Patent ID: 8167827

Claim:
A combined floor mat and device for use during exercising procedures, said combined floor mat and device comprising: a device having a foot receiving section formed at a distal end thereof; a single and unitary floor mat having planar top and bottom surfaces, said floor mat being laid at an end-to-end pattern with said device and further being configured in such a manner that said proximal end of said device is adjustably connected to a distal end of said floor mat; and means for preventing said device from undesirably shifting during the exercising procedures so that said floor mat remains longitudinally aligned with said device and continuously disposed at a flat and planar arrangement on the ground surface; wherein said preventing means comprises first and second flexible straps wrapped about said proximal end of said device, each of said first and second straps being directly coupled to said distal end of said floor mat, each of said first and second straps being suitably sized and shaped such that said floor mat remains spaced from said proximal end of said device and further remains horizontally aligned with the ground surface during the exercising procedures; wherein said preventing means further comprises a plurality of rectilinear locking pins positioned through said first and second flexible straps as well as said distal end of said floor mat respectively such that said distal end of said floor mat is intercalated between said first and second flexible straps; wherein said first and second straps spaced apart and juxtaposed about said proximal end of said device such that said floor mat and said device maintain a static and fixed relationship with the ground surface as the user executes the exercising procedures; wherein said preventing means further comprises a resilient U-shaped stabilizing arm having oppositely situated lateral ends directly mated to said first and second straps respectively, said lateral ends being laterally biased along mutually exclusive linear paths respectively defined along said proximal end of said device such that operating forces are distributed from said floor mat to said lateral ends thereby preventing said device from shifting during exercising procedures; wherein said preventing means further comprises a rectilinear anchor lever having axially opposed ends statically and fixedly attached directly to a center region of said stabilizing arm and said proximal end of said device respectively, said center region of said stabilizing arm remaining aligned substantially parallel with a center of said proximal end of said device while said oppositely situated lateral ends of said stabilizing arm are displaced with corresponding movements of said first and second straps respectively.