Excercise Benh and Gym Towel

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 63/640,012 filed Apr. 29, 2024

This invention relates to the combination of an exercise bench of the kind typically found at a fitness center and a gym towel having a hood attached at one end in which to receive and surround one end of the bench such that the towel is held in place on the bench to establish a sanitary buffer between a user's back and the bench during a workout. The hood is covered with raised dimples to provide the gym towel with an anti-slip gripping surface and alert the user as to which side of the towel was pressed against the user's back during the workout.

Individuals wishing to engage in physical fitness exercises often visit a gym at which to gain access to an L-shaped bench of the kind having a seat at one end to support the users' legs and an upstanding back support at the opposite end to support the users' back during an exercise. When a user leans back while seated on the bench, the user's back is pressed directly against the back support. The user may or may not be wearing a shirt. In either case, the user's back or clothing comes into direct contact with the back support of the bench which may have been previously used by others without first having been wiped clean. Consequently, an unsanitary environment may be created in which the user is exposed. If one is available, it has been known to place a gym towel on the bench to separate the user's back from the back support. However, should the towel be removed during a timeout or fall off the bench, the user may not know which side of the towel previously faced the bench and which side faced the user's back. Thus, an uncertain sanitary condition is created should the user wish to return the towel to the bench and continue the exercise. What is more, nothing is known by which to prevent a conventional gym towel from sliding down the back support during an exercise, which can lead to annoyance and interrupt the exercise.

Accordingly, what would be desirable is a gym towel that can be easily attached to and held in place against the back support of an L-shaped bench to prevent the towel from sliding down the back support and away from a user's back during an exercise. What would also be advantageous is for the gym towel to have visible and/or tactile means to enable the user to determine which side of the towel previously faced the back support and which side faced the user's back so that if the towel were removed or fell off the bench, it could be safely returned to the bench while preserving a prior sanitary condition.

In general terms, a gym towel is disclosed having particular application to be used in combination with an exercise bench of the kind that is commonly found at a gym or a fitness center. The bench enables users to lay thereon during bodybuilding or exercising (e.g., lifting weights). The gym towel is preferably manufactured from a soft, durable and non-slippery material. The towel includes an elongated backing with a shorter hood located at one end thereof. The hood is formed by a flap that lays over and is attached (e.g., stitched to the backing). A pass-through opening is created in the hood between the flap and the backing. The outside of the flap is covered by raised dimples.

In one example, the bench includes a flat seat upon which the user's legs are laid and a generally vertical back support that stands upwardly from the seat against which the user's back is pressed. The gym towel is attached to the bench when the upstanding back support of the bench is received through the pass-through opening of the hood. In this case, the hood surrounds at least the top of the back support, and the elongated backing of the towel hangs down from the hood. The backing of the towel thusly covers the front of the back support of the bench to establish a buffer between the user's back and the back support against which the user's back is pressed to create a sanitary environment during a workout.

In another example, the bench is continuously flat on which a user's legs, back, and head are laid during a workout. In this case, the gym towel is laid flat on the bench such that the elongated backing thereof lays over the hood and the hood lays directly on the bench. The backing of the towel once again establishes a sanitary buffer between the user's back and the bench. The raised dimples with which the outside of the flap of the hood is covered creates an anti-slip surface to limit the ability of the towel to slide along the bench during a workout. The dimples also alert the user as to which side of the gym towel was pressed against the user's back during the workout.

Referring initially toof the drawings, there is shown an exercise benchof the kind that is typically found in a gym or a fitness center to enable users to exercise their bodies during a body building or strengthening workout. By way of example only, users seated on the bench can exercise by lifting weights. However, the particular exercise to be performed by a seated user is a matter of choice and should not be regarded as a limitation of this invention. The benchofis shown having an L-shape with a horizontal seatupon which the user is seated and a generally vertical back supportwhich stands upwardly from one end of the seatto support the back of the user who leans backwards. Rather than the aforementioned L-shape, the workout bench may also have a continuously horizontal (i.e., flat) configuration (designatedin) on which the user lays while exercising. In that case, the user's head and back lay flat on one end of the horizontal bench, and the user's legs lay flat on the opposite end.

The gym towelwhich forms the present invention is provided with a hoodat one end that is sized and configured to surround the upstanding vertical back supportupon which the user's back is positioned during an exercise. Referring concurrently now toof the drawings, the gym towelis preferably manufactured from a soft, absorbent and non-slippery material. The gym towelincludes an elongated backingto which the hoodis attached. The hoodis created by a flap(best shown in) that lays over and is attached (i.e., stitched) to the backing. A pass-through openinglies between the backingand the flapthrough which the back supportof the exercise benchis received so that the hoodof the towelsurrounds at least the top of the back support. The hoodholds the towelin place on the benchduring a user's workout. The hoodmay be colored or contain a picture to enable different users' towels to be distinguished from one another.

In the combination exercise benchand gym towelshown in, the elongated backingof the towelhas a size (designated L in) sufficient to drop down from the hoodand cover at least some of the front of the back support. The flapof the hoodthat lies over and is attached to the backinghas a size (designated D in) that is shorter than the backing and is positioned to lay on the rear of the back supportof the bench. The elongated backingof the gym toweladvantageously provides a buffer between the back supportof the bench and the back of a user who leans back against the back support. Thus, an unsanitary condition can be better avoided as might otherwise occur if the user's bare or shirted back were pressed directly against the back support which has not been cleaned following each use of the exercise bench.

As is best shown in, the outside of the hoodof the gym towelthat faces away from the backingis covered with raised dimples, the purpose of which will now be described. Turning in this regard toof the drawings, the gym toweldescribed while referring tois now used in combination with a continuously flat (i.e., horizontal) exercise bench. In this case, the user's head, back and feet will all lay flat on the bench. The gym towelis simply laid flat on the exercise benchsuch that the backingof the towel lies directly on top of and covers the dimpled flapof the hood. The flapthusly lies between the backingof the toweland the benchand the dimpleslie facing and contact the bench.

As was previously described with the exercise bench, the elongated backingof towelcreates a buffer between a back of the user and the exercise bench. The raised dimples at the outside of the flapcreate an anti-slip surface to limit the ability of the towelto slide along the bench during a workout. What is more, the dimpled flapprovides the user with a visible and tactile indication as to which side of the towel was positioned against the bench and which side was positioned against the user's back to help preserve a prior sanitary condition should the user move from one exercise bench to another or remove the towel to rest prior to the towel being reused later on.