from elevated seat  112 . The user continues reclining until any desired position is reached, up to the fully reclined position of  FIG. 5 . It should be noted that the fully reclined position of  FIG. 5  is not possible doing a standard sit-up on the ground with no equipment because the ground prevents the user&#39;s torso from reclining beyond horizontal. Once the desired reclined position is reached, the user may then complete the assisted extended sit-up by sitting back up until the starting position of  FIG. 3  is reached. The sitting up motion is assisted in this direction by contraction of elastic resistance elements  126  which pull axle  121  toward elevated seat  112 . Resistance chair  100  can also be used for other exercises besides abdominal crunches. For example, the user can recline to the fully reclined position of  FIG. 5  and perform exercises such as scissor kicks, leg raises, sit and tucks, etc. In particular, it should be noted that these exercises can be performed with a greater range of motion than is possible while seated on the floor. For example, scissor kicks and leg raises can be performed with the users legs having a lowest position that is below horizontal and below the elevated seated of the device. 
         [0027]    While the preferred embodiments of the devices and methods have been described in reference to the environment in which they were developed, they are merely illustrative of the principles of the inventions. Other embodiments and configurations may be devised without departing from the spirit of the inventions and the scope of the appended claims.