ATHLETIC INSTRUCTION APPARATUS, SYSTEM AND METHOD
An athletic instruction apparatus including a head positioner adapted to be disposed under a user's chin, a strap adapted to secure the head positioner to the user, and a fastener to removably fasten the strap to the head positioner, and a system and method of use thereof.
The present development is directed to an athletic instruction apparatus, system, and method, namely, an instruction apparatus suited for use by athletes and other users, and a system and method of using the apparatus.
A challenge frequently faced by athletes, particularly swimmers, and even more particularly competitive swimmers, is efficiency. A swimmer can gain efficiency and reduce drag in the water by finding and maintaining a suitable body position while swimming. This gain in efficiency and reduction in drag may be achieved by setting up a predetermined optimized head position that will in turn raise the swimmer's hips and legs.
Solutions have been proposed to encourage and train swimmers to maintain a predetermined optimized head position. For example, a snorkel may allow the head to stay in line with the body, but the snorkel may not allow the athlete to breathe properly if at all. An ordinary ball, such as a tennis ball, may be held under the swimmer's chin to try to accomplish a suitable body line, but the rest of the stroke is lost through the struggle to hold onto the ball.
Thus, it may be desirable to have a safe, user-friendly, compact, and easily attachable and detachable athletic instruction device that may aid a swimmer or any other user in attaining an optimized body position.
SUMMARYThe present development is intended to help a user achieve an optimized head and body position in order to create a habit, i.e. develop muscle memory, that is sustainable during practice and competition. The device may aid any user in training the body to maintain a predetermined optimized body position. The device may provide the user with physical and kinesthetic reinforcement of body alignment during an activity; specifically, it may aid swimmers by providing physical and kinesthetic reinforcement in body alignment for all strokes, during streamlines, and during breakouts for all strokes. The device may also aid swimmers with body position during flip turns and open turns, and aid swimmers with head position during breathing for all strokes. For the purposes of this application, the term ‘user’ can refer to any athlete, as applicable, such as a swimmer, a runner, a golfer, a synchronized swimmer, a diver, or any other athlete or user in a sport or activity that may require an individual to hold their head in a specific orientation relative to the body to achieve a predetermined, desired body position.
The present disclosure relates to an instruction apparatus and/or system and/or method by which the apparatus may be used, namely, a head positioner with releasable and adjustable straps that may allow a user to learn and maintain an optimized head position and body alignment while, i.e., swimming and doing other training tasks in the pool. The device is intended to be easy to use, with built in safety features.
The optimized head position may be accomplished by placing the head positioner under the chin and securing the head positioner in place with the straps. The user may then place pressure on the head positioner, encouraging the spine and neck into alignment with the rest of the body. The head positioner portion of the apparatus may sit directly under the user's chin. The adjustable straps may be attached to opposing sides of the head positioner portion by detachable clips, magnets, or any other suitable detachable fastener or attachment component. The adjustable strap or straps may be positioned around the neck, or around the head, or secured in any manner that would secure the device in position under the user's chin without unduly restricting the user's motion or breathing. If the device is worn too tight or too hard, the straps may be designed to detach from the head positioner portion.
There may be an additional feedback component integral with the apparatus. The feedback component may emit a predetermined user-perceptible stimulus that would aid the user in maintaining the predetermined optimized body position while performing an activity. The stimulus may be, for example, audial, tactile, or metric.
The feedback component could be a vibrational component, which could create a constant vibration until appropriate pressure would be applied from the user to the device, forcing the user to maintain appropriate pressure and head position to keep the vibration turned off. The components may be constructed of a variety of waterproof or water-resistant materials that simultaneously are adapted for wearability by the user.
There may also be a separate or additional audial emitter integral with the device, which could have a source of audial stimulus that would create a human-perceptible sound until the user applies appropriate pressure. The application of pressure would quiet the sound and encourage the user to maintain optimal head and body position.
Additionally, there may also be a pace counter or a stroke rate counter incorporated into the device, to help the user maintain pace in an athletic activity with a stroke, rhythm, or tempo. For example, the pace counter or stroke rate counter could aid the swimmer to keep a certain stroke rate or pace while maintaining optimal body position. The pace counter or stroke rate counter may be either independent of or integral with the vibrational component and the audial component. Also, a computer, a timer, or a counting and recording device, may be present to allow the user to keep track of time spent in optimal body position, number of strokes taken while in optimal body position, or other metrics that may be captured by the device and components. The pace counter, stroke rate counter, or timer could provide a metric stimulus, similar to that of a metronome, to the user. The pace counter, stroke rate counter, timer, and/or metric stimulus may dependent on or independent of the pressure switch. The timer component may be a computer adapted to be disposed within the apparatus.
When wearing the device, users would have a physical reference to find and maintain an optimized body position. This gives the user a reference point of contact for his/her chin aligning the neck, back and hips. This could aid a user such as a swimmer while breathing, during streamlines/breakouts, and the flip turn tuck position. Thus, the device may be used as part of a training regimen to learn and reinforce optimized body position during swimming or other athletic activity.
In the drawings:
The developments hereof relate to an athletic instruction apparatus configured to enable easy use, and a system and method of use thereof. In many implementations, the apparatus has a head positioner, a fastener or fasteners, and a strap or straps. In some implementations, the head positioner may take a variety of shapes and sizes to suit the individual user or the athletic activity. In other implementations, the head positioner may have a vibrational component, an audial component, a pace/stroke counter, or a timer.
As generally shown in
Also shown in
Typically, once the on/off switch 280 is depressed, the circuit made by the battery 290, feedback component 300, and wire 310 is closed. When, e.g. in
Similarly, the depression of the on/off switch 280 may activate the feedback component 300 where the stimulus is a human-perceptible noise. The feedback component 300 in this case may any source of audial stimulus adapted to emit such a human-perceptible noise until depressed by the user. The noise emitted by the feedback component 300 may be of a suitable volume and of a frequency as to be sensed by the user regardless of the conditions, i.e. underwater, and may even be of a suitable volume to be sensed by someone besides the user, such as a coach. The feedback component 300 may be just a source of audial stimulus by itself, and/or with a vibration motor and/or timing component.
The feedback component 300 may also be a timer, pace counter, or stroke rate counter that may be operated by the user's application of pressure, or may be activated by the on/off switch 280. The timer may serve as a conventional metronome, pace counter or stroke rate counter, emitting an alert or stimulus at a predetermined interval to the user to assist the user with his or her timing. The timer may also serve as a tracker of the user's performance, for example, by communicating with the pressure switch 260 to track the strokes completed while the user maintained the optimized body position.
In
An apparatus such as any of the apparatuses as described above may thus provide convenient and safe ways to instruct a user in the proper or optimized body position for their respective sport. Specifically, the apparatus as described above may help a user such as a swimmer learn and maintain optimized head, neck, shoulder, hip, and overall body position during training, for establishment and reinforcement of muscle memory and ultimately improved performance during competition. The ease and quickness with which the apparatus can be put on can be attractive features for a user or for a user's coach, allowing the apparatus to be put on and removed without undue interruption of a set or practice.
Other contemplated uses hereof may include any type of athletic endeavor where a predetermined optimized body position is important, such as swimming, golf, track and field, synchronized swimming, diving, and/or any sport that may require a user to hold their head in line with the body to achieve a desired body position. For example, a golfer might wear the apparatus while practicing a golf swing to prevent the golfer from moving the head out of the desired orientation during the swing. A runner may wear the apparatus during training or intervals to reinforce optimized body position and discourage undesired head movement. Moreover, the apparatus is easily portable and easily adaptable to a variety of users and a variety of athletic endeavors.
As introduced above, a variety of alternative components may implement the apparatus hereof. The apparatus described herein may come in different forms. Thus, the straps may be of a suitable material that is synthetic, woven or stretchable, such as rubber or a rubber composite, or woven stretchable fabric, or may be of any other resilient, bendable and/or waterproof material. The head positioner may also be made of a tennis ball, a conventional ball, a suitable material fashioned into an ergonomic shape, or rubber, plastic, or any material to hold shape and form to support the contact of the chin.
Moreover, though structures have been shown and described in some detail herein, the scope and content hereof is not so limited, and instead may include alternative structures. Still furthermore, the connection and feedback mechanisms hereof are illustrative only as well and not limitative of the scope and content hereof. Other connection and feedback mechanisms may be used to the same or substantially the same effect, and thus be covered hereby.
Apparatuses hereof may be made by any of a variety of methods and/or of a variety of materials. Shapes and sizes are not limited to those shown and described here either, as sizes and shapes may be selected to adapt to any of many alternative structures. Although the present development has been described with reference to preferred implementations, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the development described herein.
Claims
1. An athletic instruction apparatus comprising:
- a head positioner adapted to be disposed under a user's chin;
- a strap adapted to secure the head positioner to the user; and
- a fastener to removably fasten the strap to the head positioner.
2. An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the head positioner comprises at least one of a sphere, a ball, a cylinder, a plurality of conjoined spheres, or an ergonomic form.
3. An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the head positioner comprises at least one of a tennis ball, a conventional ball, a resilient material, a rubber material, or a plastic material.
4. An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the strap comprises at least one of a synthetic material, a woven material, or a stretchable material.
5. An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising an adjuster dimensioned and configured to allow an adjustment of the strap.
6. The athletic instruction apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein the adjuster comprises at least one of a buckle, a hook-and-loop closure, a snap closure, or a clip closure.
7. An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in claim 1, the head positioner further comprising:
- an on/off switch;
- a battery operatively in communication with the on/off switch;
- a feedback component operatively in communication with the on/off switch and the battery; and
- a pressure switch operatively in communication with the feedback component.
8. An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in claim 7, the feedback component comprising one or more of a vibrator, an audial emitter, a timer, a pace counter, a stroke rate counter, and a computer.
9. An athletic instruction apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein the audial emitter is configured to emit a human-perceptible sound.
10. A system for athletic instruction, comprising:
- a head positioner adapted to be disposed under a user's chin;
- a strap dimensioned and adapted to secure the head positioner to the user while the user performs a predetermined athletic activity;
- a fastener dimensioned and adapted to removably attach the strap to the head positioner; and
- a feedback component integrally disposed with the head positioner, the feedback component dimensioned and configured to provide a predetermined user-perceptible stimulus to the user performing the predetermined athletic activity.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the athletic activity is swimming.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein the feedback component is dimensioned and configured to provide one or more of an audial stimulus, a tactile stimulus, or a metric stimulus.
13. The system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the audial stimulus and the tactile stimulus is provided to the user when the user fails to maintain a predetermined optimized body position.
14. A method for athletic instruction, the method comprising:
- attaching to a user an athletic instruction apparatus comprising a head positioner adapted to be disposed under the user's chin; a strap adapted to secure the head positioner to the user; and a fastener to removably fasten the strap to the head positioner;
- engaging the user in an athletic activity; and
- encouraging the user to adopt a predetermined optimized body position for the athletic activity by maintaining user chin and chest contact with the athletic instruction apparatus.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the athletic instruction apparatus further comprises a feedback component dimensioned and configured to provide a predetermined user-perceptible stimulus to the user performing the predetermined athletic activity.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the predetermined user-perceptible stimulus comprises at least one of an audial stimulus, a tactile stimulus, and a metric stimulus.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising providing at least one of an audial stimulus and a tactile stimulus to the user when the user fails to maintain the predetermined optimized body position.
18. The method of claim 14, wherein the athletic activity is swimming.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein the predetermined optimized body position comprises at least one of a neutral body position and a ‘banana’ body position.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 6, 2011
Publication Date: Apr 11, 2013
Inventor: Michael Peterson (Glendale, CO)
Application Number: 13/267,776
International Classification: A63B 71/00 (20060101);