Apparatus for mechanical emulation of dumbbells

Apparatus for exercising the upper body, while permitting elective inclination and declination, and elective converging and diverging hand movements, the apparatus comprising:

• a frame;
• a pair of levers having first and second ends wherein the first ends are connected for pivotal movement about horizontal, obtusely angled first pivotal axes, so that the second ends converge and diverge when pivoting thereabout;
• means operatively connected to the levers for resisting pivotal movement about the first pivotal axes;
• and
• extended handle members, each having a longitudinal axis, a handgrip perpendicular thereto at the distal end, and a connecting end pivotally connected to each lever at the second end thereof, so that each extended handle member pivots about at least two axes with respect to the connected lever, allowing elective inclination and declination movements of the handgrips in conjunction with elective converging and diverging movements, throughout the range of motion of an exercise.

Apparatus for exercising the upper body, while permitting elective inclination and declination and elective converging and diverging hand and arm movements, the apparatus comprising:

• a frame including a horizontal first pivotal axis;
• a pair of levers having first and second ends wherein the first ends are connected for pivotal movement about the first pivotal axis;
• means operatively connected to the levers for resisting pivotal movement about the first pivotal axes;
• a pair of lever extensions having first and second ends, wherein the first ends are pivotally connected to the lever second ends, on second pivotal axes substantially angled with respect to the first pivotal axis;
• means for pivoting each lever extension about the respective second pivotal axis in a predetermined relationship relative to the lever as the lever pivots about the first pivotal axis;
• and
• a pair of extended handle members, each having a longitudinal axis, a handgrip substantially perpendicular thereto at the distal end, and a connecting end, pivotally connected to one of the lever extensions at the second end thereof, so that the extended handle member is free for pivotal movement about at least two axes with respect to the connected lever extension, allowing elective inclination and declination movements of the handgrips in conjunction with elective converging and diverging movements, throughout the range of motion of an exercise.

An exercise machine for providing selected resistance through a range of motion comprising;

• a frame including a substantially horizontal first pivotal axis;
• a seat mounted on the frame;
• a backrest mounted rearwardly of the seat;
• an adjustable weight to provide selected resistance;
• a pair of substantially parallel first lever members pivotally mounted to the frame for rotation about the horizontal first pivotal axis against the selected resistance, the first lever members each including one of a pair of spaced apart, substantially parallel and angularly oriented second pivotal axes lying substantially perpendicular to the horizontal first axis;
• a pair of second lever members, each having a distal end and a mounting end, with the mounting end pivotally connected to one of the first lever members for rotation about the second pivotal axis;
• linkage means guiding the second lever member distal ends to converge along predetermined curved paths as the first lever members pivot from a first position to a second position;
• and
• a handle member connected to each of the second lever member distal ends for pivotal movement with at least two orthogonal degrees of freedom with respect thereto.

In combination with a method for exercising the upper body wherein the hands of the user follow mechanically defined converging and diverging paths upon movement in one direction and the reverse, the improvement comprising the steps of:

• providing extended handle members with handgrips at the distal ends thereof;
• grasping the handgrips with the user's hands to perform exercise movements;
• guiding the proximal ends of the extended handle members to follow mechanically defined converging and diverging paths as the user's hands move through the range of the exercise movements;
• and
• allowing the user's hands to follow elective paths deviating from the mechanically defined converging and diverging paths.