Abstract:
A resistance push-up apparatus having a harness to be worn by a user and having hooks to attach the harness to a set of free weights. The push-up apparatus allowing the user to lift his or her own weight plus the extra free weights connected to the harness during the push-up exercise. The present resistance push-up apparatus providing a safe method of completing the push-up exercise.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to an exercising equipment. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The push-up is a form of exercise that can be practiced almost anywhere. It does not require any special skills; it is a full body workout that builds endurance and muscle growth. Push-ups engage several muscles including pectorals or chest muscles, triceps, shoulders, and especially the anterior deltoids or the front portion of shoulder muscles. During the push-up exercise, as the body is held in a straight position, even the abdominals and core muscles are engaged. 
         [0003]    In the traditional push-up exercise, the maximum amount of weight to be lifted by a person is his or her own weight. Many athletes desire to strengthen the muscles involved in the push-up to a greater degree and therefore, feel the need to lift more weight than their own body weight. Currently, this is achieved by having a “spotter” who places some form of additional resistance on the athlete&#39;s back. Some athletes have someone else sit on their back while they do the push-up. Doing the push-up exercise with having a weight loosely set on one&#39;s back is not only uncomfortable, but also dangerous, and it may result in serious bodily injuries. Furthermore, it may simply fall off the person&#39;s back, rendering any additional resistance useless. 
         [0004]    The present resistance push-up apparatus is aimed at allowing a user to perform the push-up exercise with additional resistance or weight with higher safety and efficiency. To achieve this, a harness is worn by the user and weights are attached to the harness. 
         [0005]    The prior art provides a variety of harnesses for different exercises. For example, the U.S. patent application No. 2005/0101461 A1 by Johnson discloses a push-up harness having resistance latex tube features. In this device, a user wears a harness which is connected to a hand grip to be set on the ground. The hand grips are connected to the harness with a set of latex tubes. The latex tubes provide resistance during push-up. However, the resistance of the latex tube changes with its stretched length, which continuously changes during the exercise. A push-up exercise device that uses latex tubes cannot provide the user with a consistent measurable, static resistance. 
         [0006]    Currently, there is a need for a simpler and more customizable push-up apparatus, which is safe and can be used by all athletes without any human assistance. The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the previous push-up devices. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention introduces a novel push-up exercising apparatus comprising of a harness that can be worn by a user during the resistance push-up exercise. The push-up harness has means to have any desirable weight with the help of a chain or a rope or any other types of connectors. The first objective of the present invention is to provide a resistance push-up apparatus with extra weights in addition to person&#39;s own weight. The second objective of the present invention is to provide a resistance push-up apparatus that can be safely used by a user without any need for a spotter. The third objective is to provide a push-up harness that allows a user to safely perform the push-up exercise with extra weights or resistance, eliminating possibility of injuries during the exercise. The fourth objective is to provide a push-up harness which can lift any desirable weight that may be easily changed and measured. The fifth objective is to provide a resistance push-up with a consistent weight or resistance during the exercise. 
         [0008]    The aforementioned objectives of the present invention are attained by a push-up harness having a set of weights and several accessories. Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following drawings and detailed description of preferred embodiments. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    Embodiments herein will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the claims, wherein like designations denote like elements, and in which: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  shows a resistance push-up harness for handling extra weight; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  shows a user wearing a resistance push-up harness: (a) the frontal view, and (b) the rear view; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  shows added weight components comprising (a) a weight holder, (b) a weight added to the weight holder, (c) a protective pad added and (d) a chain and a hook; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  shows a user doing the push-up exercise with extra weights but without any equipment; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  shows a user doing the push-up exercise with extra weights while wearing a resistance push-up harness; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  shows a user doing the push-up exercise while wearing a resistance push-up harness with long chain. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3  and  5 , a push-up harness  10 , having a chest strap  11  having a first and a second end, a pair of crossing shoulder straps  12 ,  13  attached from one end to the front portion of the chest strap and from the other end to the back portion of the chest strap. The shoulder straps crossing at the back portion are attached to the chest strap at a predetermined spacing. Connecting means, such as snap hooks  21  and  22  to secure the harness on one&#39;s body. A chain  20 , attached from one end to the harness, and from the other end to a set of free weights  40 . The resistance push-up harness  10  is sized to fit around the chest or thorax region  51  of a user  100 , typically around 22 inches. The harness having adjusting means to fit users with different body sizes. The push-up harness is made of any resilient material, like nylon, webbing or rope or any other fabric materials and can have different dimensions for flexibility. Also the chain can be replaced with ropes or cables or other resilient material. 
         [0017]    In one embodiment of the present harness, a snap hook is used for connecting the two ends of the chest strap. A snap hook has a ring with an opening which is closed by a spring loaded closing element that is connected to one end of the chest strap. Another hook or ring is attached to the other end of the chest strap, which snaps into the first hook. Any other type of hook or connecting means can be used as long as the connector is strong enough to handle a predetermined amount of free weights. 
         [0018]    The shoulder strap may be stitched to the chest strap or directly attached to the two hooks at the ends of the chest strap. To connect the harness material to the hooks and rings, the ends of the straps can be passed through the hooks and rings, overlapped and stitched together. 
         [0019]    The resistance push-up harness  10  further comprised of protective pads  14 , which are attached to the chest strap  11  to reduce the pressure of the free weights  40 . 
         [0020]    Protective pads  15  and  16  are also attached to the shoulder straps at the back portion of the harness to reduce the pressure of the added weights  40  on the user&#39;s shoulders  52 . Protective pads being either permanently stitched or removably attached to the straps. 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the push-up harness  10  is worn by a user  100 . The hook  21  and ring  22  are used to fasten the push-up harness  10  and secure it on the user&#39;s body for doing the push-up exercise with extra weight  40 . During a push-up exercise, the push-up harness  10  should handle the extra weight  40  and distribute the pressure of the added weight  40  on the user&#39;s shoulders  52  and back. By wearing the push-up harness  10 , the push-up exercise with extra weight may be performed unencumbered. 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , a set of weights  40  can be connected to the resistance push-up harness  10 , with the help of a weight holder  30  and a chain  20 . The weight holder  30  comprises of a flat surface  35 , a holder bar  36  and a ring  37 . The user  100  can change the set of weights  31  based on his/her abilities. The diameter of the holder bar being compatible with the opening diameter of the weights. A protective pad  32  is provided to protect user&#39;s chest in case the user falls on the weights. 
         [0023]    The push-up exercise with extra weights can be performed anywhere (e.g., in a gym or at home) since all it requires is a harness and some weights, as shown in  FIG. 5 . It also can be performed with just an extra weight  31  in a dangerous manner as shown in  FIG. 4 . Referring to  FIG. 5 , to begin the push up exercise with extra weights, a user  100  lies on the surface, preferably slightly higher than the ground, in a prone position; connects the push-up harness  10  to the weight  40  with hook  21  and chain  20 ; then, positions his/her hands palms-down on the ground, approximately shoulder width apart, and performs the push-up exercise. 
         [0024]    Any type of stand, like blocks, risers, or small chairs, can be used to provide extra elevation and increase the distance between user&#39;s chest and the ground. In addition, push-up grips  55  can be used with the present invention in order to perform the exercise without any elevation. The grips will provide the proper elevation, so that the user can lower his/her body further. The grips are handles that are long enough to provide a distance between the user&#39;s body and the floor. The user  100  curls his/her toes upward so that the balls of his/her feet touch the ground. The user  100  raises his/herself using his/her arms. At this point, his/her weight should be supported by his/her hands and the balls of his/her feet. The user  100  lowers his/her torso  51  to the surface, bending the arms until the extra weight  40  touches the ground. The user  100  pushes his/her own weight plus the extra weight  40  up during the push-up exercise. The user  100  then lowers his/her torso  51  towards the surface until the extra weight  40  touches the ground. Alternatively, the user may not have the weight actually touch the floor, but stay hanging freely in the air until reversing direction and raising during the concentric portion of the push-up exercise. These steps may be repeated for repetitions of the push-up exercise. 
         [0025]    The height of extra weight  40  can be adjusted by adjusting the length of the chain  20 . This can be done by connecting the hook  21  to different rings on the chain  20 . This will change the degree that the arms bend at the elbow when lowering the weight/resistance and the body to the point where the weight touches the ground, or before. This will depend on the goals and desire of the user. 
         [0026]    For increasing the versatility and providing different physiological adaptations or intensity of the push-up exercise with extra weight  40 , the user  100  can use push-up grips  55 . Push-up grips  55  may be constructed by attaching a half-circle of piping to a flat base or by having two U-shaped bars with a small crossbar at both ends of each bar for added stability. A push-up grip can help a user to reduce the wrist angle so that there is less pressure put on the joints. Athletes who need to build strength in a more extreme range of motions, such as swimmers, can add height to their push-up movement by using push-up grips. 
         [0027]    In another embodiment of the present invention, a long chain is connected to the push-up harness  10 . The chain being long enough that just touches the ground when the user has fully extended his/her arms as shown in  FIG. 6 . The long chain provides a variable weight during the push-up exercise. The user while doing the push-up exercise with push-up harness and chain, experiences a different weight at different heights. More elements of the chain are lifted from the ground, then user has to push harder. 
         [0028]    In another embodiment of the present invention, the extra weight can be placed on different positions on the push-up harness. In order to add weight to different locations on the harness, plurality of rings is placed on different locations on the chest and shoulder straps to hang extra weights. 
         [0029]    The push-up harness may have a variety of designs. For example, the number of the straps and pads can be changed to provide more support and protection for the user&#39;s body during an exercise. It may also have extra buckles placed on the shoulder straps to better adjust the size of the harness according to the size of the user&#39;s body. Further, it may simply be made in different sizes to accommodate larger or smaller users. 
         [0030]    The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.