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US 4,902,008 AGranted
Method and apparatus for testing or exercising muscles of the lower trunk of the human body
OwnerArthur Jonesinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerArthur Jonesinventor
Estimating the term…
Methods and apparatus for exercising or testing the strength of muscles in the lower trunk of the human body. The patient or exerciser is seated with his pelvis and legs fixed against movement and with his head, arms and upper back fixed relative to a movement arm which extends above the seat and is mounted for pivotal movement relative to the seat about a horizontal axis. While the movement arm is in a predetermined position, the patient applies a force through the upper back to the movement arm to stress the muscles of the lower trunk, and the strength of these muscles is measured. To exercise these muscles, the movement arm is moved by a force exerted by the upper back against a bias of a resistance weight to lift the weight, and then the force is released to lower the weight and the process is repeated. A compound weight system is employed to allow precise weight adjustment to suit the strength of the exerciser. The movement arm including the weight of the exerciser is balanced about the pivot axis by counterweights including an adjustable counterweight.
A method of testing or exercising muscles of the lower trunk of a human for purposes of testing the strength of or exercising said muscles comprising the steps of:
A method of exercising muscles of the lower trunk of a human body comprising the steps of placing the body in a seated position with an upper portion of the body engaged against a resistance object mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis, preventing movement of the pelvis and the gluteus and hamstring muscles, connecting the resistance object to a freely movable resistance weight which resists movement of the resistance object in one direction about said axis, applying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the upper portion of the body and in turn the resistance object about said axis to lift the resistance weight from a rest position, releasing the force on said resistance object to lower the weight and then reapplying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the resistance object about said axis to again lift said weight and wherein the movement of said resistance weight is controlled solely by the application or release of force on the movement arm by said muscles, and wherein during the exercise the position of the head is fixed relative to the resistance object.
A method of exercising muscles of the lower trunk of a human body comprising the steps of placing the body in a seated position with an upper portion of the body engaged against a resistance object mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis, restraining the pelvis against movement to substantially prevent movement of the gluteus and hamstring muscles, connecting the resistance object to a resistance means, applying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the upper portion of the body and in turn the resistance means about said axis to move said resistance means in one direction, releasing the force on said resistance object to move the resistance means in the opposite direction and then reapplying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the resistance object about said axis to again move said resistance means, and wherein during said exercise the arms and head are held in fixed position relative to the resistance object.
A method of exercising muscles of the lower trunk of a human body comprising the steps of placing the body in a seated position with an upper portion of the body engaged against a resistance object mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis, restraining the pelvis against movement to substantially prevent movement of the gluteus and hamstring muscles, connecting the resistance object to a resistance means, applying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the upper portion of the body and in turn the resistance means about said axis to move said resistance means in one direction, releasing the force on said resistance object to move the resistance means in the opposite direction and then reapplying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the resistance object about said axis to again move said resistance means, and substantially counterbalancing the upper body relative to said axis by a counterweight on one side of said axis opposite the location of the upper body by placing the resistance object against a stop and adjusting the counterweight until the resistance object begins to move off the stop to thereby substantially balance the upper body about said axis.
A method of exercising muscles of the lower trunk of a human body comprising the steps of placing the body ion a seated position with an upper portion of the body engaged against a resistance object mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis, restraining the pelvis against movement to substantially prevent movement of the gluteus and hamstring muscles, connecting the resistance object to a freely movable resistance weight which resists movement of the resistance object in one direction about said axis, applying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the upper portion of the body and in turn the resistance object about said axis to lift the resistance weight from a rest position, releasing the force on said resistance object to lower the weight and then reapplying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the resistance object about said axis to again lift said weight and wherein the movement of said resistance weight is controlled solely by the application or release of force on the movement arm by said muscles, and wherein during said exercise the arms and head of the body are held in a fixed position relative to the resistance object.
A method of exercising muscles of the lower trunk of a human body comprising the steps of placing the body in a seated position with an upper portion of the body engaged against a resistance object mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis, restraining the pelvis against movement to substantially prevent movement of the gluteus and hamstring muscles, connecting the resistance object to a freely movable resistance weight which resists movement of the resistance object in one direction about said axis, applying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the upper portion of the body and in turn the resistance object about said axis to lift the resistance weight from a rest position, releasing the force on said resistance object to lower the weight and then reapplying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the resistance object about said axis to again lift said weight and wherein the movement of said resistance weight is controlled solely by the application or release of force on the movement arm by said muscles substantially counterbalancing the upper body relative to said axis by a counterweight located on one side of said axis opposite the location of the upper body, and substantially counterbalancing the weight of the resistance object relative to said axis by another weight located on one side of the axis opposite the location of the resistance object.
A method of exercising muscles of the lower trunk of a human body comprising the steps of placing the body in a seated position with an upper portion of the body engaged against a resistance object mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis, restraining the pelvis against movement to substantially prevent movement of the gluteus and hamstring muscles, connecting the resistance object to a freely movable resistance weight which resists movement of the resistance object in one direction about said axis, applying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the upper portion of the body and in turn the resistance object about said axis to lift the resistance weight from a rest position, releasing the force on said resistance object to lower the weight and then reapplying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the resistance object about said axis to again lift said weight and wherein the movement of said resistance weight is controlled solely by the application or release of force on the movement arm by said muscles substantially counterbalancing the upper body relative to said axis by a counterweight located on one side of said axis opposite the location of the upper body by placing the resistance object against a stop and adjusting the counterweight until the resistance object begins to move off the stop to thereby substantially balance the upper body about said axis.
A method of exercising muscles of the lower trunk of a human body comprising the steps of placing the body in a seated position with an upper portion of the body engaged against a resistance object mounted for rotation about a generally horizontal axis, restraining the pelvis against movement to substantially prevent movement of the gluteus and hamstring muscles, connecting the resistance object to a resistance means, applying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the uppers portion of the body and in turn the resistance means abut said axis to move said resistance means in one direction, releasing the force on said resistance object to move the resistance means in the opposite direction and then reapplying with said muscles of the lower trunk a force to move the resistance object about said axis to again move said resistance means, and substantially counterbalancing the upper body relative to said axis by a counterweight on one side of said axis opposite the location of the upper body, and wherein during said exercise the arm and head of the body are held in fixed position relative to the resistance object.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.