Patent ID: 8480548

Claim:
A method of enabling a person to exercise on an arrangement comprising: providing a movable body support which supports the seat and back of an exercising person in a supine position which allows the body of the exercising person to move while in supported relation on the movable body support with the feet of the exercising person free to be moved with respect to the movable body support; and providing a movable foot assembly separate from said body support in a position to be engaged by the feet of the exercising person supported on the movable body support; wherein energy of the movement of the movable body support in a first direction away from the movable foot assembly by the exercising person supported thereon is absorbed and converted to a movement of the movable body support with the exercising person supported thereon in a second direction toward the movable foot assembly; wherein engagement of the movable foot assembly by the feet of an exercising person moving with the movable body support in said second direction is damped and resiliently resisted; and wherein the damped resiliently resisted movement of the movable foot assembly in said second direction results in a damped resilient return movement by the movable foot assembly in the first direction, which the exercising person can translate into a movement of the movable body support in the first direction, the arrangement being such that the exercising person can control the repetition and magnitude of the movements of the movable body support by flexure of the legs at the knees.