PUSH-UP GRIPS

Abstract

An exercise apparatus comprising a body having a top and a bottom surfaces, at least one roller pivotally supported on the bottom surface of the body and a handle extending from the top surface. The handle axis may be substantially perpendicular to the roller axes.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to exercise devices in general, and in particular to a grip for use in performing push-ups.

2. Description of Related Art

Exercise is an important and necessary part of many people's daily lives. In particular, push-ups are an exercise known to be beneficial for many people. During a push-up a person positions their body in a prone position with their chest down and their hands on the floor below them. The exercise is performed by raising and lowering their body using their arms while resting either their feet or knees on the floor.

Push-ups are known to exercise several muscle groups, including the triceps, pectoral, deltoid and back muscles. It is known that by placing a user's hands at different locations on the ground, the muscles may be worked in varying degrees relative to each other. In particular, it is known that placing a person's hands adjacent to each other close to the center of the body requires greater involvement of the triceps muscles whereas holding a person's hands farther apart requires greater use of the person's pectoral muscles.

One current difficulty that exists with conventional push-ups is that the hands of the exerciser are commonly placed upon the floor or handles. In such a position, the exerciser's hands are at a fixed location which can only be adjusted by pausing the push-up exercise and repositioning the exerciser's hands. Thus an exerciser is limited to performing one particular style of push-ups at a time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first embodiment of the present invention there is disclosed an exercise apparatus comprising a body having a top and a bottom surfaces, at least one roller pivotally supported on the bottom surface of the body and a handle extending from the top surface.

The exercise apparatus may further comprise a plurality of rollers. The plurality of rollers may be rotatable about parallel roller axes. The plurality of rollers may be substantially cylindrical.

The plurality of rollers may have rotatably supported ends being rotatably supported by the body. The handle may extend along a handle axis. The handle axis may be substantially perpendicular to the roller axes.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention wherein similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in each view, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a user performing a push-up using an apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exercise apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 as taken along the line 3-3.

FIG. 4 is an exploded bottom perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, an exercise apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention is shown generally at 10. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a user 8 may utilize the exercise apparatus 10 to perform push-ups or other exercises. The apparatus comprises a body 12 having a handle 32 and at least one roller 40 thereunder.

The body 12 comprises a substantially planar portion 14 having a skirt 16 extending therefrom in a substantially downward direction, as illustrated. The skirt 16 and planar portion form a cavity 18 within a bottom portion 20 of the body 12. The skirt 16 includes a plurality of bores 22 therethrough, the purpose of which will be more fully described below. The body 12 may have any shape as desired by a user, such as, oval, rectangular, square, octagonal or irregular. The body 12 may be formed of any suitable material, such as, by way of non-limiting example plastic, metal, wood or composite materials. The body 12 may also be formed by any know means, such as moulding, casting or connecting one or more portions, by any known means, such as, by way of non-limiting example, fasteners, adhesives or the like.

The body 12 includes a pair of spaced apart uprights 30 extending from a top surface 24 thereof having a handle 32 extending therebetween. The handle 32 extends along a handle axis 34 and may have any desired shape, such as, by way of non-limiting example, cylindrical, oval, rectangular or irregular. The handle 32 and uprights 30 may be formed of any suitable material such as, by way of non-limiting example plastic, metal, wood or composite materials. The handle 32 and uprights 30 may also be co- formed with the body 12 or formed independently by any know means, such as moulding, casting and secured to the body 12 by any known means, such as, by way of non-limiting example, fasteners, adhesives or the like. Optionally, the handle 32 may be covered by a gripping surface, such as, by way of non-limiting example foam, rubber or the like.

The rollers 40 comprise elongate bodies having substantially cylindrical outer surfaces 42 received within the cavity 18 and pivotally supported by the skirt 16 of the body. As illustrated in the accompanying figures, the exercise apparatus may include three rollers, although it will be appreciated that other quantities may be useful as well. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the rollers include an axial bore 44 therethrough adapted to receive an elongate pin 46 therein. The pin 46 is sized to extend through a pair of spaced apart opposed bores 22 and a roller 40 so as to pivotally support the roller between the skirt within the cavity 18. The pin 46 may be formed of any suitable material, such as metal, ceramics, plastics or the like. It will be appreciated that other means of pivotally supporting the rollers 40 within the cavity 18 may also be utilized, such as rotary bearings and the like.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the rollers may extend along roller axes 48 which are parallel to each other. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the roller axes 48 may be substantially perpendicular to the handle axes 34.

In operation a user 8 grasps the handles of a pair of exercise apparatuses 10 with the rollers 40 on a floor or other suitable surface. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the exercise apparatuses are oriented such that the handles are substantially aligned across the body of the user. In such an orientation, the exercise apparatuses 10 are freely movable away and towards from each other in a direction generally indicated at 50. Thereafter the user may support their body above the exercise apparatuses as illustrated in FIG. 1 and perform a push-up. The rollers 40 on the bottom of exercise apparatus permits the hands of the user to be movable laterally away and towards their body, thereby requiring the user to stabilize their hands during the push-up exercises. During such exercises, the user will utilize more muscle groups to stabilize their movement from any excessive lateral movement. It will also be appreciated that the user may utilize the exercise apparatus to perform a push-up in which the hands are permitted to move further apart from each other during one portion of the push up, such as by way of non-limiting example on the downward portion of the push-up and closer to each other on another portion of the exercise, such as, by way of non-limiting example, on the upward movement of the push-up. During use of the present apparatus when performing push ups, it will be appreciated that the stabilizer muscles of the user will be utilized so as to limit or control the amount of lateral movement of the apparatus relative to the user.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting the invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. An exercise apparatus comprising:

a body; having a top and a bottom surfaces;

at least one roller pivotally supported on said bottom surface of said body; and

a handle extending from said top surface.

2. The exercise apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of rollers.

3. The exercise apparatus of claim 2 wherein said plurality of rollers are rotatable about parallel roller axes.

4. The exercise apparatus of claim 2 wherein said plurality of rollers are substantially cylindrical.

5. The exercise apparatus of claim 2 wherein said plurality of rollers have rotatably supported ends being rotatably supported by said body.

6. The exercise apparatus of claim 3 wherein said handle extends along a handle axis.

7. The exercise apparatus of claim 6 wherein said handle axis is substantially perpendicular to said roller axes.