Leverage Device for Adaptive Padding of Workout Equipment to Increase Muscle Stretch During Workout Reps

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119 (e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/659,561, filed Jun. 13, 2024, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally the field of fitness and workout equipment, and more particularly to aftermarket devices for providing auxiliary padding of workout equipment to modify body position and resulting range of motion relative to a piece of workout equipment for greater muscle stretch in each workout rep performed thereon.

BACKGROUND

In the above field of endeavour, Charles Glass, known as the Godfather of Bodybuilding (GOB), has been marketing a product called the GOB pad, a small singular pad enveloped in a protective shell and equipped with a strap by which it can be secured to a horizontal bench, upright backrest or chest support of a variety of workout equipment in order to offset the user's back or chest at a distance from where it would otherwise rest directly against the bench, backrest or chest support, thereby changing the user's torso position relative to location at which the equipment is actuated by the arms or legs of the user, thus modifying the leverage and range of motion involved in each workout rep, particularly and beneficially in a manner increasing the degree of muscle stretch experienced in said each rep.

The GOB pad is available in different sizes and strap options, but in each model has essentially the same design and componentry: a singular pad with a singular strap. While useful for its intended purpose, the product lacks any adaptability to accommodate differences in personal physiology, and different types of machines on which it can be employed.

Accordingly, there is both room and need for improvement, in response to which Applicant has designed a new adaptable padding product that addresses these shortcomings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an adaptable leverage device for modifying body position and resulting range of motion relative to a piece of workout equipment for greater muscle stretch in each workout rep performed thereon, said device comprising at least one bundled group of elongated pads that are elongated in a common longitudinal direction and are bundled together in longitudinally parallel relationship to one another, and among which any neighbouring two pads of said bundled group are coupled together via one or more flexible interconnections that permits pivoting of said neighboring two pads relative to one another between varying positions of longitudinally parallel relationship to one another.

In particularly preferable embodiments, said at least one bundled group comprises first and second bundled groups, of which each pad in the first bundled group, at least in one state of said device, resides end-to-end with a respective pad in the second bundled group, and, at least in said one state of the device, each pad in the first bundled group is movable synchronously with the respective pad in the second bundled group to remain in end-to-end parallel relationship thereto among said varying positions of each bundled group.

Preferably said one state of said device is a flat unfolded state thereof, and said device is foldable from said flat unfolded state into a stacked folded state in which the first and second bundled groups are stacked atop one another to increase a working thickness of the device from a lesser first thickness in the flat unfolded state to a greater second thickness in the stacked folded stated.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of using the device of such preferred embodiments, comprising installing the device on the workout equipment in a chosen first state selected as either the flat unfolded state or the stacked folded state, assessing a user's body position and achievable muscle stretch on the workout equipment with the device in said chosen first state, and on finding a dissatisfaction of said chosen state, respositioning the device into a different second state that is the opposite of said chosen first state.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of modifying a leg bar of a leg workout machine to achieve greater muscle stretch in each workout rep performed thereon, said method comprising wrapping an auxiliary padding device in a position wrapped around at least a partial circumference of a leg bar of the workout equipment to increase a radial distance from an axis of the leg bar at which a user's leg acts upon said leg bar.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of enabling achievement of greater muscle stretch in each workout rep performed on a piece of workout equipment using a variable-thickness auxiliary padding device, having a first pad component and a second pad component, said method comprising installing the variable-thickness auxiliary padding device on the workout equipment in a chosen first state having a first working thickness, assessing a user's body position and achievable muscle stretch on the workout equipment with the device in said chosen first state, and on finding a dissatisfaction of said chosen state, reconfiguring the device into a different second state having a different second working thickness, wherein one of said first and second working thicknesses is a combined thickness of both the first and second pad components, and another of said first and second working thicknesses is an individual thickness of only one of said first and second pad components.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of enabling achievement of greater muscle stretch in each workout rep performed on a piece of workout equipment comprising adding an auxiliary padding device to said workout equipment to increase a distance between a body part of a user and a portion of the workout equipment against which said body part would otherwise rest during use of the work equipment in absence of said auxiliary padding device, wherein said workout equipment is a preacher curl bench, a leg curl or leg extension machine, or a floor exercise mat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an adaptable leverage padding device of the present invention in a flat unfolded state thereof, with support straps thereof extended downward for illustrative purpose.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is another bottom plan view of the device of FIG. 2, but with the support straps folded up in stowed positions thereof.

FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of the device of FIG. 4, but in a stacked folded state thereof that doubles a working thickness of the device.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the device of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an end view of the device of FIGS. 1 to 3 during installation thereof in the flat unfolded state thereof on a schematically illustrated flat back or chest support of a workout machine.

FIG. 8 is an end view of the device in a non-flat unfolded state being wrapped around a cylindrical leg bar of a leg curl or leg extension machine.

FIGS. 9A through 9C illustrate use of the device on various chest supported back-workout machines, including use of the device in the flat unfolded state on an inclined chest support (FIG. 9A), and use of the device in the stacked folded state on an upright chest support (FIGS. 9B and 9C).

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate use of the device on a backrest of a chest press/fly workout machine, demonstrating use of the device in the flat unfolded state with a first working thickness (FIG. 10A) and in the stacked folded state with a greater second working thickness (FIG. 10B).

FIG. 11 illustrates use of the device on a thigh rest of a lying leg curl workout machine for hamstring workouts.

FIG. 12 illustrates use of the device in the non-flat unfolded state on the underside of a leg bar of a lying leg curl workout machine.

FIG. 13 illustrates use of the device in the non-flat unfolded state on the topside of a leg bar of a seated leg curl workout machine.

FIG. 14 illustrates use of the device in the non-flat unfolded state on the user-facing backside of a leg bar of a seated leg extension workout machine.

FIG. 15 illustrates use of the device on an armrest of a preacher curl workout bench, in which the device may be used in the flat unfolded state or non-fat unfolded state, depending on the geometry of the armrest and how high or low the device is installed thereon.

FIG. 16 illustrates use of the device in the flat unfolded state on an inclined back or chest support of a free-standing workout bench, for example for use in performance of chest press/fly or back row workouts.

FIG. 17 illustrates use of the device atop a floor exercise mat to increase abdominal stretch in a down position of abdominal exercises (crunches, situps) performed in a supine position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Illustrated in the appended figures is one preferred embodiment of an adaptable leverage padding device 10 of the present invention that is installable on a variety of different workout equipment for the purposes set forth above in the background of the invention. FIGS. 1 through 4 illustrate a flat unfolded state of the device in which two halves 12A, 12B of the device reside in co-planar relation to one another, whereby a thickness of the device is equal to the equal individual thicknesses the two coplanar halves. In this flat unfolded state, the device may be strapped, for example, to a chest or back support of a variety of workout equipment to offset the user's torso from the chest or back support by the thickness of the flat unfolded device.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the same device in a stacked folded state in which its two halves are folded one over the other to reside in stacked relation atop one another, thereby doubling the working thickness of the device, which is equal to the combined thicknesses of the two halves, thus double the working thickness of the flat unfolded state. FIGS. 7 and 8 show the device in another unfolded state where the two halves of the device reside in end-to-end relationship to one another, like they do in FIGS. 1 through 4, but instead of residing in a common flat plane, each half resides in an arcuately curved plane conforming to a cylindrical exterior of an object around which the device is wrapped. This state is particularly useful on a leg bar of a leg workout machine, where the thickness of the device offsets the user's leg radially outward from the leg bar to change the leverage and range of motion during workout reps performed on the device equipped machine, to increase the muscle stretch experienced by the user.

Each half 12A, 12B of the device comprises a respectively bundled group 14A, 14B of elongated pads 16A, 16B, 16C, of which each group is composed of three such pads in the illustrated embodiment, thought the quantity of pads per group may be increased or decreased in other embodiments. The pads 16A-16C of each group are each elongated in a common longitudinal direction L, and all lie parallel to one another in this longitudinal direction. In the illustrated example, the shape of each elongated pad 16A-16C is a rectangular parallelopiped, each thus having a flat top, a flat bottom parallel thereto, and two flat parallel sides of perpendicular relation to the flat top and bottom. The three pads include a middle pad 16A and two outer pads 16B, 16C disposed opposite sides of the middle pad 16A. The two flat sides of the middle pad 16A thus respectively face the inner flat sides of the two outer pads 16B, 16C, the outer flats sides of which reside at and define outermost sides of the collective padding of the respective group of pads 14A, 14B. Each elongated pad has a respective longitudinal axis A_L denoting its direction of elongation, and on which the cross-sectional shape of the pad is centered.

In the flat unfolded state of FIGS. 1 through 4, the inner sides of the outer pads 16B, 16C reside in close parallel adjacency, or flush abutment, with the two sides of the middle pad 16A, and the flat tops of the three pads 16A-16C reside coplanar with one another, as do the flat bottoms thereof. In this state, the three elongated rectangular pads 16A-16C of the group collectively form a combined rectangular padding whose width is the sum of the three smaller individual widths of the three pads 16A-16C, whose length is equal to the shared identical length of the three pads 16A-16C, and whose thickness is equal to the shared identical thickness of the three pads 16A-16C (as measured between the tops and bottoms thereof). Each pad 16A-16C comprises a foam core wrapped in a protective outer shell, for example made of vinyl or other fabric.

In the unfolded states shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and 7 and 8, each of the three pads 16A-16C in a given either one of the two bundled groups aligns end-to-end with a matching one of the three pads 16A-16C of the other one of the two bundled groups, whereby each aligned pair of pads shares a common longitudinal axis, and the two pads of each aligned pair form in-line extensions of one another. In these unfolded states of the device 10, the overall length of the device in the longitudinal direction is the sum of the individual lengths of the two pads in any aligned pair. The pads of both groups, and thus the totality of pads among the entire device, all share a common length and common thickness, and in the illustrated example, also a common width. The two halves of the device 10 are thus equally dimensioned, whereby in the flat unfolded state of FIGS. 1 to 4, the combined rectangular padding embodied by each bundled group of elongated pads 16A-16C is equal in size (in length, width and thickness) to that embodied by the pads of the other bundled group.

The three pads 16A-16C of each group are flexibly bundled together by flexible interconnections running widthwise of the elongated pads. These flexible interconnections hold the three pads together and retain the parallel relationship thereof, yet allow relative pivoting of each pad 16A-16C of the group relative to the neighouring pad(s) about pivot axes A_P that lie in the same longitudinal direction L in which the pads are elongated. In the illustrated example, the pads of each group are flexibly coupled in this fashion by a flexible center coupling strip 18 that is shared by the two groups at proximal ends of the pads thereof, and by a respective flexible distal coupling strip 20A, 20B of each group that is attached to only the pads of that group at a location nearer to distal ends of that group's pads, meaning the ends thereof that lie longitudinally opposite of the proximal ends where the shared center coupling strip 18 is attached. These three coupling strips 18, 20A, 20B couple the pads 16A-16C together at the bottoms thereof, which refers to the sides of the two bundled groups that face together in the stacked folded state shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The coupling strips may be made of the same shell fabric as that in which the foam cores of the individual pads are protectively encapsulated, or the same material as the strap pieces 26, 28 described further below.

Each coupling strip 18, 20A, 20B can flexibly bend or fold at a narrow lengthwise region thereof between its respective attachments to the bottoms of the individual pads 16A-16C, which flexibly bendable/foldable regions thus define the longitudinal pivot axes A_P about which the three pads 16A-16C of each group can pivot relative to one another. The center coupling strip 18 can also flexibly bend or fold at a narrow widthwise region thereof at the proximal ends of the two groups of pads, thus defining a widthwise hinge axis A_H about which the two groups of pads 14A, 14B can be folded and unfolded between the flat unfolded state of FIGS. 1 to 4 and the stacked folded state of FIGS. 5 and 6. In alternative embodiments, instead of coupling strips 18, 20A, 20B the bottoms of the entire two bundled groups of straps may be covered with a flexible coupling panel that serves the same purpose of flexibly coupling the pads together, yet allowing pivotal movement between them through flexing of the coupling panel's flexible material.

In the flat unfolded state of FIGS. 1 to 4, relative pivoting between the neighbouring pads of each group about the pivot axes A_P permits the outside pads 16B, 16C to be tilted downward and outward from the middle pad 16A, thus deviating the longitudinal axes A_L of the outside pads 16B, 16D downwardly from the flat plane that is shared by the three longitudinal axes of the three pads in the flat unfolded state, so that the three longitudinal axes can instead occupy three respective points on an imaginary reference arc (of variable radius) to allow fitting of the three pads 16A-16C against a surface of a cylindrical object (of varying diameter), such as an already padded leg bar of a leg curl or leg extension machine, around which the device can be strapped in place, as visually represented in FIG. 8, where the foam bars are placed conformingly against the cylindrical surface of the padded leg bar 100 at one side thereof, and the straps 22A, 22B are drawn and fastened together around an opposing side of the leg bar, as schematically denoted by arrows 300. This state denotes an unfolded state of the device, as the two groups of pads are not stacked atop one another, and instead have their pads lying in end-to-end alignment, like as in FIGS. 1 through 4, but is not a “flat” state like that of FIGS. 1 to 4, owing to the deviation of the pads of each bundled group from a common plane so as to instead arcuately conform against a cylindrical surface of the target object (e.g. leg bar) that is to be supplementarily padded by the device 10.

On the other hand, the device 10 can be strapped to a flat back or chest support 200 of a piece of workout equipment in either the flat unfolded state of FIGS. 1 to 4, as schematically shown in FIG. 7, where the working thickness is the equal thickness shared by the two coplanar pad groups lying end-to-end with one another in a common plane, or in the stacked folded state of FIGS. 5 and 6, where the working thickness is the combined thicknesses of the two pad groups stacked atop one another, thus being double the working thickness of that possessed in the flat unfolded state.

For securing the device 10 to a piece of workout equipment in any of these various states, each bunded pad group 14A, 14B has a respective support strap 22A, 22B, which in the illustrated embodiment is embodied as a two-piece strap having a first strap piece 26 attached to pad 16B of the pad group 14A, 14B and a second strap piece 28 attached to pad 16C of the pad group. Strap piece 26 has one or more loops 30 (e.g. D-rings) thereon, of which there are three in the illustrated embodiment, through which strap piece 28 can be routed through any one or more of those loops 30 and then folded back over itself, and fastened to itself in such folded-over state. In this fastened state, the two strap pieces 26, 28 cooperate with the respective pad group 14A, 14B to form a closed loop fitted around a chest or back support, leg bar, armrest or other part of a workout machine. For such folded-over fastening of the strap piece 28 to itself, strap piece 28 has a first strip of hook or loop fastener 32 (loop fastener in the illustrated example) on the topside thereof that spans a majority length of the strap piece 28 starting from near the pad 16C to which the strap piece 28 is attached, and a loop or hook fastener 34 of the opposing matable type (hook fastener in the illustrated example) occupying a remaining minor length of the strap piece 28 at free end thereof opposite the pad-attached end of the strap piece 28. When the strap piece 28 is folded back over itself after feeding through a selected one or more of the loops 30 of the other strap piece 26, the fastener 34 fastens itself to mating fastener 32.

When the device 10 is not in use, the straps 22A, 22B can be stowed in secured fashion to the bottom of the respective pad group 14A, 14B. In the illustrated example of this, such securement of the stowed strap 22A, 22B is achieved by engagement of a hook or loop fastener 36 on the bottom of strap piece 26 near the free end thereof with a matably opposite piece of loop or hook fastener 38 provided on the bottom of the elongated pad 16C to which the other strap piece 28 is permanently attached. In this stowed state of the strap 22A, 22B, strap piece 26 is thus fastened to pad 16C in a position spanning across the bottom of the pad group 14A, 14B, and strap piece 28 is fed through the full set of loops 30 on the securely stowed strap piece 26, and folded back over itself into fastened relation with itself, thereby completing the fastened stowing of the two strap pieces 26, 28. It will be appreciated that the type of strapping and the fastening means for closing thereof into functional loops usable to secure the device to a workout machine, and for optionally secured stowage thereof, may be varied from the particular examples disclosed herein, without defeating the other inventive aspects of the device 10 described and claimed herein.

The foldability of the device 10 into the stacked folded state of FIGS. 5 and 6 from the flat unfolded state of FIGS. 1 through 4 not only allows the user to selectively switch between these two states for use on any given body-engaged part of a workout machine in order to best suit the physiology of the user relative to that machine to achieve the optimal leverage and stretch, but also enables a smaller footprint of the device in the stacked folded state thereof for transport and storage between uses (e.g. to fit within the user's gym bag for convenient transport to and from the gym). While the same straps 22, 22B used to support the device on the workout equipment could be used to hold the two pad groups 14A, 14B together during transport and storage, the illustrated embodiment need not rely on strapped holding together of the two pad groups in storage and transport, as the device 10 includes additional securements for holding the two pad groups together in the stacked folded state, as this is also useful to keep the two pad groups from flopping open during placement and strapping thereof to workout equipment.

In the illustrated example, these securements include a first set of three magnetic securements 40A, 40B, 40C respectively disposed on the bottoms of the three pads 16A-16C of the first pad group 14A near the distal ends thereof, and a matching second set of three magnetically attractable securements 42A, 42B, 42C respectively disposed on the bottoms of the three pads 16A-16C of the second pad group 14B near the distal ends thereof. These second securements 42A-42C reside in positions that align with the first securements 40A-40C in the stacked folded state of the device 10 to achieve magnetic coupling of the first and second securements to one another, which thereby secures the two pad groups 14A, 14B in their stacked relation to one another. Providing a respective pair of mating securements for each aligned pair of pads among the two pad groups provides optimal hold of the two pad groups together in the stacked folded state of the device 10, but it will be appreciated that a lesser number of securements may be used in other embodiments.

The magnetically attractable securements 42A-42C may themselves be magnets of the same type of the magnetic securements, provided their poles are properly oriented relative to the magnetic securements 40A-40C to achieve magnetic attraction rather than magnetic repulsion, though the magnetically attractable securements may instead be magnetically attractable material that is not itself magnetic. In the illustrated embodiment, each securement is contained beneath a protective skin, which may be embodied by the same fabric cover that encases the pad's form core, or may a supplemental securement cover situated externally of the foam-encasing cover. Instead of securements configured for magnetic coupling, alternative securement means for holding together of the two pad groups in the stacked folded state may be used, such as matable hook and loop fasteners like those used on the straps 22A, 22B.

In demonstration of the usefulness and adaptable character of the device 10, FIGS. 9 through 17 demonstrate non-limiting examples of various scenarios in which the device 10 may be used in its different folded and unfolded states.

Referring to the chest press examples in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the rep starting position of a typical chest press machine begins with the arm-manipulated actuator in front of the body, which prevents a full stretch in this position. The pad can be attached to the upright back support (backrest) of the machine using the straps, in either the flat unfolded state characterized by the lesser working thickness (e.g. two inches thick, in one non-limiting example) or in the stacked folded state characterized by the greater working thickness (e.g. four inches thick the same non-limiting example), the latter of which extends the range of motion in the stretch position. The device can also aid in creating more of an inclined posture if the user pushes their tailbone into against the backrest while their upper torso is offset forwardly from the backrest by the device 10, which inclined posture achieves greater upper chest stimulation. Alternatively, the device can be placed at a lower position offsetting the user's lower back from the backrest, creating more emphasis on the lower/mid chest.

Referring to the lying leg curl machine of FIG. 11 for hamstring workouts, illustrated placement of the device 10 on the thigh rest of the machine assists with achievement of a fuller stretch of the hamstring at the bottom position of the leg bar. Many machines of this type do not enable such full stretch due to a “loose” or “unloaded” state of the leg bar at the bottom position, or due to the leg bar's occupation of too high an elevation in this bottom position. In the lying leg curl context of FIG. 12, the device 10 is wrapped in shape-conforming fashion around the underside of the leg bar for action thereagainst by the user's calves, which creates a lengthened position of the hamstring during the leg curl rep. Referring to the seated leg curl context of FIG. 13, the device is instead wrapped in shape-conforming fashion around the topside of the leg bar for action thereagainst by the user's calves to again create greater stretch in the hamstrings. Many machines of this type are not settable with a high enough leg bar elevation at the leg bar's top position to achieve a proper full stretch. In the seated leg extension context of FIG. 14, the device is instead wrapped in shape-conforming fashion around the backside of the leg bar that faces toward the user of the machine, for action against this supplementarily padded backside of the leg bar by the user's shins to again create greater stretch in the quads. Again, many machines are limited in their adjustability, and often achieve only a very limited stretch.

Referring to the preach curl context of FIG. 15, placement or strapping of the device 10 to the armrest of the preach curl bench increases the stretch of the bicep at the bottom of the rep movement, whereby the user can achieve effective results with less weight and increased tension. In FIG. 16, the device is instead placed on or strapped to the inclined chest/back support (inclined bench) of a free-standing workout bench to achieve greater stretch and opening of the back or chest muscle during chest press/fly or back row exercises. The chosen elevation of the device along the inclined bench can be adjusted to focus the stimulation on the upper or lower chest in chest press/fly exercises performed in a chest-up posture. For back rows performed in a chest-down posture, the chosen elevation of the device is particularly useful for female users, who can set the device at a low position to relieve pressure on the upper chest, and shift loading to the ribs or abdomen. Another example of an inclined bench use of the device is beneath the user's lower back during leg raises, to increase the stretch at the lengthened position and enable increased range of motion.

In any of these or other examples, the device 10 can also provide increased padding comfort relative to use of the machine or bench in absence of the device's supplemental padding, where the original factory padding may be limited, or has lost its resiliency over time. Included within the scope of the present invention are embodiments in which the foam core is composed of multiple layers of varying foam density, with an uppermost layer being of lesser foam density that one or more remaining layers thereunder, to provide more padding at the top of the device where body contact with the user is made, while relying on the firmer foam of the underlying layer(s) to maintain the functional purpose of offsetting the user's body from the supplementarily padded equipment.

In addition to use on various hardware equipment, such as the non-limiting examples illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 16 and described above, the device 10 can also be used on a simple floor exercise mat, one usefulness of which is demonstrated in FIG. 17, where placement of the device 10 atop the exercise mat 400 is beneficially exploited during performance of abdominal exercises (crunches or sit-ups), which allows the user 500 to experience increased stretch at the bottom of each rep.

Since various modifications can be made in the invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.