Exercise apparatus for swimmers

An exercise apparatus for swimmers, comprising:

• a main base frame having a front ground-engaging beam, a rear ground-engaging beam aligned linearly with the front ground-engaging beam, a pair of front cross members extending laterally on opposite sides of the front ground-engaging beam, and a pair of rear cross members extending laterally on opposite sides of the rear ground-engaging beam;
• a front chest support section mounted on the front ground-engaging beam, the front chest support section including a T shaped chest pad mounted above the front ground-engaging beam and a pair of pivoting and resiliently mounted hand holsters disposed on opposite sides of the chest pad and configured for exercising a swimming stroke;
• a central torso support section mounted on the rear ground-engaging beam between the front chest support section and the rear cross members, the central torso support section including a torso pad;
• a rear leg support section mounted on the rear ground-engaging beam rearward of the rear cross members;
• a first threaded rod extending between the front chest support section and the central torso support section, the first threaded rod acting as a lead screw in a linear slide mechanism for adjusting distance between the front chest support section and the central torso support section;
• and
• a second threaded rod extending between the central torso support section and the rear leg support section, the second threaded rod acting as a lead screw in a linear slide mechanism for adjusting distance between the central torso support section and the rear leg support section, wherein:
• said front chest support section further comprises:
• a telescoping center post having a lower section mounted on said front ground-engaging beam and an upper section resiliently mounted on the lower section of the center post, said chest pad being T shaped mounted transversely/ axially on a top end of the upper section of the center post;
• a first lateral post and a second lateral post, the first lateral post being mounted on one of the front cross members and the second lateral post being mounted on the opposite front cross member, respectively, each of the lateral posts having an upper end and a lower end, an inside face opposite the center post and an outside face;
• first and second shafts journaled through the upper ends of the first and second lateral posts, respectively, for rotation therein;
• first and second resilient, telescoping arms having a lower end mounted on an end of the first and second shafts, respectively, on the inside face of the lateral posts and having a free end, the hand holsters being mounted on the free ends of the telescoping arms, respectively, the telescoping arms being mounted for rotation in a vertical plane 180° out of phase so that when one of the user's arms rotates upwards, the other user arm rotates downward;
• and
• said rear leg support section further comprises:
• a center post having an upper end, a pivot pin extending through the upper end, and a pivot plate extending transversely through the upper end of the center post of the rear leg support section, said leg pads being mounted on the pivot plate on opposite sides of the center post of the rear leg support section so that when one of the user's legs kicks downward, the other leg kicks upward;
• whereby the exercise apparatus is configured for practicing a freestyle swim stroke,
• wherein said front chest support section further comprises:
• first and second drive pulleys mounted on an end of the first and second shafts, respectively, on the outside face of the lateral posts;
• an elongated shaft extending between and through the lower ends of the lateral posts, the elongated shafts having first and second ends extending beyond the outside faces of the lateral posts, respectively;
• first and second driven pulleys mounted on the first and second ends of the elongated shaft, respectively;
• and
• first and second belts connecting the first drive pulley with the first driven pulley and connecting the second drive pulley with the second driven pulley, respectively;
• whereby, first and second resilient, telescoping arms are synchronized for rotation in a vertical plane 180° out of phase with each other,
• wherein said front chest support section further comprises first and second channels mounted on a top face of said front cross members, respectively, the lower ends of said first and second lateral posts being slidably mounted in the first and second channels, respectively;
• inner support brackets mounted on said front cross members on opposite sides of said center post and outer retainer brackets mounted on opposite ends of said front cross members;
• and
• an elongated threaded rod extending through the inner support brackets, the retainer brackets, and threaded bores defined in the lower ends of said lateral posts;
• wherein the elongated threaded rod acts as a lead screw in a linear slide mechanism to adjust distance between said lateral posts to accommodate the user's chest/ shoulder span.