Exercise device for strengthening of abdominal muscles

Abstract

An exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles with a frame having a resistance mechanism, the device including an inclined bench (3) associated with the press arm (4) connected to the resistance mechanism (9) creating resistance force only in one direction, whereas the press arm (4) is pivotally mounted at one end and its other end is positioned above the inclined bench (3), and is provided with means (8) for pushing and/or holding by user's hands.

Claims

1. An exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles comprising a frame, a resistance mechanism, an inclined bench for supporting a back of a user in an inclined position, the inclined bench extending at an inclination with respect to a horizontal direction, and a press arm, the press arm being connected to the resistance mechanism, the resistance mechanism creating resistance force in only one direction of movement of the press arm, wherein: the press arm is pivotally mounted at one end below a lower end of the inclined bench and its other end is positioned above the inclined bench, the one end of the press arm, pivotally mounted below the lower end of the inclined bench, being located closer, in the horizontal direction, to the lower end of the inclined bench than to an upper end of the inclined bench, the press arm is provided with a handle for at least one of pushing and holding by the user's hands, and the other end of the press arm is positioned above the one end of the press arm which is pivotally mounted.

2. The exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles according to claim 1, wherein the resistance mechanism is an isokinetic resistance mechanism.

3. The exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles according to claim 1, wherein the resistance mechanism is a hydraulic cylinder.

4. The exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles according to claim 1, wherein the handle is positioned on the press arm so, that when the press arm is pushed, the user's hands move above the user's head.

5. The exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles according to claim 1, further comprising a raised feet support, upper feet supporting bars, and lower feet holding rolls.

6. The exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles according to claim 1, wherein the inclined bench comprises a groove for the user's spine.

7. The exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles according to claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a supporting frame, the inclined bench is supported by the supporting frame, and the pivotal mounting of the press arm at one end is to the supporting frame, the pivotal mounting of the press arm being located between an upper longitudinal surface of the supporting frame and a lower longitudinal surface of the supporting frame.

8. The exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles according to claim 1, wherein the press arm consists of a single lever arm.

9. The exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles according to claim 1, wherein the press arm is configured such that when it pivots and the user's hands grasp the handle of the press arm while the press arm is pivoting, the user's hands move in a linear path.

10. The exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles according to claim 9, wherein the inclined bench and the press arm are configured such that when the press arm pivots and the user's hands grasp the handle of the press arm while the press arm is pivoting, the torso of the user rotates between a first position where the user is lying supine on the inclined bench and a second position where the torso of the user is at a maximum angular displacement with respect to the inclined bench.

11. The exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles according to claim 1, wherein the inclined bench is configured so that an upper part of the inclined bench supports at least an upper part of the user's torso when the user lies on the inclined bench.

12. The exercising device for strengthening of abdominal muscles according to claim 1, wherein the inclined bench is configured so that a lower part of the inclined bench supports a lower part of the user's torso when the user lies on the inclined bench.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The arrangement of the exercise device for strengthening of the abdominal muscles according to the invention is shown in the attached drawings, where:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a side view of the device for strengthening of the abdominal muscles according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a front view of the device for strengthening of the abdominal muscles according to the invention;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a side view of the device for strengthening of the abdominal muscles according to the invention with a schematically shown user in the positions of sit-up exercises and crunches with his feet rested on a raised feet support;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a side view of the device for strengthening of the abdominal muscles according to the invention with a schematically shown user in the positions of sit-up exercises and crunches with his feet hooked under the lower holding rolls;

(6) FIG. 5 shows a side view of the device for strengthening of the abdominal muscles according to the invention with a schematically shown user in the positions of sit-up exercises and crunches with his feet pushed against the upper supporting bars; and

(7) FIG. 6 shows the bench of the device according to the invention with the groove for the user's spine, together with the seat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS AND OPERATION OF THE INVENTION

(8) The exercise device for strengthening of abdominal muscles according to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 comprises a base frame 1, which in this example is composed of two parts. One part is a supporting frame 2 comprising a bench 3, mount of a press arm 4 and a frame 5 of the raised feet support 11, upper feet supporting bars 12, and lower feet holding rolls 13. The second part is a support 6, on which a seat 7 and a connection of a resistance mechanism 9 by means of the holder 10, are positioned. The supporting frame 2 is with its one end placed on the ground and supported by the support 6 in its inclined position. The support 6 is in this example attached to the supporting frame 2 preferably near the lower end of the inclined bench 3. At the lower end of the inclined bench 3 a frame 14 of a seat is connected, onto which the seat 7 is placed. The main function of the seat 7 is to keep the correct position of the user E so that the user E does not slide down the inclined bench 3 during the exercise and at the same time to allow bending of the torso without tilting the torso around the hips. The bench 3 can be provided by a groove 15 for the user's spine.

(9) It is obvious, that the embodiment without the seat 7 is possible, but such an embodiment reduces user's comfort during exercising.

(10) The press arm 4 is pivotally connected to the supporting frame 2. The press arm 4 is made so that its free end is reachable for the user E lying supine on the inclined bench 3. In this example the press arm 4 thus extends over the inclined bench 3 and its free end is provided with a means 8 for pushing and/or holding by hands of the user E. These can be a common handle or a hand rest.

(11) The press arm 4 is connected to a resistance mechanism 9. The resistance mechanism 9 is in this case of the type which develops resistance force in one direction only and preferably is isokinetic. For the invention this is in the direction when the press arm 4 is pushed off the inclined bench 3. The resistance mechanism 9 is in this example connected to the support 6 of the supporting frame 2. It is obvious that the resistance mechanism 9 can be connected to the press arm 4 also in a different manner. However, in this embodiment, regarding the arrangement of the entire device and the elongated shape of the resistance mechanism 9, which in this particular embodiment is a hydraulic cylinder, the most suitable connection is the connection of the resistance mechanism 9 to the lower end of the press arm 4, i.e. near the pivotal mount of the press arm 4 on the supporting frame 2 and to the support 6. In this way, the body of the resistance mechanism 9 is actually placed entirely under the device and thus it does not form an obstacle during exercise.

(12) The drawings show the connection of the body of the resistance mechanism 9 and the support 6 provided through an extended holder 10, but this is not necessary and the resistance mechanism 9 can be connected directly to the support 6.

(13) In this embodiment, the frame 5 of the raised feet support 11, upper feet supporting bars 12, and lower feet holding rolls 13 is attached to the supporting frame 2. The frame 5 of the raised feet support 11, upper feet supporting bars 12, and lower feet holding rolls 13 is not necessary as the exercise, as will be described further, can be performed also without the raised feet support 11, upper feet supporting bars 12, and lower feet holding rolls 13.

(14) With reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the method of exercise using the exercise device for strengthening of abdominal muscles is the following: The user E is lying supine on the inclined bench 3. Then he grabs the means 8 for pushing and/or holding or rests his hands against them. User E can leave his legs on the ground or he can put his legs on the raised feet support 11, or rest his feet against upper feet supporting bars 12, or he can hook his feet under the feet holding rolls 13. The user E, beginning from the lying supine position on the inclined bench 3, starts bending the torso and lifting the torso to a seated position, while with this movement pushing the press arm 4 with his extended straight arms, where the press arm 4 through connected resistance mechanism 9 exerts a resistance force against the movement of the user E. When an isokinetic mechanism is employed, the faster the user E tries to perform the exercise, the greater is the resistance force on the press arm 4 which must be overcome. After the user E ends movement in the seated position, he then starts to lie back. No resistance force acts on the press arm 4 during this backward movement, and only the weight of the torso itself is applied to the abdominal muscles.

(15) The lower position of the press arm 4 and the user E, i.e. the position at the beginning or the end of the exercise is drawn in a solid line and the upper position of the press arm 4 and the user E, i.e. the upper position in the exercise, is drawn in a dashed line.