Abstract: A stair-step exercise machine includes: a frame; first and second rotary members rotatably mounted on the frame; an endless member engaged with the first and second rotary members; a plurality of steps, each comprising a vertical riser panel and a horizontal treading panel, wherein a rearward edge portion of the treading panel is pivotally attached to an upper edge portion of the riser panel, and wherein each step is mounted to the endless member, with the lower edge portion of the riser panel and the forward edge portion of the treading panel being pivotally mounted to the endless member, thereby forming an endless chain of steps that follows a travel path around the first and second rotary members; and a resistance control unit attached to the frame and operatively associated with one of the first and second rotary members. Each step is between about 4 and 7.5 inches in height.

Abstract: An exercise apparatus has an auxiliary weight system which can be used with virtually any exercise machine irrespective of its stroke length and which is relatively free of resistance due to friction caused by the interaction of the weights and their guide rods.

Abstract: An exercise machine for assisting a user in performing chin-ups and dips includes a pair of handles attached to a frame and a kneeling platform operably connected to the frame by a four-bar linkage. The pair of handles may be a pair of chin-up handles attached to an upper portion of the frame or a pair of dip handles attached to a medial portion of the frame. The four-bar linkage moves the kneeling platform along an arcuate path of travel corresponding to the natural arcuate path of the center of gravity of the user during a chin-up or a dip so that the kneeling platform remains beneath the user's center of gravity during performance of a chin-up or a dip. The four-bar linkage also preferably maintains the kneeling platform in a horizontal orientation. A selectable number of weights urge the kneeling platform upward so that the user may lift his body with his arms while applying a force less than his own body weight.

Abstract: A one-piece dual durometer pad holder for use in a floor buffing machine has an outer radial portion and an inner radial portion. The outer radial portion is made from a first hardenable material having a first durometer hardness in its hardened state, and the inner radial portion is made from a second material having a second durometer hardness in its hardened state, with the second durometer hardness being less than the first durometer hardness. The outer and inner radial portions are interconnected in such fashion as to prevent shear failure between the two portions. The method of making the floor pad holder includes spin casting the outer radial portion from the first harden- able material, and then, while the first hardenable material is in its unhardened state, spin casting the second hardenable material in a single spinning operation. The materials are allowed to cure at the same time, forming a smooth and continuous bond between the two durometer portions of the pad holder.