Abstract:
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a compact exercise unit, which comprises a body attachable to a standard swivel chair leg in a removable manner. The body has at least one internal cavity and at least one exercise element. The exercise element has a first and a second end, the first end being fixed to the body. The element is extendable between a non-extended position and an extended position in which the second end of the element protrudes from the body. The cavity being adapted at least for storage of said element at least in said non-extended position.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to a portable full body exercise apparatus, and in particular, to a compact exercise unit attachable to the leg of a standard swivel chair.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Recent medical studies have shown that lack of physical activity and exercise may cause a significant decrease in both physical and mental state of the human body and mind, as severe as causing heart attack and cancer. In today&#39;s modern day environment, due to considerable lack of time, mainly among office workers, it is difficult to get even the minimum amount of such exercise. In order to take part in physical activity, a worker is either forced to move to a certain designated location within the office compound, specifically adapted for physical activity, or commute to a gym or country club outside his work place. Both options take too much time, as a result of which most people remain in constant lack of physical activity.  
         [0003]     In the last few years, increasing awareness and concern for people&#39;s health and need of physical exercise have spawned up numerous devices whose sole purpose was to increase “results to time” ratio. However, despite obvious advantages, such devices, much like the devices found in gyms, are usually too big and robust, and take up much space, making them unsuitable for standard size offices. Furthermore, most such devices require a great amount of time for construction and maintenance and are not only space consuming but also hardly transportable in their dismantled form, let alone once assembled.  
         [0004]     A number of compact, portable devices have been developed, providing in office and indoor physical activity, usually by attachment of the device to either a desk or a chair. Some examples of such devices are presented below. 
        U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,445 discloses an exercise device mounted onto a swivel chair, which comprises a back mechanism of variable height, and a horizontal bar at chair seat height, both for exercising upper body using elastic resistance means, and a front mechanism for training of the legs, using the same kind of resistance.     US20040053756 discloses an exercise device attached to a swivel chair, consisting of a set of extendable rod housings encompassing a set of cords and pulleys, for exercising of upper and lower body, allowing variable resistance levels.     U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,243 discloses an exercise apparatus mounted on the back rest of a standard chair, which comprises a bar located in a rotatable hub, and elastic resistance means attached to said bar, for training user&#39;s arms.     U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,260 an exercise device mounted onto the leg of a swivel chair, consisting of a set of pulleys, where ends of said pulleys are attached to elastic resistance means to exercise the arms. In addition, said pulleys comprise a foot brace and are adapted for rolling motion along the floor to exercise the legs.        
 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a compact exercise unit, which comprises a body attachable to a standard swivel chair leg in a removable manner, and having at least one internal cavity and at least one exercise element having a first and a second end, said first end being fixed to the body, said element being extendable between a non-extended position and an extended position in which the second end of the element protrudes from the body, said cavity being adapted at least for storage of said element at least in said non-extended position.  
         [0010]     According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a compact exercise unit attachable to a standard swivel chair leg in a removable manner, which comprises at least one exercise element with a first and a second end, said first end being fixed to the unit, said element being extendable between a non-extended position and an extended position in which a portion thereof including said second end is adapted for rotation about a horizontal rotation axis perpendicular to said chair leg, when said unit is mounted thereon.  
         [0011]     The unit according to the second aspect of the invention may have a body as described with respect to the first aspect of the invention. The body in both cases may further comprise one or more compartments adapted for storage of additional exercise elements or any other articles.  
         [0012]     The body is designed to at least partially surround the leg, when the unit is mounted thereon. The internal cavity may occupy the majority of the body and may be adapted for mounting the first end of the exercise element therein.  
         [0013]     The exercise unit may include more than one exercise element and its internal cavity may be adapted for storing at least two of such elements. The internal cavity may comprise more than one storage compartment, in particular for storing exercise elements therein, and their location may be on the sides of the leg, in front of the leg or behind the leg, when the unit is mounted thereon.  
         [0014]     The exercise element in the exercise unit of the first and second aspects of the invention may be of variable length and/or capable of taking different positions, to bring it into at least two different operative states.  
         [0015]     The variable length of the exercise element may be achieved by the element being rigid and having a telescopic design, or being elastic, or due to any appropriate design. Different positions of the exercise element may be achieved by its horizontal rotation about a vertical axis parallel to the chair leg, and/or vertical rotation about a horizontal axis perpendicular to said leg. The element may also be designed to allow adjustment of its height and/or distance of its second end from the chair seat, and it may be adapted for at least upper or lower body exercise in sitting position.  
         [0016]     The second end of the exercise element may be adapted for mounting further components thereon, which may be in the form of an additional exercise device, a part thereof or a supplement to said exercise element. The supplement may be, for example, in the form of a resistance means such as a spring, elastic cord or the like. The additional element may be adapted for storage within the cavity of said body.  
         [0017]     The body of the exercise unit may have a surface area large enough to enable mounting of additional exercise elements thereon. The exercise elements may be of the previously mentioned type, and/or may include handle bars for exercising hands, a stepper, etc. The unit may be further adapted to function as a foot rest and be so mounted on the chair leg as not to interfere with the performance of regular office activity when said element is in its non-extendable position.  
         [0018]     The unit may also be adapted to be connected to a computer equipped with appropriate software and programs, allowing the use of features such as a personal trainer, exercise reminder, exercise games and more, in conjunction with said unit, through an interactive computer interface. For that purpose, the unit may also be equipped with sensors being in communication with said interactive computer interface allowing automatic adjustment of personal, per user, settings such as resistance, angle of arms etc. through said computer interface.  
         [0019]     The unit may be mounted on said chair leg using various means such as a snapping mechanism, screws, clamping mechanism or the like.  
         [0020]     According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a compact exercise unit attachable to a standard swivel chair leg in a removable manner, the leg having a predetermined diameter, said unit having a body formed with a longitudinal slot extending perpendicularly to said swivel chair leg, when the unit is mounted thereon, and having a first open end at the circumference of the body, and a second closed end spaced inwardly from said circumference, the width of said slot being not smaller than said predetermined diameter, to allow said slot to receive said leg therein.  
         [0021]     The unit further comprises a clamping mechanism for the fixation of the position of the unit relative to said chair leg, in which the leg is located at the closed end of the slot and clamped thereagainst. The clamping mechanism may comprise a first element adapted for horizontal movement along said slot towards said second end of the slot, and a second element adapted for vertical movement, within said slot.  
         [0022]     The unit according to the current aspect of the invention may have any feature of the unit according to first and/or second aspects of the invention.  
         [0023]     The exercise unit according to any of the above described aspect of the invention may have a design which will advantageously occupy the majority of the vacant space below the seat of a chair corresponding to the area of the chair, with a minimal height along the chair&#39;s leg, and will provide a vast variety of exercise opportunities. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0024]     In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, several embodiments according to various aspects of the present invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0025]      FIG. 1A  is an isometric view of an exercise unit according to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein exercise elements are in an extended position;  
         [0026]      FIG. 1B  is an isometric view of the exercise unit of  FIG. 1A  with a top cover thereof being removed;  
         [0027]      FIG. 1C  is an isometric view of the exercise unit of  FIG. 1A  when mounted on a chair;  
         [0028]      FIG. 2A  is an isometric view of the exercise unit of  FIG. 1A  with the exercise elements in a non-extended position;  
         [0029]      FIG. 2B  is an isometric view of the exercise unit of  FIG. 2A  with the top cover removed;  
         [0030]      FIG. 2C  is an isometric view of the exercise unit of  FIG. 2A  when mounted on a chair;  
         [0031]      FIG. 3A  is an isometric view of the exercise unit shown in  FIGS. 1A  to  2 C, with front storage compartment removed;  
         [0032]      FIG. 3B  is a schematic isometric view of the exercise unit shown in  FIGS. 1A  to  2 C, mounted on a chair, with all parts, except the base plate and clamping mechanism, being removed;  
         [0033]      FIG. 4  is an isometric view of a spool used as resistance means in the exercise unit shown in  FIGS. 1A  to  2 C;  
         [0034]      FIG. 5A  is an isometric view of one operative state of the exercise unit shown in  FIGS. 1A  to  2 C;  
         [0035]      FIG. 5B  is an isometric view of another operative state of the exercise unit shown in  FIG. 5A ;  
         [0036]      FIG. 6A  is an isometric view of the exercise unit shown in  FIGS. 1A  to  2 C with an additional stepper added thereto;  
         [0037]      FIG. 6B  is an isometric view of the exercise unit shown in  FIG. 6A , when mounted onto a chair;  
         [0038]      FIG. 7A  is an isometric view of an exercise unit according to another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0039]      FIG. 7B  is an isometric view of the exercise unit shown in  FIG. 7A , when mounted onto a chair;  
         [0040]      FIG. 8  shows an alternative spool which may be mounted, instead of the spool shown in  FIG. 4 , onto the exercise elements of the exercise unit shown in  FIGS. 1-7 ;  
         [0041]      FIGS. 9A  to  9 N illustrate different types of exercises which may be performed by means of the exercise unit shown in FIGS.  1  to  8 ;  
         [0042]      FIG. 10A  is an isometric view of an exercise unit according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein exercise elements are in an extended position;  
         [0043]      FIG. 10B  is an isometric view of the exercise unit of  FIG. 10A  with a top cover thereof being removed;  
         [0044]      FIG. 11A  is an isometric view of the exercise unit of  FIG. 10A  in a non-extended position, with the top cover removed and side storage compartments extended;  
         [0045]      FIG. 11B  is a schematic isometric view of the exercise unit shown in  FIG. 11A , with all parts, except the base plate, clamping mechanism, and wing elements being removed;  
         [0046]      FIG. 12A  is a rear isometric view of the exercise unit in  FIG. 10A , with the adjustment lever and utility cover in a closed position;  
         [0047]      FIG. 12B  is a rear isometric view of the exercise unit in  FIG. 10A , with the lever and cover of the positioning mechanism in an open position; and  
         [0048]      FIG. 13  is a rear isometric view of the exercise unit in  FIG. 10A , in a non-extended position. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
       [0049]      FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B  illustrate a compact exercise unit  10  according to one embodiment of the present invention, which is adapted for mounting on a leg of a swivel chair as shown in  FIG. 1C .  
         [0050]     The exercise unit  10  comprises a body  50 , two extendable front arms  20 , two extendable rear arms  30 , an extendable upper bar  40  and four spools  60  mounted on the arms and the bar.  
         [0051]     The body  50  comprises a base plate  51  and a top cover  52  with a cavity  53  defined therebetween. The body has an axis of symmetry  100  and has a dimension in a plane perpendicular to the axis of symmetry  100 , essentially greater than the distance between the upper and lower plates.  
         [0052]     The base plate  51  and top cover  52  both have aligned narrow longitudinal slots  54 , extending from the center of the body  50  towards its circumference. Housed therebetween is a clamping mechanism  55  adapted for mounting the exercise unit  10  onto a leg of the swivel chair ( FIG. 1C ), so that the body  50  surrounds the leg, and fixes the unit into place. In addition, the body  50  comprises a front storage compartment  56  and two side storage compartments  57 . The compartments are adapted for accommodating various exercise elements such as elastic cords, etc. but may also be used for storage of various artifacts. The side compartments  57  may be modified to be hold additional apparatus as will be explained later on.  
         [0053]     The two front arms  20  are connected to the back of the body  50 , each arm  20  having a hinge  25  allowing it to rotate horizontally and thereby to protrude from the body  50 . Each arm has a telescopic design allowing its longitudinal extension. Each arm  20  is comprised of three segments: a first internal  22   a , an intermediate  22   b , and an external  22   c . The first internal segment  22   a  is formed with a compartment  23  of a third partially circular form, adapted to be flush against the rims  51 ′ and  52 ′ of the base plate  51  and top cover  52  when the arms  20  are in a position parallel to each other. The third external segment  22   c  of each arm  20  may be adapted for mounting thereon a resistance means in the form of a spool  60  or the like, which will be defined in more detail later with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 8 . The compartment  23  may be used for storage of various artifacts.  
         [0054]     The two rear telescopic arms  30  each comprises one internal segment  31  fixed to the body  5 , one intermediate segment  32  horizontally movable with respect to the internal segment  31 , and three segments  33   a ;  33   b ;  33   c , constituting a telescopic end section  33  connected to the segment  32  by means of a joint  35 . The joint  35  is adapted to allow vertical rotation of the end section  33  of each arm about a horizontal axis  36  and is capable of sliding in and out of the segment  32  along with the end section  33 .  
         [0055]     The upper bar  40  is attached to the segments  32   c  of the rear arms  30  and it comprises a longitudinal horizontal bridge  42  accommodating two horizontal back bars  44  adapted to be laterally extended outside the bridge, along its longitudinal direction. Each of the back bars  42  is adapted for mounting thereon a resistance means in the form of a spool  60  similar to the one mounted on the front arms  20 .  
         [0056]      FIG. 1C  shows the exercise unit  10 , in its one operative state, mounted on a leg  72  of a standard swivel chair  70 , such that the leg  72  is inserted into the longitudinal slot  54  of the body  50  and clamped into place using the clamping mechanism  55  as will be described in more detail below with reference to  FIG. 3 . In  FIG. 1C , one operative state of the unit  10  is shown, wherein the front arms  20  are extended both longitudinally and angularly to create a 120° angle between them. The rear arms  30  are also extended longitudinally and their end section  33  is tilted at 90° with respect to the intermediate segment  31 .  
         [0057]      FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  show two additional operative states of the unit  10  wherein the angle between the front arms  20  is 0° and 60° respectively. It should be noted that a vast number of operative states is available to the user through various angles between the front arms  20 . In addition, although not shown, the back arms  30  may also tilt in various angles to provide additional operative states. Furthermore, the length of each of the arms  20 ;  30  and bars  44  may be adjusted for the convenience of the user.  
         [0058]      FIG. 4  shows the spool  60  used as resistance means in the exercise unit  10 . The spool  60  comprises a round housing  61  with discs  62  on both ends. The housing further comprises an inner rod (not shown) and a slot  63 . An elastic strap  64  adapted for exercise is wound around the rod within the housing  61  and its tip comes out of the slot  63 . A tab  65  is connected to the tip of the strap  64  and has a hole  66  in its center. A ring  67  is passed through the hole  66  and connects the tab  65  to a handle comprising a band  68  and a hand grip  69 . The spool is also connected to a connector  161  having a hole  162  adapted to connect the spool  60  to either the front arms  20  or the back bars  44 . In operation, pulling on the handle stretches the elastic strap  64 , allowing physical exercise. It should be clear that the spool  60  may have any other design known in the art.  
         [0059]     In operation, the chair occupant is seated on the seat  74  and may use each one of the four spools  60  to perform either upper or lower body exercise by pulling on the straps  64  using the hand grips  69  with either hands or legs. The structure of the exercise unit  10  allows the user a wide variety of exercises, for example, pulling on the straps  64  either above the back rest  76  or from its sides, with the exercise elements being either in.  
         [0060]     The exercise elements of the unit  10  are easily retractable into their inoperative, non-extended position as shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B .  
         [0061]     In particular, the back bars  44  are adapted to be retracted into the bridge  42 , whereas the rear arms  30  including the upper bar  40 , and the front arms  20  are adapted to be retracted into the cavity  53  of the body  50  with the circular portion of the compartment  23  of each of the front arms  20  being flush against the circumference of the base plate  51  and top cover  52 . The spools  60  are removed from the front arms  20  to be stored in the front storage compartment  56 . The spools  60  connected to the back bars  44  may be left slightly protruding from the body  50  of the exercise unit  10 , or alternatively they may also be removed and stored away, e.g. in the side storage compartments  57 .  
         [0062]      FIG. 2C  shows the exercise unit  10  in a non-extended position mounted on a chair  70 . In this position, the unit  10  does not protrude outside the circumference of the seat  76  of the chair  70 , thus on the one hand allowing performance of regular office activity, and on the other hand efficiently utilizing the space under the chair  70  for storing its exercise elements. The unit  10  may also function in this position as a foot rest.  
         [0063]     It should be noted that the unit  10  may be used for exercise in a non-extended position since the spools  60  may be available to the user, if not removed from the arms, even when the front arms  20  and the back arms  30  are retracted into the cavity  53 .  
         [0064]      FIG. 3A  shows an isometric view of the exercise unit shown in  FIGS. 1A  to  2 C, with the front storage compartment  56  removed and  FIG. 3B  shows a schematic isometric view of the exercise unit shown in  FIGS. 1A  to  2 C, mounted on a chair, with all parts, except the base plate and clamping mechanism, being removed. In both figures, the clamping mechanism  55  comprising a moving jaw  55   a  having a semi circular recess  58  adapted to press against the chair leg  72  (as seen in  FIG. 3B ) in order to clamp it against the semi circular end of the longitudinal slot  54 , a fixed jaw  55   b  with a threaded hole, and a lead bolt  55   c  going therethrough, connected to the moving jaw  55   a.    
         [0065]     During assembly, in order to mount the body  50  on the chair leg  72 , the front storage  65 , and the clamping mechanism  55  are first removed. The chair leg  72  is inserted into the slot  54  at its open end and is moved towards the closed end of the slot  54  until it abuts it. The moving jaw  55   a  is then inserted between the base plate  51  and the top cover  52  and is driven along the slot  54  until it engages the chair leg  72 . Once the moving jaw  55   a  has engaged the leg, the fixed jaw  55   b  is inserted between the base plate  51  and the top cover, and is driven along the slot  54  until it enters vertically into the recesses of the base plate  51  in a direction perpendicular to the slot  54 . The lead bolt  55   c  is then driven through the threaded hole of the fixed jaw  55   b . When the bolt  55   c  is turned, it moves forward, and since the jaw  55   b  is fixed, the end result is displacement of the moving jaw  55   a  towards the chair leg  72 . The bolt  55   c  is turned until the unit  10  is secured to the chair leg  72 .  
         [0066]     Thus, after assembly, the clamping mechanism  55  is located between the base plate  51  and the top cover  25  of the unit  10  (shown here with the front storage space  56  removed) securely clamping the chair leg  72 , and the fixed jaw  55   b  is positioned in recesses  59  in the base plate  51 .  
         [0067]      FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B  show the exercise unit  10  wherein a stepper  80  is mounted on the front arms  20 , as an additional exercise element. In this case, the spools (not shown) are removed from the front arms  20  and instead, the stepper is slipped onto the arms  20 .  
         [0068]     The stepper  80  comprises two bars  82  connected to a stepper bridge  84 , to which levers  86  are connected on each side. Each lever  86  is connected to the bridge  84  on one end of the lever  86  and supports a stepper pad  88  located at the other end of the lever  86 .  
         [0069]     In operation, the chair occupant is seated on the seat  72  and places his feet on the stepper pads  88 . In this position it is then possible to perform several exercises for the leg, which may, among other things, simulate riding a bicycle.  
         [0070]      FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  show another embodiment of the exercise unit  10  wherein the side storage compartments  57  have been modified to allow connection thereto of an additional exercise element such as a skiing-type apparatus  90 . The skiing-type apparatus  90  comprises two ski bars  92  with bar grips  94  at one end, the ski bars  92  being connected to the body  50  on the other end using a connector  96 .  
         [0071]     In operation, the user seated in the chair  70 , may exercise his upper body by moving the ski bars with his hands, simulating various sport activities, mainly skiing and rowing.  
         [0072]      FIG. 8  shows a variation  260  of the spool previously described. The spool  260  comprises a housing  261  with an inner rod (not shown) and a slot  263 . An elastic strap  264  is wound around the inner rod and its slip comes out of the slot  263 . A tab  265  is connected to the slip and has a hole  266  in its center. On the opposite side of the spool, a band  268  is attached connected to a hand grip  269 . The spool additionally has a lock button  262  adapted to adjust the length of the strap  264 . The spool  260  may be further used independently to perform various exercises, wherein the spool  260  may be connected to a desk, a door etc. The spool  260  may even be connected to another hand grip  269  to be used to exercise upper or lower body without the need for an object allowing attachment of the spool  260  thereto.  
         [0073]     With reference to  FIGS. 9A  to  9 N, different types of exercises may be performed by means of the exercise unit described above. In particular:  
         [0074]     Chest and shoulder exercises (as shown in  FIG. 9A  to  9 C);  
         [0075]     Arms and Biceps exercises (as shown in FIGS.  9 D and  9 E);  
         [0076]     Diagonal muscle exercises (as shown in  FIG. 9F );  
         [0077]     Shoulder and back exercises (as shown in  FIG. 9G );  
         [0078]     Back arm and shoulder exercises (as shown in  FIG. 9H );  
         [0079]     Arm, shoulder and chest exercises (as shown in FIGS.  9 I and  9 J);  
         [0080]     Back, stomach and shoulder exercises (as shown in FIGS.  9 K and  9 L);  
         [0081]     Side and hips exercises (as shown in  FIG. 9M ); and  
         [0082]     Stomach exercises (as shown in  FIG. 9N ).  
         [0083]     FIGS.  10  to  13  illustrate a compact exercise unit  10  according to another embodiment of the present invention, which is adapted for mounting on a leg of a swivel chair.  
         [0084]     The exercise unit  101  comprises a body  500 , two extendable arms  200 , and spools  60  mounted on the arms. The body  500  comprises a base plate  510  and a top cover  520  with a cavity  530  defined therebetween. The body has an axis of symmetry  1000  and has a dimension in a plane perpendicular to the axis of symmetry, essentially greater than the distance between the upper and lower plates.  
         [0085]     The exercise unit  101  is essentially similar to the exercise unit  10  according to the previously described embodiment, with the exception that it comprises only two arms  200 , as opposed to two front arms  20  and two back arms  30  in the previous embodiment.  
         [0086]     Each arm  200  is connected to a wing element  300  of partially circular form, which is connected in turn to the back of the body  500  via a hinge defining a vertical axis  350  allowing it to rotate horizontally and thereby to protrude from the body  500 . The wing element  300  is formed with a side compartment  310  of a partially circular form, adapted to be flush against the rims  312  and  314  of the wing element  300  when in a closed position. The side compartment  310  may be used for storage of various artifacts.  
         [0087]     Each arm  200  is connected to the wing element  300  through a hinge defining a horizontal axis  250 , allowing the arm  200  to rotate vertically about the axis. Each arm  200  has a telescopic design allowing its longitudinal extension and is comprised of three segments: a first internal  210 , connected to the wing  300 , an intermediate  220 , and an external  230 . The third external segment  230  of each arm  200  may be adapted for mounting thereon a resistance means in the form of a spool  60  or the like, as previously defined in more detail with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 8 .  
         [0088]     Referring to  FIG. 10B , the wing elements  300  are connected to each other via a gear mechanism  400 , comprising a set of two discs  410  with interlocking teeth  415 . The disc  410  and the wing element  300  rotate about the same vertical axis  350 . The discs  410  may be fixed in a certain position as will be explained later. The rotation of the wing elements  300  about their vertical axis  350 , along with the vertical rotation of the arms  200  about their horizontal axis  250 , allows the arms  200  to be positioned at almost any angle with respect to the occupant of the chair  70 .  
         [0089]     Referring to  FIG. 11A , the side compartments  310  are in an extended position, and protrude from the body  500  of the exercise unit  101 . The compartments rotate about the horizontal axis  315 . The clamping mechanism  550  now comprises a moving jaw  552 , a fixed jaw  554 , a back support  556  and a lead bold  558 . The operation of the clamping mechanism  550  is essentially the same as the clamping mechanism  55  according to the previous embodiments of the present invention.  
         [0090]     The discs  420  are fixed by pins  436 , preventing them from rotating, thus keeping the arms  200  at a fixed position. The lever  430  is now at a raised position, supporting the pins  436 .  
         [0091]     With reference to  FIG. 11B , the positioning mechanism  430  is shown comprising a lever  432 , an end plate  433  at its one end, the lever being formed with a major indent  434   a  and a minor indent  434   b , the use of which will be explained in detail later. The lever  430  further comprises two pin housings  435 , in which two positioning pins  436  are positioned. The lever  430  is formed with a horizontal member  437  at its other end, adapted to support the two housings  435 . The positioning pins  436  are adapted to pass through holes  420  of the discs  410  (visible in  FIG. 11A ) into the housings  435 , thus preventing the discs from rotating. The wing elements  300  are positioned on two plate members  330 , connected to the base plate  510 .  
         [0092]     Referring now to  FIG. 12A , the latch  439  of the cover  438  is positioned in the minor indent  434   b  of the lever  432 . In this position, the horizontal member  437  is raised, causing the housings  435  to push the positioning pins  436  in an upwards direction, so that they fit into the holes  420  of the discs  410  (shown previous Figs.).  
         [0093]     When the cover  438  is in an open position ( FIG. 12B ), the latch  439  displaces into the major indent  434   a , thus pushing the lever  432  in a downwards direction, subsequently causing the horizontal member  437  to move in the same direction, lowering the housings  435  and positioning pins  436 . This allows rotation of the discs  410 , and their re-positioning at a desired angle.  
         [0094]      FIG. 13  shows the exercise unit  101  in a non-extended position. The cover  438  is lowered to a closed position, and the arms  200  are stored within the cavity  530  of the body  500 .  
         [0095]     It should be appreciated that mounting of the unit, as well as all the additional exercise elements, and exercises as specified for the exercise unit  10  as described according to the previous embodiment of the present invention apply to the exercise unit  101  as described with regards to the present embodiment as well.  
         [0096]     Those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains will readily appreciate that numerous changes, variations and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention mutatis mutandis.