Low Joint Strain Fitness System

Exercise apparatus and methods.

Weight training with heavy weights can result in injuries and can be dangerous without a spotter. People recovering from injuries may be especially prone to further injury. Certain exercises such as squats subject the muscles and tendons of the exerciser to very high joint strain, especially at the extremes of the person's range of motion.

Additionally, joints and muscles may be at greater risk of injury when an exerciser is standing up from a squat than when they are lowering down into a squat, because the exerciser's muscles, joints, and tendons are under higher load when standing up from a squat than when lowering down into a squat. In order to stand up from a squat, the exerciser's muscles must exert enough force to exceed the force of gravity. Conversely, when the exerciser is lowering into a squat the muscles exert a force which is less than the opposing force of gravity.

Workout devices are known that use one or more elastic cords which are fixed to an overhead structure to provide resistance training to a human with an overhead handle that is pulled downward by the user in a direction with a large vertical component to the movement. Other elastic band workout devices use elastics or pulleys and elastics that are mounted to a wall or other structure in front of the user with a handle that is pulled, by the user, with a large horizontal component to the movement.

Common exercise equipment will use cables that allow the user to pull horizontally or downward, or some combination of horizontally and downward, against the force of gravity by weights on the other end of cable. This allows exercise of different muscle groups than if the user were to just lift the weights vertically against the force of gravity. These systems have the disadvantage of being heavy, expensive, and requiring a lot of space. Other exercise equipment simulates the force of gravity with resistance provided by an electric motor and cable reel. The cable can then pass through a pulley that can be pulled in any direction as if the user were lifting a weight on a traditional cable machine. These systems will typically exert a near-constant force in the direction of the cable pull to simulate the force of gravity acting on a weight being lifted by a cable.

There is disclosed an exemplary exercise apparatus having one or more forward pulleys or one or more overhead pulleys. In an exemplary embodiment both forward and overhead pulley(s) are present, but in other embodiments only forward or only overhead pulley(s) may be present. All features that do not clearly require both forward and overhead pulleys may be included in embodiments with only one or the other. In some cases, pulleys may be movable such that a pulley, including perhaps all pulleys, may be a forward pulley or an overhead pulley depending on its position. Where present, the forward pulleys are arranged to be connected to a support structure. Where present, the overhead pulleys are arranged to be supported in use of the apparatus in an overhead pulley position. In order to obtain adequate clearance from other parts of the apparatus, the overhead pulley position may be displaced horizontally 16″ or more, 17″ or more, 18″ or more, 19″ or more, 20″ or more, 21″ or more, 22″ or more, 23″ or more, 24″ or more, 25″ or more, 26″ or more, 27″ or more, 28″ or more, or 29″ or more from the one or more forward pulleys. The forward pulleys may be positioned high enough to make them easy to reach, for example not requiring much or not requiring any bend at the waist. The forward pulleys may be low enough to allow for enough cord length, when the handles are docked, to avoid cords from being overstretched during use of the device. In an embodiment, they may be knee height or higher. In an example, the forward pulleys may be 16″ or more, 17″ or more, 18″ or more, 19″ or more, 20″ or more, 21″ or more, 22″ or more, 23″ or more, 24″ or more, 25″ or more, 26″ or more, 27″ or more, 28″ or more, or 29″ or more vertically lower than the overhead pulleys.

There may be one or more forward user interfacing elements, for example handles. They may have various shapes, including for example, a cylindrical single hand grip, a ball or a bar. Another option for a forward user interfacing element is a foot harness. Each of the forward user interfacing elements may be connected to a respective cord carried by a respective forward pulley of the one or more forward pulleys, the respective cord here referred to as a forward pulley cord. Each of these forward user interfacing elements may be biased in use of the apparatus toward the respective forward pulley by tension of the respective forward pulley cord. In use of the apparatus, displacement of each of the one or more forward user interfacing elements away from the respective forward pulley may increase the tension of the respective forward pulley cord. The increase in tension may be supplied by, for example, the respective forward pulley cord being elastic. In another example, the tension is supplied by an actuator in respect of each cord. The actuators could be powered by, for example, separate electric motors or a common electric motor. In an embodiment, displacement of the forward user interfacing elements from halfway to the floor, from a docked position, to all the way to the floor increases the tension of the respective forward pulley cord by at least 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% or 100%. In an embodiment, the rate at which displacement of each of the forward user interfacing elements increases the tension of the respective forward pulley cord increases with displacement from halfway to the floor to all the way to the floor. There may also be one or more further respective forward pulley cords, for example one or more, to or more, or three or more further respective forward pulley cords, respective to each of the forward user interfacing elements. These may have different lengths and k values than each other or than the respective forward pulley cord.

There may be one or more overhead user interfacing elements, for example handles. They may have various shapes, including for example a cylindrical hand grip, a ball or a bar. Each of the overhead user interfacing elements may be connected to a respective cord carried by a respective overhead pulley of the one or more overhead pulleys, the respective cord here referred to as an overhead pulley cord. Each of these overhead user interfacing elements may be biased in use of the apparatus toward the respective overhead pulley by tension of the respective overhead pulley cord. In use of the apparatus, displacement of each of the one or more overhead user interfacing elements away from the respective overhead pulley may increase the tension of the respective overhead pulley cord. The increase in tension may be supplied by, for example, the respective overhead pulley cord being elastic. In another example, the tension is supplied by an actuator in respect of each cord. The actuators could be powered by, for example, separate electric motors or a common electric motor. Increasing extension may lead to increasing tension throughout a range of motion encountered by the user in an exercise routine. In any of these embodiments, displacement of the overhead user interfacing elements from halfway to the floor, from a docked position, to all the way to the floor may optionally increase the tension of the respective overhead pulley cord by at least 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% or 100%. In an embodiment, the rate at which displacement of each of the overhead user interfacing elements increases the tension of the respective overhead pulley cord increases with displacement from halfway to the floor to all the way to the floor. There may also be one or more further respective overhead pulley cords, for example one or more, two or more, or three or more further respective overhead pulley cords, respective to each of the overhead user interfacing elements. These may have different lengths and k values than each other or than the respective overhead pulley cord.

Different cords in the same system could have tension supplied differently, for example, some by elasticity and others by actuators.

The user interfacing elements, including the overhead and forward ones if present, may be connected to the respective cords by respective carabiners of the user interfacing elements. The carabiners may be connected to the user interfacing elements using attachment points. The carabiners may connect to loops at ends of the cords.

The forward pulley cords may be the same cords as the overhead pulley cords, or different cords. Regardless of whether they are the same or different, they may be fixed against shortening at an end distal to the forward user interfacing element in the case of the forward pulley cords, or at an end distal to the overhead user interfacing element in the case of the overhead pulley cords. Where they are the same cords, they may be fixed against shortening at both ends, for example by the user interfacing elements not being able to be pulled back past the pulleys by the cords. Where different, the distal ends may be fixed by being connected to, for example, some part of the support structure or other fixed structure, including for example at the opposite pulley (forward for the overhead cords and overhead for the forward cords).

The cords may be aligned with the pulleys using a transverse feature of each of the cords positioned within a channel of the respective pulley.

The term “cord” should not be interpreted to require, for example, that the cord is formed of twisted fibers, or that the cord is elastic unless stated to be so. The terms “cord” and “cable” may be used interchangeably. The term “floor” refers to an underfoot surface and is not restricted to artificial surfaces.

The support structure may be a wall. The one or more overhead pulleys may be arranged to be supported by an overhead structure, for example a ceiling connected to a wall where the support structure is a wall. The support structure may also be a freestanding structure, the one or more overhead pulleys being arranged to be supported by the support structure. For example, the support structure may be a squat rack.

The apparatus may comprise the support structure. In an example, the support structure includes a wall plate configured to be mounted to the wall (which is not by this language indicated to be part of the apparatus). The support structure may also include a hinged portion hingedly connecting to the wall plate below the height of the overhead pulleys, the one or more overhead pulleys being arranged to be supported by the hinged portion. The hinged portion may have a slidable member arranged to extend the hinged portion in length to adjust a distance between the one or more overhead pulleys and the hinged connection of the hinged portion to the wall plate. The hinged portion may be limited in range of motion by a connection to said wall, for example using a cord connected to a bolt or another wall plate.

Each of the one or more forward pulleys is arranged to be connected to the support structure, for example, at any one of multiple vertically separated respective locations on the support structure. The overhead pulley position may be above a height of the user's shoulders or head when the user is sitting on a chair or bench or wheelchair, or when the user is standing on the floor.

There may also be a shelf extending horizontally in use of the apparatus from the support structure below the one or more forward pulleys. The shelf may be retractable to add additional space for movement, or as part of stowing the apparatus.

The combination of the pivoting articulation of the assembly with the sliding extendable articulation of the assembly, allows the whole assembly to slidably retract and hinge to a vertical position for compact storage in a room with a common ceiling height such as 8 ft, and to deploy for use at an angle and an adjustable height with the sliding mechanism to accommodate a wide range of user heights from a 5percentile female up to a 95% percentile male.

The apparatus may include sensors for measuring various distances and forces. There may be, for example, sensors for measuring distances between the user interfacing elements and the respective pulleys. These sensors may be implemented in various ways. For example, a position sensor located on the user may be used, a rotary encoder in the respective pulley, or various other sensors including using RFID, ultrasound, etc. There may also be force sensors for measuring forces, for example on the pulleys, on the cords, or on the user interfacing elements. Forces may also be inferred from displacement of the user interfacing elements where elastic cords are used. Both the magnitude and direction of force may be measured. For any embodiment that uses sensors, a processor may be included. The processor may be physically part of the apparatus or may be a computer such as a cellphone processor utilized by an app in communication with the apparatus. The processor may collect and tabulate the data produced by the sensors, instantaneously and over time. This may include, for example, tabulating a total power expended in one or more of the user interfacing elements during a rep, set or workout, or tabulating a total time under tension for a rep, set or workout.

There is also disclosed various methods of exercise. Where “steps” are mentioned in a claim or elsewhere in this document, or are described regardless of whether the term “step” is used, the order of steps as written does not restrict what is described and claimed to that order, where the steps could be taken in another order.

In one method, a user carries out the steps of: the user supporting a first portion of the user's body weight using a first body part, the user connecting a second body part to a first end of an elastic cord, the user lowering their center of gravity by motion of the first body part, the lowering of the user's center of gravity causing the second body part to pull on the first end of the elastic cord, and causing tension in the elastic cord to suspend a second portion of the user's weight and reduce the first portion of the user's weight, the user retracting the second body part to further reduce the first portion of the user's weight; and the user raising their center of gravity by motion of the first body part. The elastic cord may be carried by a pulley suspended above a center of mass of the user, a second end of the elastic cord connected to an anchor point fixed forward of the user. Also, the second end may be carried by a second pulley connected to the anchor point. The second body part may comprise a hand, and connecting the second body part to the first end of the elastic cord may comprise grasping a handle connected to the first end of the elastic cord.

In another method, a user carries out the steps of: sitting in a seat, connecting one end of a cord to a first body part, and a second end of the cord to a second body part, the cord being carried by a least a first pulley between the first end and the second end, the user attempting to contract a first muscle of the first body part to counteract gravity on the first body part, the user contracting a second muscle of the second body part to increase tension in the cord, the increase in tension in the cord assisting the contraction of the first muscle. The contraction of the second muscle may act in conjunction with gravity on the second body part. The seat may be a wheelchair. The cord may be carried by the first pulley, the first pulley being positioned forward of the user, and a second pulley between the first end and the second end, the second pulley being positioned above the user.

Methods of exercise may also be carried out on specific embodiments of exercise apparatus as disclosed above.

In an example method where the apparatus includes overhead user interfacing elements, a user may hold with their hand the one or more overhead user interfacing elements, and lower their center of gravity relative to the floor by bending one or both legs. The user pulls the one or more overhead user interfacing elements downward by bending the user's arm/s. The user may raise the user's center of gravity relative to floor by straightening the leg/s, and the user straightening the user's arm/s to raise the one or more overhead user interfacing elements relative to the user's CG. The mention of “the one or more” need not require that every available overhead user interfacing element is used.

In another example, there are both forward and overhead user interfacing elements and at least one of the forward user interfacing elements is at least one of the overhead user interfacing elements. In this method, the user may hold with their hand the at least one of the overhead user interfacing elements, the user straightening the user's arm/s to lower the handle relative to the user's center of gravity and lengthen the overhead pulley cord and the forward pulley cord respective to the at least one of the overhead user interfacing elements; and, the user bending the user's arm/s to raise the handle relative to the user's center of gravity and shorten the overhead pulley cord and the forward pulley cord respective to the at least one of the overhead user interfacing elements.

In another example, also where at least one of the forward user interfacing elements is at least one of the overhead user interfacing elements, the user holds the at least one of the overhead user interfacing elements; the user kneels in a position facing away from the one or more forward pulleys; the user straightens the user's leg/s to lengthen the overhead pulley cord and the forward pulley cord respective to the at least one of the overhead user interfacing elements; the user straightens the user's arm/s to raise the at least one of the overhead user interfacing elements relative to the user's center of gravity (CG) and to lengthen the overhead pulley cord and the forward pulley cord respective to the at least one of the overhead user interfacing elements; the user bends the user's leg/s to shorten the overhead pulley cord and the forward pulley cord respective to the at least one of the overhead user interfacing elements; and the user bends the user's arm/s to lower the at least one of the overhead user interfacing elements relative to the user's center of gravity (CG) and to shorten the overhead pulley cord and the forward pulley cord respective to the at least one of the overhead user interfacing elements.

In another example, where both forward and overhead pulleys are present and the forward pulley cords are the overhead pulley cords, the user may enter a seated position facing toward the one or more forward pulleys, the user holding the one or more overhead pulley interface elements. The user may attach the one or more forward pulley interface elements to the user's leg/s, the user grasping the one or more overhead pulley interface elements with the user's hand/s, the user bending the user's arm/s with the one or more overhead pulley interface elements grasped to lengthen and increase tension in the respective upper pulley cord of the one or more overhead pulley interface elements, thus causing the forward pulley interface element to pull upward on the user's leg; and the user straightening the user's arm/s with the one or more overhead pulley interface elements grasped to shorten and lower tension in the respective upper pulley cord of the one or more overhead pulley interface elements, thus causing the forward pulley interface element to reduce in upward force on the user's leg.

Immaterial modifications may be made to the embodiments described here without departing from what is covered by the claims.

Immaterial modifications may be made to the embodiments described here without departing from what is covered by the claims. In the claims, the word “comprising” is used in its inclusive sense and does not exclude other elements being present. The indefinite articles “a” and “an” before a claim feature do not exclude more than one of the feature being present. Each one of the individual features described here may be used in one or more embodiments and is not, by virtue only of being described here, to be construed as essential to all embodiments as defined by the claims.

An exercise device and methods of using same which result in reduced perceived effort by providing an upper body enabled user-variable assistance to the lower body or core muscles against the force of gravity. Reduced perceived effort results from the perception that the user is assisting themselves. Other benefits include reduced stress on joints that are not working as significantly against the effect of gravity as compared to a conventional weightlifting or bodyweight workout.

The inventors disclose a novel exercise apparatus, an example embodiment of which shown incomprising a structurehaving mounting points for pulleys, the pulleysattached to the structureto support cables, and user-interfacing elements, attached to one end of the cables. In the embodiment shown in, a freestanding structure is used to support both overhead and forward pulleys. The user-interfacing elements are attachment points to the body of the user, which may be for example handles in a non-limiting example as shown in. These user-interfacing elements allow the user to practice a method of exercise enabled by the apparatus in which they recruit a first muscle group to stretch the elastics, thereby modifying the stretched length of the elastics and thereby increasing the tension in the elastics, and thereby increasing the amount of assistance provided by the elastics to support a second muscle group.

This elastic force opposing the force of gravity on the user can be adjusted in real time by the user by increasing the length of the elastics which thereby increases the force provided by the elastics. As a result, the user can, for example, assist or “self-spot” their lower body with their upper body. At the same time, their upper body muscles which are used to lengthen the elastic, are experiencing muscle tension and doing work which can be used to build muscle and fitness in those upper body muscles. If the lower body reaches a high level of fatigue, the user can decide to use more upper body muscle effort to provide more assistance to the lower body by reducing the effort required by the lower body to raise the Center of Gravity (CG) of the user. If the upper body reaches a high level of fatigue before the lower body, then the user can decide to use their lower body muscles to provide more assistance for the upper body by raising their CG. In this way, and through experimentation with the ideal elastic combination for a particular exercise, the user can adjust the system before an exercise, and adapt their movements during an exercise, to achieve a high level of fatigue in their upper and lower muscle groups simultaneously. This has the potential to enable effective rehabilitation of muscles by allowing the user to assist or “self-spot” themselves, allowing them to optimally exercise their muscles with optimal stress and reduced risk of injury. This device and method of using the device, has been shown, by the inventors, to achieve excellent fitness and strength increase results. In addition, an unexpected effect is that the perceived effort of the user has been found, by users, to seem lower than the actual exertion level because the sensation is of the user helping themselves to make the movement easier for both muscle groups. This is a surprise to people in the test group for the device because it is intuitive to expect that using major muscle groups in the upper and lower body simultaneously would result in a greater sense of exertion. On the contrary, however, the act of assisting oneself has the unexpected effect of feeling like a person is making the exercise easier for themselves.

In an embodiment, the apparatus comprises a rigid structurewith a plurality of mounting points. The mounting points are capable of supporting overhead pulleys which are located vertically above the height of the user's shoulders or head while the user is standing (or above the user's shoulders or head if they are sitting, such as in a wheelchair, or if they are injured or disabled and need to sit instead of stand) and each pulley supports an elastic resistance band. The elastic resistance band or bands attach to a user-interfacing element at a first end of the aforementioned resistance band. The elastic resistance band is fixed to the rigid structure at a second end of the aforementioned resistance band after passing through the pulley. The fixed end of the bands are attached to a wall or frame structure at a lower height than the pulleys for ease of access to the user for assembly and adjustment of the mounting position of the fixed end of the elastics. In an embodiment the resistance band is designed to have a plurality of potential mounting positions, allowing the user to adjust the initial preload of the bands, or the initial height of the bands if no preload is desired and a lower initial handle height is desired.

In an embodiment the rigid frame structure has an element which holds the cord in a stretched position to set the initial location of the user-interfacing element. In an embodiment a user-interfacing element is attached to multiple elastic bands, each of which are supported by a pulley and are mounted to the rigid structure at fixed mounting points above the user's head or shoulders. The elastic bands may have different lengths, allowing the user to adjust the tension response of the user-interfacing element as the user-interfacing element is displaced in a generally downward direction. The elastic bands attached to the user-interfacing elements may have different k values, allowing the user to adjust the tension response of the user-interfacing element by attaching or detaching it to different combinations of the elastic bands. The rigid structure may feature a protrusion within 0.5 m of the floor which a user may use to secure or constrain the vertical movement of their feet during exercises. The machine's user-interfacing elements attach to, or are held by, or are otherwise held in place to a body part of the user. In a non-limiting embodiment, the user-interfacing element is a handle. In a non-limiting embodiment, the rigid structure has a plurality of mounting points for the elastic cords along the rigid structure. In a non-limiting embodiment, the rigid structure is designed to stand on a flat surface and has a first plurality of mounting points located on a roof portion above shoulder or head level of the user and a second plurality of mounting points located on a vertical surface vertically at a similar height of the first plurality of mounting points or between the first plurality of mounting points and the floor.

Embodiments of the present device use interchangeable pulley/elastic cord assemblies that allow downward stretching of the cords from generally above the center of Gravity (CG) of the user when the user pulls in the generally downward direction on handles, relative to the floor and relative to the user's CG, that are connected to one end of the cords after pass through overhead-mounted pulleys.

Embodiments shown for example inalso allow primarily horizontal stretching of the same elastic cords, relative to the forward structure and relative to the user's CG. As shown in, when the user pulls primarily horizontally on a first set of handlesthat are connected to a first end of cordsafter the cordspass though forward-mounted pulleys, cordsare stretched, increasing the tension in the aforementioned cord. Several advantages of this overhead-pulley combined with the forward-mounted pulley elastic cord system include: 1) ease of exchanging the cords for different combinations of cords strengths for various user weights and different exercises by providing that the overhead-mounted pulley attachment members and forward-mounted pulley attachment members are within convenient reach of a wide range of user heights. 2) The ability to fit the complete assembly into a room with a standard ceiling height of approximately 8 ft while achieving a desired elastic cord stretch ratio of approximately 2-3× for many of the methods of exercise disclosed here that is only possible with an elastic cord that is of adequate at-rest length. For clarity, if an elastic cord were attached vertically and directly to an 8′ ceiling above the user, it would be too short when at rest (and would, therefore, have too high of a stretch ratio) and/or would not have an adequate range of motion for methods of exercise disclosed here. 3) The ability to use the primarily vertically downward motion of the end of one or more elastic cords extending through the overhead-mounted pulleys to cause a more horizontal movement via the other end of the elastic cords passing through the forward-mounted pulleys, of a disabled person's lower body members such as for rehabilitation, stroke recovery, or to promote blood flow and mind-muscle connection with injured or disabled lower body limbs. 4) The ability to use the primarily vertically downward motion of the end of one or more elastic cords extending through the overhead-mounted pulleys, while simultaneously causing a more horizontal movement of the end of another elastic cord via the other end of the elastic cords passing through the forward-mounted pulleys, to achieve a more consistent resistance load on a user's muscles using methods of exercise disclosed here in a room with a common ceiling height of approximately 8′ whereby the user is able to exercise by moving the overhead handles downward relative to the user's CG at any time during the lower body vertical motion, in order to provide upper body enabled user-variable assistance to the lower body muscles against the force of gravity. In other words, if at any point during an upward or downward motion of the user's CG, relative to the floor, as the result of a lower body motion such as, but not limited to a squat, the user is able to reduce the effect of gravity on their lower body muscles by pulling primarily downward on the overhead handles, relative to their CG, and thereby add additional vertical tension to the elastic cords. It has been found, through experimentation that pulling the handles downward, relative to the user's CG and through at least 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% or more of the user's vertical arm range of motion ROM) provides two different benefits. The first is the benefit of allowing the upper body muscles to provide a user-variable assistance to the lower body muscles by adding additional tension to the cords in addition to the tension added to the cords from the user moving their CG up and down vertically. The second is the benefit of moving the arms through a ROM that is beneficial for upper body exercise of the arm and back muscles, in non-limited examples disclosed here, of methods of using the device. The greater the tension on the elastic cords resulting from vertically downward extension of the elastic cords by contraction of upper body muscles, the lower the load on the lower body muscles to support the user's mass. This has been found to be beneficial to achieve a high number of reps that are closer to a high level of exhaustion or failure of the lower body muscles, while at the same time providing muscle building stimulus to the upper body muscles by allowing the user to move through a full range of upper body exercise motion under vertical load as a result of the cord tension.

A higher number of reps near failure is believed, by many people in the fitness industry, to more effectively promote an increase in muscle hypertrophy. For example, by using embodiments of the device together with methods of exercise disclosed here, the user can choose to reduce the load on their upper body muscle group, at any time during the lower body ROM, by raising the overhead-mounted handles, relative to their CG. By doing so, the lower body muscles must support more of the bodyweight of the user creating greater muscle building stimulus to the lower body. In contrast, the user can choose to increase the load on their upper body muscle group, at any time during the lower body ROM, by lowering the handles, relative to their CG. By doing so, the upper body must support more of the bodyweight of the user, creating greater muscle building stimulus to the upper body. It has been shown through experimentation that the average user will quickly and intuitively find a coordination of upper and lower body vertical movements which shares the load between upper and lower body muscle groups in a way that both muscle groups reach a similar level of exhaustion or failure at a similar time during a set.

The graph shown inillustrates what the inventors believe to be a reasonable non-limiting exemplary representation of a user's experience with embodiments of the device when doing an exemplary chin-up/squat as shown inthroughas a non-limiting example of one method of using embodiments of the device. As the upper body lowers the overhead-mounted handles relative to their CG, it takes on more of the total body weight of the user, and the percentage of body weight supported by the lower body decreases, and vice versa. The portion of the user's weight supported by the user's upper body is shown by line, the portion supported by their lower body is shown by line. Lineshows the upper body percieved muscle burn andshows the lower body percieved muscle burn. As shown at point A, both muscle groups reach a similar and maximum level of muscle burn and perceived discomfort to the user at a similar time.

Generally speaking, the perceived effort in any muscle group has an associated discomfort level (AKA “muscle fatigue” or “muscle burn”) that rises at an increasing rate as the muscle gets closer to failure. The instinctive behaviour of the human body is to naturally seek to reduce the overall muscle burn being experienced by the user. This total discomfort of the user is related to the sum total of “burn” in all the muscles that are under strain at the same time. As shown in the graph, the lower body muscles are able to exert a much greater force than the upper body muscles, but the perceived burn of the user for each of these muscle groups may be similar as each muscle group gets closer to failure. To illustrate this effect, if the user wanted to use the device to train the muscles in their hand and forearm by performing a one-armed chin-up with a single finger, while self-assisting this motion with a leg squat, they could lower their CG relative to the ground into a lowered squat position using their lower body muscles, and simultaneously raise their arm to an upward extended position, relative to their torso and then pull down on the overhead-mounted handle with one finger, relative to their CG, until their finger was experiencing a high level of muscle fatigue and “burn”. At the same time, the user could provide assistance to the muscles in that finger so they could perform more reps near failure of the finger muscles and preferably though 50% or more of the arm ROM, by doing an upward squat motion with the largest muscles in the lower body which will push their CG upward with their lower body. Note that pulling downward with their finger and upper body, relative to their CG, creates higher vertically upward resistance force on the handle due to the elastic cord spring rate and lengthening of the cord. Also note that moving their CG upward by pushing vertically downward against the floor with the leg muscles from the lower squat position, will reduce the vertically upward resistance force on the handle due to the elastic cord spring rate and shortening the cord. The user can, by this method of using the device, reach a level of high muscle burn in some of the largest and smallest muscles in the body simultaneously, and in such a way as to use the lower body muscles to assist the upper body muscles so both muscle groups can reach a similar level of muscle burn at a similar time. The point of this illustration is that the human brain will intuitively figure out how to reduce the discomfort from muscle burn in the finger/forearm by recruiting much larger muscle groups in the lower body. This will happen until the lower body (which is supporting the rest of the body weight which is not supported by the finger) gets to a level of perceived muscle discomfort that is similar to the finger muscles. And although the finger muscles are much smaller (and the cord tension relatively low) the pain signal to the brain from these small muscles can be just as significant as the pain signal from much larger muscles in the lower body. As a result, it is a simple and intuitive thing for a user to find a level of exertion from the finger/forearm muscles and the lower body muscles that provides a level of training stimulus that is appropriate to both muscle groups simultaneously.

The methods of exercise disclosed here provide a wide range of ways to implement this principle to bring upper body and lower body or core muscles to a similar level of exertion for an effective training stimulus to upper and lower body muscles at the same time, regardless of the relative size and strength of the upper body muscles compared to the lower body muscles.

By using embodiments of the device combined with the methods of exercise disclosed here, the human body can easily be taught to vary the assistance provided by the lower body to reduce the load on the upper body so both muscle groups are at their lowest possible perceived discomfort (or “muscle burn”) at all times. Likewise, by using embodiments of the device combined with the methods of exercise disclosed here, the human body can easily be taught to vary the assistance provided by the upper body to reduce the load on the lower body so both muscle groups are at their lowest possible perceived discomfort (or “muscle burn”) at all times.

At the same time, methods of using the device, as disclosed here, provide the opportunity for a full range of motion from upper and lower body muscles during the same set. This range of motion is believed, by many people in the fitness industry, to be critical to effective muscle strength, hypertrophy and muscle and joint mobility training. With regard to the full ROM training benefit of methods of using embodiments of the device, methods of training are disclosed here which allow the user to ensure a full range of motion of upper body muscles during a rep, even if the upper body muscles are fatigued to a point where they do not have the strength on a particular rep, for the user to pull the handle/s to the lowest point of the upper body ROM when the CG is at its lowest position during the motion., In this case, the user will pull the handle down as far as they are able, relative to their CG, when their CG is at the lowest point relative to the floor, and then continue to pull the handle further down if they are able, relative to their CG, as the user raises their CG relative to the floor as a result of lower body muscle contraction, thereby reducing the tension in the cords and allowing the user to pull the handle/s down further relative to their CG.

As a result, by implementing one or more methods of exercise disclosed here, together with the use of embodiments of the device disclosed here, the user can intuitively choose a combination of upper body and lower body exertion that bring both muscle groups through 50% or greater ROM and also to a high level of muscle burn/discomfort at the same time, at the end of a set. This has been shown, by the inventors to provide tremendous benefit in terms of increasing muscle strength, size and fitness. At the same time, the inventors have discovered an additional surprising effect of methods of exercise disclosed here using embodiments of the device disclosed here. Specifically, the human mind of many people tends to register or primarily focus on either the upper or lower body muscle group which is closest to failure at any moment (IE: it will focus on the most uncomfortable muscle group) as doing most of the “work” while, their mind tends to registers the upper or lower body muscle group that is less close to failure, at any moment, as “assisting” the other muscle group. It has been found by experimentation that the perception, to the user, of which muscles are “working” and which muscles are “assisting” can switch rapidly back and forth in the mind of the user depending on which group is closest to failure. It has also been found, by the inventors that it is not common for both muscle groups to register as primarily “working” at the same time until a short time before both muscle groups get to a point of complete exhaustion or failure. In this way it is possible to get two major muscle groups to reach failure with what feels, to the user, like the effort of only one of the muscle groups. It has also been found, by the inventors, that even the peak effort for either muscle group, will, for a high percentage of people, seems like it is at a lower level than would typically be felt doing a conventional (not self-assisted) weighted or body weight isolation exercise, because both the upper and lower body muscle groups are both being assisted by the other muscle group. As a result, using the device by implementing methods of exercise disclosed here has been shown to provide very high muscle fitness and growth stimulus with lower perceived effort than a user might expect. A number of users have even given the feedback that they workout with this system is enjoyable as compared to a conventional workout because it is less painful, and the sensation of assisting one's self also gives a perception of being in a lower gravity experience.

Similar benefit can be achieved by the user for a number of methods of combined upper body/core exercise methods disclosed here. In these methods of exercise, which use embodiments of the device disclosed here, the user will be in a prone position and will provide upper body enabled user-variable assistance to the core muscles against the force of gravity by holding and moving the forward-mounted handles relative to their CG and toward their upper body through a 50% or greater ROM and at any time during a core exercise such as a sit-up, to reduce the effect of gravity on their upper body, and therefore reduce the load on their core muscles. In this case, the upper body enabled user-variable assistance to the core muscles against the force of gravity allows the user to assist or “spot” their core muscles by doing more to overcome the effects of gravity on their upper body with their upper body muscles as a result of moving the forward-mounted handles relative to their CG in a direction primarily parallel to the length of their body and toward their upper body through at least 50% of the available ROM for the upper body motion.

In summary, the result of using embodiments of the device to implement

methods of exercise disclosed here allows the user to complete a significant number of combined upper/lower body exercises with a lower perceived effort than would be expected, despite the fact that they are exercising an upper body and a lower body muscle group at the same time. Intuitively, a user might expect this to feel like twice as much effort, but the inventors have demonstrated that the human body perceives the overall effort as lower than expected. The inventors believe that this is because the average user is not able to easily focus on both the upper body and the lower body muscle groups at the same time. As a result, the muscle group that is the closest to exhaustion becomes the user's focus, while the other muscle group registers, in the mind of the user, as providing assistance to the first muscle group, even though it may also be working at a similar but slightly lower level of exhaustion. It has been shown by experimentation that this effect is common to new and experienced users of the device. They feel as though they are “making it easy on themselves” when, in fact, the device and methods of using it as disclosed here, are allowing them to bring an upper body muscle group and a lower body muscle group to a high level of exhaustion or failure at the same time. It is also disclosed here, that a full range of motion from the upper and lower body muscles is preferred and made possible by methods of using configurations of the device.

The present device is ideally suited for use in a home gym where ceiling heights are commonly around 8 feet. If a person were to attach the fixed end of an elastic pulley to an 8′ ceiling and pull downward on a handle attached to the other end of the elastic, the starting length of the elastic could be as short as 1 ft or even shorter for a taller person performing certain exercises as disclosed here. It has been found by experimentation that an elastic cord of 1 ft length will have to stretch too much to perform a high percentage of the exercises disclosed here. One important issue is that the elongation of the elastic may be too high for long service life. The other issue is the resistance force which will tend to increase at too high of a rate if starting from a length of around 1 ft.

The use of overhead-mounted pulleys and forward mounted pulleys allows various methods of using the device, as disclosed here by allowing either a downward resistance force, or a more horizontal resistance force, or a combination of the two forces with a resultant intermediate force that can be tuned to have a greater or lesser effect in the downward direction as compared to the horizontal direction as disclosed here. The use of a longer elastic as a result of the elastics passing through both sets of pulleys and the ends of the elastics being prevented from passing through both sets of pulleys, reduces the stress on the elastics for long service life and allows an appropriate rate of tension increase with lengthening of the elastics to perform the methods of exercising disclosed here.

The overhead-mounted pulleys in combination with the forward-mounted pulleys also allow unique movement combinations for both disabled and able-bodied user motions.

The inventors have found experimentally that a desirable length for elastic resistance bands, such as latex elastic resistance bands is about 4.5 feet in length at rest, and are ideally stretched up to double more their un-stretched length during some of the exercises. This results in a stretched length of around 9 feet or more. If the elastic bands were fixed to a ceiling (without the benefit off passing through a pulley as with the present device) and, if the handles at the non-fixed end were located, at rest, above the user's head, this would require a ceiling height roughly 4.5 feet higher than the height of the user's hands when their arms are extended above their head. This ceiling height is not as common for home gym rooms and will be unsuitable for many homes. Attaching the fixed end of the elastics to a fixed member 4 ft to 6 ft above the user is also impractical and inconvenient. The use of a pulley above the head or shoulder height of the user with the fixed end of the elastic cords being secured to a wall or structure (or constrained by a pulley that is rotatably fixed to a wall or structure, at a similar height or lower than the pulleys, allows for a drastic reduction in overall device height and allows the fixed end of the elastic cords to be easily adjusted by the user.