EP2696942A1

EP2696942A1 - Aquatic resistance training equipment

Info

Publication number: EP2696942A1
Application number: EP11716611.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Rhiannon Jones
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-04-12
Filing date: 2011-04-12
Publication date: 2014-02-19
Also published as: US20140031180A1; WO2012140390A1

Abstract

A piece of aquatic training equipment is provided that comprises a glove (12), made substantially from neoprene, for, in use receiving a user's hand. The glove (12) is provided with a pocket 16 that can receive one or more pieces of closed cell foam (20) so as to varying its buoyancy. The pocket is located so that the foam is wrapped around the hand to produce ergonomically and uniformly balanced buoyancy in the glove.

Description

Aquatic Resistance Training Equipment

The present invention relates to aquatic training equipment. In particular the present invention relates to exercise gloves for using underwater.

In general the area of aquatic fitness is growing and underwater exercises, including but not limited to underwater boxing, sometimes referred to as aqua boxing, not to be confused with the traditional land based martial art known as water boxing, and deep- water running are known training styles.

Aquatic training has commonly been used for injury therapy and general fitness but more recently has been adopted by elite sport for "active recovery". The human body in most races is semi-buoyant in water. When the body is in a vertical position (such as when deep water running) water offers three dimensional resistance and support to the body aiding decompression of the spine and other weight bearing joints. This can accelerate injury recovery without compromise.

For therapeutic purposes training in water, or underwater, can be beneficial as it can reduce impact upon joints and, more importantly, hydrostatic pressure creates physical compression of the muscles which reduces the likelihood of further muscle strain or injury.

Furthermore, as water has a higher density than air it generates a significant resistance that serves to curb concussion and reduces the suddenness and impact from movement that is in itself beneficial in preventing muscle injury or strains and makes simple body movements use far greater energy, thereby working the muscles harder, but in a manner less likely to result in injury due to the support of the water as described above. Underwater boxing comprises boxing and/or kick-boxing exercises, sometimes known as shadow boxing, performed alone wherein punches are thrown substantially underwater, or through the surface of the water, i.e. partially below water and partially above water. Deep-water running comprises jogging exercises, performed on the spot or while moving through water, in water deep enough that the majority of the body is submerged. Deepwater running is beneficial in assisting in streamlining running movements and improving body biomechanics due to the enhanced effect of resistance and drag that is felt by the athlete. Furthermore, as the body's weight is supported by the water, less stress is placed on the body which is beneficial when recovering from performance or injury.

It is known in the art to hold floats in the hands when performing such exercises to increase the resistance to movement of the hands and upper body/limbs through the water. These floats generally comprise a piece substantially rectangular or oval foam with two holes therein. The wrist is placed through one hole and the hand passes through the other hole to hold the end of the float adjacent the hole which acts as a handle. An example of such a prior art training aid is shown in Figure 1.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide an improved device for use in underwater exercises, and especially for the improvement of deep water running biomechanics. According to the present invention there is provided aquatic training equipment comprising a glove for, in use, receiving a user's hand wherein said glove is provided with means for varying the buoyancy of said glove.

By enabling the user to vary the buoyancy of the glove different training regimes can quickly and easily be adopted, or the intensity of the exercise can be carefully matched to the needs of the individual. This may be particularly beneficial when training is being performed as part of an injury rehabilitation or an active recovery process.

Preferably the means of varying the buoyancy comprises means for removably attaching at least one piece of buoyant material to said glove. The glove preferably comprises a pocket for receiving said at least one piece of buoyant material; preferably the pocket is located internally within said glove. In a preferred design the pocket extends from adjacent the wrist area of the glove to adjacent the fingertip area of the glove on the outer side of the glove, i.e. the buoyant material extends substantially over the back of the glove such that, in use, the padding protects the hand when formed into a fist. In this way, the gloves can be used in partner training exercises for punching against contact pads or other surfaces and, as well as creating resistance to movement, the buoyancy protects the hands from impact injuries. The buoyant material is preferably a closed cell polymer foam material, more preferably an EVA foam.

Preferably the training equipment comprises the glove and a number of pieces of buoyancy which may be selectively attached to the glove on their own or in combination to vary the buoyancy of the glove. In particular using differing numbers of pieces of buoyant material to vary the level of buoyancy enables the glove to be used as a quantitativea quantitative for performance and rehabilitation evaluation.

The effect of the differing buoyancies can be used in a similar way that different increasing weights can be used in strength and conditioning training in a gymnasium in so far as step increases can be made and performance measured or assessed against these step changes.

In an alternative embodiment the means for varying the buoyancy of said glove comprises at least one inflatable air pocket.

The glove may largely be made from a substantially non absorbent buoyant material, for example from foamed neoprene. Being non absorbent facilitates the drying of the glove and by using a foamed material the glove itself has some inherent buoyancy that adds to the resistance created by the variable buoyancy. If absorbent materials were used, not only would the glove take much longer to dry between use, increasing the likelihood of, for example, mould forming, but as water was absorbed, air would be displaced which would alter the buoyancy of the glove during the course of a training session making it hard for specific training regimes to be followed, particularly when training is being undertaken for therapeutic purposes. The glove may also comprise a plurality of areas of mesh material to facilitate, after use, drainage of water from said glove.

In one preferred embodiment the glove may further comprise weights to increase the weight of the glove. This may for example, comprise lead (or lead alternative) weights that are in the wrist area of the glove. These may be located within an openable pocket in the wrist area of the glove so that they are removable. When training in shallow water boxing training will often include exercises in which the hands are above the water, exercises in which the hands are below the water, and exercises which involve arm movement in which the hand passes through the surface of the water. The present invention, by including buoyancy and weight provides resistance both below the water by way of resistance due to glove shape and buoyancy, and resistance above water due to the additional weight of the gloves. As the buoyancy is provided in the glove it is retained in the structure of the glove and, as described above, is arranged in such a way that it is wrapped around the fist. Unlike the prior art, this removes the large areas of buoyancy that extend laterally out from the hand, in use, and, although this may reduce the physical resistance of the glove, it reduces the chance of rotational strains being placed on the wrist, arm or shoulder by virtue of the offset forces that can occur in the prior art devices. By extending the buoyancy over the back of the hand when the hand is clenched into a fist the buoyancy is distributed economically around the surface of the fist. The uniform, anatomical, distribution of the buoyancy has the effect of making the fist/hand as a whole more buoyant. This even distribution provides a balanced force on the muscles being worked and assists in preventing uneven force distribution, as a result of the buoyancy, in particular muscle groups.

The glove may comprise, at least in part, a mesh material. This mesh material preferably extends over at least the inside surface of the glove. By using a mesh material, after use, water can easily drain from the glove allowing it to dry. The glove may be manufactured substantially from non absorbent material. This also assists in the drying of the glove after use.

Although described in the singular it will be appreciated that in most instances a pair of the gloves as described above would be used, one on each hand.

There is also provided a punch ball comprising: an inflatable bladder substantially enclosed in a neoprene casing; an elastic cord attached at one end to the neoprene casing; and means for attaching the elastic cord to a user. The punch ball will substantially float on the surface of the water and may be used as a target by a user wearing the above mentioned gloves of the invention. When struck the ball will move away from the user, stretching and elongating the elastic, and then the elastic will retract causing the ball to recoil back towards the user creating a moving target. Essentially the ball works a little like an aquatic speed ball, the speed being determined by the properties of the elastic and the chosen shape of the speedball which may be peanut ball shaped or spherical.

The aquatic training equipment preferably also comprises a belt for attaching the elastic cord to the user. The elastic cord may be removable, the equipment further comprising at least a second elastic cord having a different elasticity from the first elastic cord. In this way the elastic cord may be selected to match the skill and training intensity required by the user. A cord having a less elasticity will require to be punched harder to move the same distance and will return faster. The belt may also be buoyant. The punch ball can be used with the gloves and may be provided as part of the equipment of the invention.

The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a diagram of a prior art aqua boxing float; Figure 2 is a side view of a glove of the equipment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a bottom view of a glove of the equipment of the present invention; Figure 4 is an end view of a variation of a the glove of Figure 2 and 3; and Figure 5 is a drawing of a punch ball of the equipment of the present invention;

Referring to Figure 1 a known prior art aqua boxing float 2 is shown. The float comprises a substantially rectangular piece of foam 4 having two holes 6, 8 therein. In use the arm is placed through hole 6, the float curved, and the hand passing partially through hole 8 to grab the handle 10. The amount of resistance provided in underwater use will be variable and will depend upon parameters such as the extent of curvature of the float and the looseness of the float around the arm.

Referring to Figure 2 and 3 a glove 12 is shown. The glove 12 is not dissimilar in shape to a more conventional boxing glove in so far as it of a mitten type design with a wrist opening 13 with an attachment 14 on it to enable the user to tighten it around their wrist, and a mitten section 15 through into which the user's fingers extend. However, it is more bulbous in shape at its finger end so as to offer greater frontal resistance when being moved forward through the water and greater reverse drag when being pulled backwards through the water, thereby enabling improved reciprocal muscle group exercise. The effect of the increased resistance is especially beneficial in deep-water running as the extra buoyancy of the glove results in increased resistance being felt by the user and encourages correct anatomical alignment and optimal line of range of motion (ROM). If they are moving their arms in a non streamlined manner, for example if there is any crossing of the midline to their arm movements as opposed to a purely backwards/forwards pendulum swing of the arms the drag effect will slow the user's progress through the water. By providing a greater resistance any improvements in streamlining their movements results in the user receiving direct and pronounced proprioceptive feedback, as they will feel less drag. In contrast, when practicing underwater boxing the increased resistance and drag will be felt in cross body punching movements resulting in a more intensive antagonistic muscle group workout for the athlete.

The glove 12 has a pocket 16 on the back face of it for receiving one or more pieces of buoyant foam 20. The pocket 16 is openable at one end at an opening 8. The opening 18 may be closable by means, for example, of a hook and loop type fastener that when closed prevents the buoyancy from coming out of the glove 12. The pocket 6 may be expandable by means of a pleat therein to accommodate different thicknesses, or different numbers of pieces, of buoyant foam 20. Additionally, or alternatively, the pocket 16 may be made of an elastomeric material so that it can be stretched to the required size to receive the buoyant foam 20. By placing different pieces of foam 20 of different thickness, or differing multitudes of the same thickness foam 20, in the pocket the buoyancy of the glove 12 can be varied. Although only one piece of foam is shown, for clarity, it will be appreciated, as described herein, that differing numbers of pieces of foam 20 can be inserted into the pocket 16 at the same time. The glove 12 is predominantly made of foamed neoprene sheet material so that it has its own natural buoyancy and to facilitate easy drying. A number of pieces of mesh fabric 19 are provided as shown in the palm region and in the inside of the thumb. These mesh areas assist in allowing water to drain from the glove. The mesh is preferably made of a non absorbent material so that it easily dries.

A thickened rib 21 which is approximately 2 to 3 cm in diameter, runs transversely across the glove in the mid finger region so that as the user clenches the fist the fingers cannot over flex. Over clenching the fist, not only is detrimental in certain physical therapy exercises, for example it can result in peripheral nerve compression, but would also decrease the distal cross sectional area of the glove, in use, thereby lowering fluid drag and resistance. By preventing over flexion of the hand the rib 21 helps maintain the fist in alignment with the arm, thereby improving the user's upper body biomechanics.

Differing the resistance of the gloves, by the addition or removal of buoyancy therefrom, enables more focused and quantitative training regimes to be achieved. In particular an aquatic training glove is produced wherein the resistance is provided by the buoyancy of the material within a defined glove structure. In this way the shape of the glove is largely unchanged which results in a very predictable uniform force loading on the user when performing exercises by providing only an upward force on the user's arms. No rotational or twisting forces are provided by the buoyancy. This is beneficial as rotational/twisting forces are less predictive as they are largely dependant on the user's particular movements and could result in aggravation of injuries.

Referring to Figure 4 an end view of a variation of the glove of figures 2 and 4 is shown. Through the wrist opening 13 the pocket 16 can be seen which receives the foam buoyancy. On the wrist section of the glove two additional pockets 22, 24 are provided. These pockets receive weights (omitted for clarity) to increase the weight of the glove. The benefits of adding weights for training, especially in shallow water where exercises may take place both above and below water, are described above. Although shown externally to the glove it will be appreciated that the pockets 22, 24 may comprise any number of pockets and may be located internally in the glove or internally within the wrist area. As will be appreciated, while only one glove is described herein, when used the gloves will be used as a pair with one glove on each hand. As the buoyancy is variable in each glove each glove may, if required, be provided with different buoyancies to focus the training more on one side of the body than the other.

Referring to Figure 5 an aquatic punch ball 26 is shown. The punch ball comprises an inflatable bladder 27 which is substantially enclosed in a neoprene shell 28. The shell 28 is attached to one end of an elastic cord 30 and the other end of the elastic cord 30 is attached to a buoyancy belt 32.

In use the buoyancy belt is attached around the user's waist and imparts some vertical buoyancy to the user. The ball 26 will float on top of the water, retained by the elastic cord. As the user punches at the ball 26 it will be forced away from them stretching the elastic cord 30. The ball 26 will then return towards the user who can again punch at the ball. The elastic cord 30 is removably attached to the belt 32 and the ball 26 and may be replaced with alternative cord 30 of differing elasticity. This will affect the range of movement of the ball and the force of the return of the ball 26. The punch ball can be used with the gloves of the invention.

The buoyancy belt comprises a belt that extends around the users waist and a piece of buoyant foam material 34 that is attached to the belt such that when worn the buoyancy is located behind the wearer. As the gloves, in use, are predominantly in front of the user then, by using with a buoyancy belt 32 having the buoyancy 34 that is located posterior to the user, rotational forces on the user are substantially cancelled out. Furthermore, the main area of natural buoyancy in a person, namely the lungs are located in front of the spine. By placing the buoyancy behind the spine rotational effects of the user's natural buoyancy in water are more balanced encouraging the user to have a more upright stance when using the gloves, thereby contributing to improved biomechanics. As the belt extends around the outside of the foam of the buoyancy belt, the foam also acts as a shock absorber to dissipate the pressure exerted on the user when the ball is struck and distributes it across the pelvis and lower back as opposed to it only exerting pressure at the waist region which would be the case if the belt did not extend around the foam.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1 Aquatic training equipment comprising:

a glove for, in use receiving a users hand;

wherein said glove is provided with means for varying the buoyancy of said glove.

2 Aquatic training equipment according to claim 1 wherein said means of varying the buoyancy comprises means for removably attaching at least one piece of buoyant material to said glove.

3 Aquatic training equipment according to claim 2 wherein said glove comprises a pocket for receiving said at least one piece of buoyant material. 4 Aquatic training equipment according to claim 3 wherein said pocket is located internally within said glove.

5 Aquatic training equipment according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein said pocket extends from adjacent the wrist area of the glove to adjacent the fingertip area of the glove on the outer side of the glove.

6 Aquatic training equipment according to claims 1 to 5 comprising at least one piece of buoyant foam material for selective attachment to said glove. 7 Aquatic training equipment according to claim 6 comprising a plurality of pieces of buoyant foam material for selective attachment to said glove.

8 Aquatic training equipment according to claim 6 or claim 7 wherein said buoyant material foam comprises a closed cell polymer foam material.

9 Aquatic training equipment according to claim 1 wherein the means for varying the buoyancy of said glove comprises at least one inflatable air pocket.

10 Aquatic training equipment according to any preceding claim wherein said glove is manufactured substantially from non absorbent buoyant material. 1 1 Aquatic training equipment according to any preceding claim wherein said glove is substantially made of foamed neoprene. 12 Aquatic training equipment according to claim 10 or 11 comprising a plurality of areas of mesh material to facilitate, after use, drainage of water from said glove.

13 Aquatic training equipment according to any preceding claim further comprising weights to increase the weight of said glove

14 Aquatic training equipment comprising a pair of gloves as describes in any previous claim.

15 Aquatic training equipment according to any preceding claim further comprising a punch ball comprising: an inflatable bladder substantially enclosed in a neoprene casing; an elastic cord attached at one end to the neoprene casing; and means for attaching the elastic cord to a user.

16 Aquatic training equipment according to claim 15 further comprising a belt for attaching the elastic cord to the user.

17 Aquatic training equipment according to claim 16 wherein said elastic cord is removable, said equipment further comprising at least a second elastic cord having a different elasticity that the first elastic cord.

18 Aquatic training equipment according to claim 16 or 17 wherein said belt is buoyant.