A TREADMILL EXERCISE APPARATUS

Abstract

An exercise apparatus (10), specifically a treadmill is disclosed. The apparatus includes a treadmill mounted on a frame (14) with a rotating conveyor providing a moving surface for a person to exercise thereon. There are also at least three static foot support portions (26, 28, 30) connected to said frame allowing the person to stand on the apparatus and not on the moving surface. There are first and second foot support portions (26, 28) on either side of the conveyor and a third said foot support portion (30) located in front of the moving surface approximately below a grasping handle (32).

Claims

1. An exercise apparatus, comprising: a frame; a treadmill mounted on said frame including a rotating conveyor providing a moving surface for supporting a person thereon during exercise said moving surface defining a direction of travel; a plurality of static foot support portions connected to said frame allowing said person to stand on said apparatus and not on said surface, said foot support portions including a first said support portion located on one side of said conveyor with respect to said direction of travel, a second said foot support portion on another side of said conveyor opposite said first foot support portion and a third said foot support portion located in front or behind said moving surface with respect to said direction of travel.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one handle providing a plurality of grasping portions wherein a first pair of said grasping portions are aligned perpendicular to said direction of travel and a second pair of grasping portions aligned parallel to said direction of travel and wherein said first grasping portions are located behind said second grasping portions with respect to said direction of travel.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein one of said first grasping portions and one of said second grasping portions are together formed in an L shape and the other of said first and second grasping portions together form an L shape.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said grasping portions are fixed to said frame so as to divide each grasping portion into a pair of hand grips.

5. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising at least one fourth grasping portion located towards the front of the apparatus relative to said direction of travel and at a height lower than said first, second and third grasping portions.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said third step foot support portion is located in front of said conveyor with respect to said direction of travel.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said third foot support portion is located behind said conveyor with respect to said direction of travel.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one said foot support portion is at a height which is higher than an adjacent portion of said moving surface.

9. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first, second and third foot support portions are at a height which is higher than their respective adjacent portions of said moving surface.

10. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one foot support portion comprises a gripping material.

11. An exercise apparatus, comprising: a frame; a treadmill mounted on said frame including a rotating conveyor providing a moving surface for supporting a person thereon during exercise said moving surface defining a direction of travel; a plurality of static foot support portions connected to said frame allowing said person to stand on said apparatus and not on said surface, said foot support portions including a first said support portion located on one side of said conveyor with respect to said direction of travel, a second said foot support portion on another side of said conveyor opposite said first foot support portion and a third said foot support portion located in front or behind said moving surface with respect to said direction of travel wherein said third foot support portions is at a height which is higher than their respective adjacent portions of said moving surface.

12. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said first, second and third foot support portions are at a height which is higher than their respective adjacent portions of said moving surface.

13. An exercise apparatus, comprising: a frame; a treadmill mounted on said frame including a rotating conveyor providing a moving surface for supporting a person thereon during exercise said moving surface defining a direction of travel; a plurality of static foot support portions connected to said frame allowing said person to stand on said apparatus and not on said surface, said foot support portions including a first said support portion located on one side of said conveyor with respect to said direction of travel, a second said foot support portion on another side of said conveyor opposite said first foot support portion and a third said foot support portion located in front or behind said moving surface with respect to said direction of travel at least one handle providing a plurality of grasping portions wherein a first pair of said grasping portions are aligned perpendicular to said direction of travel and a second pair of grasping portions aligned parallel to said direction of travel and wherein said first grasping portions are located behind said second grasping portions with respect to said direction of travel wherein one of said first grasping portions and one of said second grasping portions are together formed in an L shape and the other of said first and second grasping portions together form an L shape.

Description

[0020] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exercise apparatus of the present invention;

[0022] FIG. 2 is a perspective view, from another angle, of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

[0023] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1; and

[0024] FIG. 4 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

[0025] Referring to all of the figures, an exercise apparatus 10, commonly referred to as a treadmill or running machine, is used by a person 12 wishing to exercise allowing them to undertake a running, jogging or walking type exercises, amongst others, without the need for a large open space.

[0026] The apparatus 10 includes a frame 14 which has a base 16 and a frame upright 18 extending from the base. Feet 20 are also provided to engage the floor surface and the distance which these feet extend from the base 16 can be adjusted in order to ensure that the apparatus 10 is sitting flat on the floor. Mounted on the base portion 16 of the frame 14 is a treadmill which includes a rotating conveyor which provides a moving surface on which a person exercising can stand. The conveyor 22 includes a belt 24 which is mounted on a pair of rollers (not shown) which are attached to the frame. At least one of the rollers is motorised causing it to rotate which in turn moves the belt to create the moving surface and thereby defining a direction of travel D. The direction of travel D is defined with respect to a person using the apparatus 10 and is the direction that person would be moving if they were walking or running on the treadmill. In other words, the direction of travel D is the opposite direction to the direction in which the belt 24 is moving.

[0027] Mounted to the base portion 16 of frame 14 are three static foot support portions which allow the person to stand on the apparatus without standing on the moving conveyor. The static foot portions include a first foot support portion 26 which is located on the left-hand side of the belt 24 with respect to the direction of travel D, a second support portion 28 is provided on the right-hand side of the belt and a third foot support portion 30 is provided in front of the belt 26 with respect to the direction of travel D. The foot support portions are elliptical in shape and are formed with a foot engaging portion made from a roughened gripping material. The major axis of the ellipses of the first and second foot support portions have a major axis parallel to the direction of travel D where the major axis of the ellipse of the third support portion is perpendicular to the direction of travel D.

[0028] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the person 12 who is exercising on the apparatus 10 is standing on the second foot support portion 28 with their right leg and as a result, there leg is positioned above the belt 24. When power is supplied to the motorising device and the belt 24 is rotating the person 12 is able to perform a scooting-type action on the treadmill with their left foot whilst their right foot remains static. The left foot action is movement in a plane which is parallel to the direction of travel D, that is the exercise is undertaken with the person standing so that their sagittal plane is parallel to the direction of travel D. The same action can be performed using the other leg by standing with the left foot static on first support portion 26 and the right leg performing the scooting action.

[0029] So as to accurately mimic the scooting action the first and second foot support portions 26 and 28 are raised up at a height higher than the height of the surface of the belt 24 this produces the same action as when scooting the platform on which a person stands is above the height of the ground. Ideally, the platforms are 50 mm +/−5 mm above the surface of the belt. As a result, the scooting exercise works both legs differently. For example, when a person is standing on the second foot support portion 28, as shown in FIG. 1, the left leg swings in a parasagittal plane contacting the belt 24 and performing a pushing action as though the person was riding a scooter. The forward swing phase of this action is a non-weight bearing dynamic movement working the truck flexors isometrically, the hip flexors concentrically and the ankle dorsi flexors isometrically to gain the clearance from the floor of the treadmill. During the backward swing phase of the moving leg the trunk extensors work isometrically, the hip extensors, knee flexors and the ankle plantar flexors work concentrically. At the same time the right leg, which is the weight bearing leg, is bending/flexing slightly producing a squatting action. In order to build the momentum to swing the moving leg through at a good speed the user has the use the trunk extensors isometrically and the hip, knee and ankle planter flexors eccentrically to lower the left leg so that it can engage the belt 24.

[0030] A set out above, the major axis of the third foot support portion 30 is perpendicular to the major axes of the first and second foot support portions. This arrangement allows the person 12 to stand on the third foot support portion 30 with their sagittal plane perpendicular to the direction of travel D. As a result, in order to exercise when stood on the third support portion the non-standing leg is placed onto the belt 24 and pushes against the belt sideways thereby exercising that leg in the frontal plane. This action can be performed on either leg by the person simply rotating themselves through 180°. To ensure the standing leg must perform the shallow squatting movement described above, the third foot support portion 30 is also raised above the height of the belt 24.

[0031] Another exercise using the third foot support portion 30 is to undertake a pull and push exercise by first sliding the moving leg out (this is a hip abduction movement) on the belt which recruits the opposite trunk side flexors and extensors isometrically, the hip abductors, knee extensors, ankle plantar flexors and evertors concentrically. The second part of the movement is to pull the treadmill back into themselves (hip adduction movement) which recruits the opposite trunk flexors and rotators isometrically and the hip adductors and ankle invertors concentrically.

[0032] Alternatively, or in addition, and not shown in the drawings, a fourth foot support portion could be located at the back of the rotating conveyor 22 so as to provide a scooting type action, again in the frontal plane, but this time moving the non-standing leg towards the standing leg.

[0033] A pair of handles 32 are provided and attached to the frame upright 18. These handles 32 are to assist the person 12 when undertaking the scooting-type exercises previously described. Each handle 32 is divided into first and second grasping portions 34 and 36 with the first grasping portions 34 being arranged perpendicular to the direction of travel D and the second grasping portions 36 being arranged parallel to the direction of travel D. The arrangement of the first and second grasping portions 34 and 36 is such that first grasping portions are behind the second grasping portions with respect to the direction of travel D. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the handles 32 are L shaped and are attached to the frame upright 18 by stem portions 38. These stem portions thereby divide each grasping portion, 34 and 36, into a pair of handgrips 40 (with respect to the first grasping portions) and 42 (with respect to the second grasping portions).

[0034] These handgrips can be held by a person who is undertaking the scooting action in order to help to stabilise themselves and form an arrangement similar to the handlebars of a scooter. Specifically, when a person is scooting whilst standing on the first foot support portion 26 they grasp the handgrips 40 on the left-hand side of the exercise apparatus and when scooting and standing on the second foot support portion 28 they use the handgrips 40 on the right-hand side of the apparatus. When performing the frontal plane scooting action and standing on the third foot support portion 30 they use either the pair of hand grips 42 on the left-hand side or the right-hand side of the apparatus depending on which way round the standing.

[0035] Also extending from the frame upright 18 is a front-most hand support bar 44 located at a height lower than the handles 32. This hand support bar 44 allows the person 12 to undertake a hill walking movement by leaning forward with straight arms users use their core and upper body muscles to hold that position whilst they perform a hill walking technique. By holding onto the bar 44 with their arms extended and their back straight whilst attempting to make their spine substantially parallel to the floor. Located above the hand support bar 44, and attached to the frame upright, is a controller in the form of a touchscreen 46 with an associate processor which controls the speed of the rotation of the roller thereby controlling the speed of the belt.

[0036] As can be seen from the above description, the apparatus allows a variety of exercises to be undertaken on the one apparatus. Below in table 1 is an example of a 30 minute workout routine which can completed on the apparatus 10 allowing the person 12 to undertake several exercises thereby maintaining their interest in the exercise without having to move from one apparatus to another.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1  1 2 min walk  2 5 min jog  3 1 min scoot left leg (sagittal plane)  4 1 min scoot right leg (sagittal plane)  5 1 min scoot left leg (frontal plane)  6 1 min scoot right leg (total 5 mins with change overs)  7 30 sec interval sprint + 30 sec rest × 5 (total 5 mins)  8 1 min scoot left leg (sagittal plane)  9 1 min scoot right leg (sagittal plane) 10 1 min scoot left leg (frontal plane) 11 1 min scoot right leg (total 5 mins with change overs) 12 30 sec interval sprint − 30 sec rest × 5 (total 5 mins) 13 Cooldown walk with arms outstretched on front bar (3 mins) Total: 30 mins

[0037] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the protection which is defined by the appended claims. For example, the height of the first, second and third foot support portions 26, 28 and 30 can be made variable increase or decrease the difficulty of the exercise on the standing leg. This can be achieved through a variety of methods including the addition of blocks which fix to the foot support portions or into recesses formed in the foot support portions. In addition, the height of the handles 32 can be variable to accommodate different heights of users or to rebalance the height of the bars with respect to the foot support portion. This can be achieved by varying the height of the handles 32 with respect to the frame upright 18 or the height of the frame upright with respect the remainder of the frame base 16.