Patent Publication Number: US-2013252789-A1

Title: Weighted exercise bar

Description:
FIELD 
     This relates to a weighted exercise bar, such as a stick that has a similar size and shape to an escrima stick. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Escrima sticks are used in a class of Filipino martial arts, and have become popular for exercise and self-defence. 
     SUMMARY 
     There is provided a weighted exercise bar comprising an elongate housing having an inner cavity extending between a first end and a second end of the elongate housing. There is an access opening to the inner cavity. Three or more elongate elements are removably disposed in the inner cavity. There is at least one weighted element adjacent to the first end or the second end and at least one spacer element, a combined length of the elongate elements being substantially the same as a length of the inner cavity. The elongate elements are preferably all the same length. 
     According to another aspect, there may be a weighted element adjacent to both the first end and the second end separated by a spacer element, or there may be a weighted element adjacent to the first end and spacer elements filling the remainder of the cavity. 
     According to another aspect, there is provided a method of exercising, comprising the steps of: providing a weighted exercise bar as described above, and inserting the elongate elements into the inner cavity through the access opening such that at least one weighted element is adjacent to the first end or the second end. 
     According to another aspect, the method may further comprise the step of reconfiguring the elongate elements in the inner cavity to adjust the weight distribution along the elongate housing. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a partially transparent side elevation view of a weighted exercise bar. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A weighted exercise bar generally identified by reference numeral  10  will now be described with reference to  FIG. 1 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , weighted exercise bar  10  includes an elongate housing  12  with an inner cavity  14  extending between a first end  16  and a second end  18  of elongate housing  12 . As exercise bar  10  is intended for use in exercises similar to movements related to those in escrima, housing  12  is preferably covered by a soft cover  20  such as plastic foam and has a wrist strap  22  to prevent damage to objects or other people during use. Soft cover  12  may also act as a hand grip. 
     Housing  12  has an access opening  24  to inner cavity  14 . As shown, access opening  24  is a threaded cap  25  at first end  16 . At second end  18 , there may be a resilient component  26 , such as a rubberized stop or spring, to prevent rattling during use. Resilient components  26  may also be combined with the threaded cap  25 . 
     Three or more elongate elements  28  are provided to be removably inserted into inner cavity  14 . The combined length of the elongate elements  28  are substantially the same as the length of inner cavity  14 , and the diameters are preferably the similar, such that when cavity  14  is filled, elongate elements  28  are held securely between first end  16  and second end  18  tom minimize rattling during use. As shown, cavity  14  is filled by three elongate elements  28 . In a preferred embodiment, there are preferably three weighted elements and three spacer elements. The spacer elements weight very little, and are preferably made from plastic. The weighted elements are preferably made from metal or other heavy materials. 
     During use, weighted and spacer elements  28  are inserted into elongate housing to provide a desired weight distribution, based on the strength of the individual (e.g. to avoid placing too much stress on the wrist) and the type of exercise being performed. For example, there may be a weighted element at first end  16  that is gripped by the user, and spacer elements in the rest, there may be a weight at second end  18  away from the grip of the user, there may be a weight at both ends to balance housing  12 , there may be a weight in the middle and at either or both ends, there may be a spacer at one end and weights in the rest, or housing  12  may be filled with all spacer or all weighted elements. 
     It will be understood that other options are available for elongate elements  28 . For example, there may be four or more elongate elements, there may be full length elements and half-length elements, or there may be elements of different weight, each of which allows a user more control over the weight distribution in housing  12 . 
     In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements. 
     The following claims are to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, and what can be obviously substituted. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the described embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope of the claims. The illustrated embodiments have been set forth only as examples and should not be taken as limiting the invention. It is to be understood that, within the scope of the following claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically illustrated and described.