Patent ID: 8647239

Claim:
A vertical swim trainer comprising: a base; an upright member attached to and extending upwardly from the base; two arms each carried by a top portion of the upright member and terminating with an end pulley positioned above a front portion of a swimmer's shoulder when the swimmer is standing on the base; two pull cords each having one end connected to a hand pull, having a central portion extending from the hand pull over the end pulley, then over a second pulley positioned adjacent to the arm and the upright member, and then down along the upright member; a rotatable shaft positioned adjacent to a lower portion of the upright member and the base, having its axis generally perpendicular to the unwound pull cord to accommodate the pull cords being wound therearound; a loading mechanism, connected to the shaft, to resist rotation and unwinding of the cord around the shaft when the hand pull is pulled down; a clutch assembly positioned on the shaft arranged to rotate the shaft when the hand pull is pulled down and to spin freely when the hand pull is returned to its upper initial position; a rewind bias means to rewind the cord around the shaft, and concurrently pull the hand pull up and back to the initial position after it has been pulled down to a lower position and released; and, a tipping and/or rotating balance platform assembly, seated on the base, for the swimmer to stand on, when pulling the hand pull; thereby requiring the swimmer to utilize the core muscles in the body when pulling on the handle to maintain body alignment and rigidity, thus better developing both arm and torso strength required for fast and efficient swimming.