US20240009538A1

US20240009538A1 - Exercise apparatus for swimmers

Info

Publication number: US20240009538A1
Application number: US17/862,350
Authority: US
Inventors: Jassem A Y Haidar
Original assignee: Giftedness and Creativity Co
Current assignee: Giftedness and Creativity Co
Priority date: 2022-07-11
Filing date: 2022-07-11
Publication date: 2024-01-11

Abstract

The exercise apparatus for swimmers has a ground-engaging base frame supporting a front section supporting the chest and arms, a central section supporting the torso, and a rear section supporting the legs. The base frame is made of square tubing and includes a forward portion on which the front section is slidably mounted and a rear portion on which the central and rear sections are mounted, the forward and rear portions being connected by a screw drive to adjust axial length of the apparatus. The front chest support section includes a resilient telescoping post having chest pads mounted thereon and a cross member having adjustable lateral arm posts. The central torso support section includes a resilient telescoping post having torso pads mounted thereon. The rear section includes a post on which leg supports are mounted. The apparatus may be configured for freestyle strokes or breast strokes.

Description

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates generally to exercise apparatus, and more particularly, to an exercise apparatus for swimmers that can be configured for learning or practicing the freestyle stroke and the breast stroke without being in the water.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Exercise machines of various types have been in use for many years directed to accomplishing many types of fitness results. Typically, exercise machines include many types of exercise devices that perform either a single exercise or multiple exercises using different muscle groups and movements. The devices generally utilize weights, springs, resistance devices or pulleys, and sometimes enable the user to create motion against the gravity effect on the user's body weight.
Swimming is often taught to beginners in a pool or other swimming location by having the beginner lying prone in the water while being supported by a parent or instructor supporting the beginner as the beginner learns the arm strokes, leg kicks, and coordinated movements for breathing while swimming. There is no apparatus available for teaching the coordinated movements involved on dry land while simulating the buoyant forces experienced swimming in water,
From time to time, swimmers may not be able to swim in the usual swimming facility due to illnesses or medical conditions, such as dermatological impairments or infections. In addition, swimmers sometimes may need to go through a period of recuperation from an orthopedic impairment and may desire exercising on dry land to rebuild muscle strength before returning to swimming in water. Current exercise apparatus for swimmers are either designed for use in the water or for exercising specific muscle groups individually, without simulating the coordinated movements required by particular swimming strokes.
Thus, an exercise apparatus for swimmers solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY

The exercise apparatus for swimmers has a ground-engaging base frame supporting a front section supporting the chest and arms, a central section supporting the torso, and a rear section supporting the legs. The base frame is made of square tubing and includes a forward portion on which the front section is slidably mounted and a rear portion on which the central and rear sections are mounted, the forward and rear portions being connected by a screw drive to adjust axial length of the apparatus. The front chest support section includes a resilient telescoping post having chest pads mounted thereon and a cross member having adjustable lateral arm posts. The central torso support section includes a resilient telescoping post having torso pads mounted thereon. The rear section includes a post on which leg supports are mounted. The apparatus may be configured for freestyle strokes or breast strokes.
When configured for freestyle stroke exercises, the front chest support section has hand holsters attached to the lateral arm posts resiliently biased to move 180° out of phase vertically to simulate hand positions during the freestyle stroke and the rear leg support section has a plate extending transversely through the top of the post, the plate having leg pads mounted at opposite ends and being resiliently biased to offer resistance to leg kicking movement. The hand grips and leg plate are connected by a pulley system to synchronize pivoting of the leg plate with the position of the hand holsters.
When configured for breast stroke exercises, the front chest support section has a chest pad pivotally mounted on the upper section of the telescoping post to simulate the up and down motion of the chest while doing the breast stroke. The upper section of the telescoping post also has two rigid arm-mounting brackets extending laterally and obliquely forward, and two resilient hand holsters arms pivotally mounted on swivels at the ends of the arm-mounting brackets to simulate hand and arm positions during the breast stroke. The rear leg support section has two rigid leg-mounting brackets extending laterally and obliquely rearward, and two resilient foot pads/holsters pivotally mounted on swivels at the ends of the leg-mounting brackets to simulate leg kicks while doing the breast stroke.
These and other features of the present subject matter will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exercise apparatus for swimmers, shown configured for teaching and practicing the freestyle stroke.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1 , shown with the covers removed to show details of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1 , shown from the rear of the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a side view of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1 , showing further details of the base frame.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the rear leg support section of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 7 is a partially exploded perspective view of an exercise apparatus for swimmers, shown configured for teaching and practicing the breast stroke.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are exploded perspective views, shown partially exploded, of an alternative embodiment of a rear leg support section for the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 8C a perspective view of an exercise apparatus for swimmers, shown configured for teaching and practicing the freestyle stroke, having the alternative embodiment of a rear leg support section of FIGS. 8A and 8B.

FIG. 9A is a partial perspective view of a rear leg support section for the exercise apparatus of FIG. 7 .

FIG. 9B is a perspective view of an exercise apparatus for swimmers, shown configured for teaching and practicing the freestyle stroke, showing the base frame in dashed lines and the components needed to configure the apparatus for the breast stroke in solid lines.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a connector for attaching components to the various spindles of the apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a detailed view of the linkages of the apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a detailed view of a main spindle assembly of the apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a detailed view of a linkage for a hand holster of the apparatus.

FIG. 14 is a detailed view of various stages of the hand and arm movements in sync with the chest pad up and down movements.

FIG. 15 is as detailed of the various stages for the leg positions corresponding to the arm and hand movements as in FIG. 14 .

FIG. 16 is as detailed view of a cylinder assembly.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The exercise apparatus for swimmers has a ground-engaging base frame supporting a front section supporting the chest and arms, a central section supporting the torso, and a rear section supporting the legs. The base frame is made of square tubing and includes a forward portion on which the front section is slidably mounted and a rear portion on which the central and rear sections are mounted, the forward and rear portions being connected by a screw drive to adjust axial length of the apparatus. The front chest support section includes a resilient telescoping post having chest pads mounted thereon and a cross member having adjustable lateral arm posts. The central torso support section includes a resilient telescoping post having torso pads mounted thereon. The rear section includes a slidably mounted post connected by a screw drive to adjust the axial length of the legs on which leg supports are mounted. The apparatus may be configured for freestyle strokes or breast strokes.
When configured for freestyle stroke exercises, the front chest support section has hand holsters attached to the lateral arm posts resiliently biased to move 180° out of phase vertically to simulate hand positions during the freestyle stroke and the rear leg support section has a plate extending transversely through the top of the post, the plate having leg pads mounted at opposite ends and being resiliently biased to offer resistance to leg kicking movement. The hand holsters and leg plate are connected by a pulley system to synchronize pivoting of the leg plate with the position of the hand holsters.
When configured for breast stroke exercises, the front chest support section has a chest pad pivotally mounted on the upper section of the telescoping post to simulate the up and down motion of the chest while doing the breast stroke. The upper section of the telescoping post also has two rigid arm-mounting brackets extending laterally and obliquely forward, and two resilient hand holster arms pivotally mounted on swivels at the ends of the arm-mounting brackets to simulate hand and arm positions during the breast stroke. The rear leg support section has two rigid leg-mounting brackets extending laterally and obliquely rearward, and two resilient foot pads pivotally mounted on swivels at the ends of the leg-mounting brackets to simulate leg kicks while doing the breast stroke.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the exercise apparatus for swimmers configured for teaching or practicing the freestyle stroke. FIG. 2 shows the same apparatus, but with the covers removed to show details of the main base frame. As shown in FIGS. 2-4 , the exercise apparatus comprises a main base frame having three sections, 35, 36 a, 36 b (front chest support section 35, central torso support section 36 a, and rear leg support section 36 b) defined by two linearly aligned ground-engaging box beams or square or rectangular tubing constructed from mild steel, carbon steel, steel, or aluminum and interlinked together by threaded rods and nuts, cross members 37 l, 37 r marking division of the rearward ground-engaging beam between the central torso support section 36 a and the rear leg support section 36 b, whereby through the rotation of the threaded rod, the distance between sections 35, and 36(a&b) can be altered to effect expansion or contraction (lengthening &shortening) of the apparatus along its axis. This allows the apparatus to cater for different upper body lengths of people to use the apparatus.
As shown in FIGS. 2-4 , the front chest support section 35 has two posts 12 r, 12 l at its extremities running inside channels 11 a, 11 b, 11 c, 11 d welded on the front cross members 11 r, 11 l. The posts 12 r, 121 are connected with a threaded shaft 16 or screw drive extending through threaded bores or nuts in the lower ends of the posts 12 r, 12 l. By rotating the shaft 16 using a handle, the posts 12 r, 12 l move inwards or outwards from each other to cater for different shoulder and chest sizes of a potential user.
At the top of the posts 12 r, 12 l, telescoping arms 17 r, 17 l are pivotally attached at 17 a and 17 b, the arms 17 r, 17 l being made from metal tubes of a predetermined size such that one tube slidably fits inside another and are connected together with a compression spring of predetermined strength, allowing the two parts to resiliently move telescopically. The two-tube spring configuration can also be replaced with hydraulic arms or gas struts, so that it allows for the extension of the arms 17 r, 17 l to simulate the person's arms being extended forward in water and to retract as the elbows bend when the arm is being pulled back and out of the water behind the swimmer. Each arm 17 r, 17 l is connected to a grip or holster 18 a, 18 b where the swimmer's hand fits, and to a pulley 14 r, 14 l through a shaft or a stud 17 a, 17 b. A belt 13 r, 13 l will then connect the respective pulley 14 r, 14 l with a smaller pulley 15 a, 15 c, respectively. The smaller pulley 15 a connects to a shaft 15 b which is connected to the other small pulley 15 c at the other side of this section.
Pulley 14 r is connected through a shaft or a stud 17 b to the other telescopic arm 17 r, on the other side, for the user's other hand. The arms 17 r, 17 l are positioned at 180° from each other (opposite each other), so that as one arm goes down (enters the water) the other arm goes up (exits the water). Belt 131 is tensioned by rollers 19 a, 19 b and belt 13 r is tensioned by rollers 19 c, 19 d, the rollers 19 a-19 d being mounted on brackets welded to the corresponding posts 121, 12 r, respectively. The tensioners are auto adjustable by a spring mechanism.
As shown in FIG. 2 & 4 shaft 15 b and threaded shaft 16 are held in place with brackets 15 d, 15 e, which are welded on the center of the cross members 11 r, 11 l of section 35, two inches apart, and two other brackets 15 f, 15 g which are also welded at the extremities of this cross members 11 r, 11 l of the section 35. A pair of retaining parts 30 a, 30 b will stop the shaft 15 b from sliding along its axis. Nuts and lock nuts 29 r, 29 l are used at each end of the threaded shaft 16 to lock it in place.
Posts 12 l, 12 r are made, again, from box metal (square tubing) of a certain length placed perpendicularly on cross members 11 l, 11 r and running inside channels, which are welded on cross members 11 l, 11 r. Cross members 11 l, 11 r give the front of the base frame its stability, and are made from square tubing too. Center post 24 is made from a certain length of square tubing welded perpendicularly on section 35, and supports upper telescoping post or tube 25, with an internal compression spring joining center post 24 and upper tube 25. The spring is placed inside post 24 at the bottom and mimics the feeling of buoyancy to the chest of the user. At the top of upper tube 25, a T-plate is welded, which has two chest pads or a bolster of foam or high density sponge placed on it, which gives support and comfort to the user's chest. The chest pads 27, 29 are placed on wood planks held to the T-plate with bolts and toothed nuts, which are embedded in the top side of the wood planks.
An L-shape bracket 51 is welded to the front of upper tube 25. A metal plate 22 having two small plates welded to its top front, forming a V-shaped head support 23, is pivotally attached to the bracket 51. Inside the V-shaped head support 23, two small pads, molded on top of wooden plates, are held in place with bolts and toothed nuts (which are embedded on the top side of the wooden plank, similar to padded blocks 27, 29). Plate 22 has two holes, one at the bottom center and the other hole is at the extreme side to it, connected through a metal rod 21 to pulley 20, which, in turn, is connected to another pulley 38 a through a belt 28. Pulley 38 a is connected to shaft 15 b. Plate 22 is connected to bracket 51 with a bolt and nut. Tensioner 19 is used to adjust the tension of belt 28 to prevent slippage between pulleys 38 a, 20. Shaft 15 b feeds through pulleys 15 a, 38 a, 38 b, 15 c. This arrangement replicates the user's head rotation with the arms movement to cater for the breathing techniques. Note; head out of the water at the same time as the arm is out of the water)
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , section 36 a is the central torso support section of the machine and section 36 b is the rear leg support section of the base frame of the apparatus. Section 36 a is cross-shaped or cruciform, with cross members 37 l, 37 r positioned more in section 36 a. Section 36 a has a post 44 made of square tubing welded perpendicularly on the top side of beam 36 a, with upper tubing 46 telescoping onto post 44 and joined to it by an internal bias compression spring. This arrangement mimics the feel of buoyancy to the middle section or torso of the user.
Upper tube 46 has a rectangular plate 46 a welded transversely to its top, which has padding 48 molded on a wooden plank. The wooden plank has two toothed nuts embedded in the plank at the top of each side, where a bolt is used to affix the padding 48 on the plate 46 a to provide comfort to the user's stomach.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the rear leg support section 36 b includes the upper telescoping tube post 45 x, which is mounted on top of post 45 of the leg section. Upper tube 45 x has two slots near its top end where a metal plate 45 a goes through the slots. Plate 45 a is pivoted to post's 45 x top center by a pin or long bolt and nut 45 b, 45 c. Pads 49 r, 49 l are placed at the top of both sides of the pivoted plate 45 a and held in place with bolts 45 d, 45 e and bolts 45 g, 45 f, to provide comfort to the user's feet while the user kicks up and down to replicate the leg action in a freestyle swimming motion.
A spring 47 connected between one side of the pivoted plate 45 a and the corresponding side of upper tube 45 x keeps the pivoted plate 45 a horizontal at all times, and also provides resistance to the legs when kicking up and down. The other side of the pivot plate 45 a is connected to a long rod 45 h, which is connected to a pulley 38 c at the base of post 45, which is connected to another pulley 38 b mounted on bracket 15 d of the front chest support section 35 with a belt. A tensioner 38 e is mounted on a bracket which is welded on top of the corresponding side of cross members 37 l, 37 r. This arrangement is for the purpose of coordinating the legs with the arm and head movements, since they are being rotated by shaft 15 b, which rotates the arms, head, and legs, as a swimmer would do, for the purpose of learning the techniques. The arrangement can be removed when the apparatus is used by a person who has perfected the techniques. Post 45 runs inside channels 36 c, 36 d welded on the top of section 36 b. A nut is welded to the rear side of post 45 and has a threaded shaft 40 going through it, so that when the shaft 40 is rotated using handle 40 a, the post 45 would move forward and backward, allowing section 36 b to cater for the different height of users.
An L-shaped metal bracket 42 a is welded on the rear end of section 36 a immediately in front of cross members 37 l, 37 r, and bracket 42 b is welded to the rear end of section 36 b. These two brackets hold threaded shaft 40 in place with two double nuts 41 a, 41 b at each end of the threaded shaft. A nut is welded to the rear side of post 45 where the threaded shaft 40 goes through it, so that when shaft 40 is turned using cam handle 40 a, shaft 40 acts as the lead screw in a screw drive-type linear slide mechanism and post 45 will move forward and backward, along the axis of shaft 40 to cater for the user height of the body (user leg length).
As shown in FIG. 3 , threaded shaft 34 d connects posts 35, 36 a, and goes through bracket 34 a, welded to post 44. Likewise, bracket 34 b is welded to post 24. Bracket 34 b has a nut welded to it and the shaft 34 d goes through it. Bracket 34 a has a hole in it only. Double nuts are used on the threaded shaft 34 d at each side of bracket 34 a. When the threaded shaft 34 d is rotated using cam handle 34 c, the distance between post 24 and post 44 is varied to increase or to decrease to cater for the different user's height (upper body length), again by a screw drive linear slide mechanism.
In use, a person using the exercise apparatus for swimmers of FIGS. 1-6 lies prone on the apparatus with his/her chest supported on the chest pads 27, 29, the torso supported on the torso pad 44 a, and the legs supported on the leg pads 49 r, 49 l. The person performing the exercise extends his/her arms and grips the hand holsters 18 a, 18 b. Alternately rotating the left arm and the right arm in circles so that when the left arm is above the plane of the body, the right arm is below the plane of the body, and vice versa, simulates the arm movements of the freestyle stroke. Simultaneously, the pulley system connecting the front chest support section 35 with the rear leg support section 36 b alternately pivots pivot plate 45 a to simulate the leg kick characteristic of the freestyle swim stroke. The resiliently biased telescoping front post members 24, 25 and resiliently biased central post members 44, 46 simulate buoyant forces experienced by the chest and torso when performing the freestyle stroke in water.
Upper tube 45 x can be replaced with upper tube 60, which telescopes onto post 45, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C. Upper tube 60 has all the mechanical parts concealed inside it, for a more desirable appearance. Here, the external spring has been replaced with internal spring-biased telescopic arms, hydraulic arms 56, or gas struts secured in place by bracket 57. The hydraulic or telescopic arms 56 are connected to the foot pads of the sections of box metal posts 60 r, 60 l. The individual components 60 r, 60 l housing the hydraulic or telescopic arms 56, shown in FIG. 8A, can be bolted together to provide accessibility to the inner components using bolts 55 and nuts 55 a.
Various resistance mechanisms can be integrated to provide resistance to all moving parts, such as the arms and the legs.
Alternately, the exercise apparatus for swimmers may be configured for practicing the breaststroke. The purpose of this configuration is to enable a person to replicate swimming motion of a breaststroke without the need for water (pool or sea). It could be used for teaching purposes, improvement, or rehabilitation, and also for people with dermatological conditions, where sea or pool water could aggravate their condition.
As seen in FIGS. 7 & 9 , the breaststroke configuration can be accomplished by utilizing a base frame similar to that of the front stroke (free style) and inserting post 70 inside post 24 with a compression spring separating them and inserting post 80 inside post 45 with a compression spring in between and keeping post 46 on post 44 telescopically, as shown in FIGS. 7 & 9 . Note: there are no connections between the two machines, they use a similar base frame only.
The assembly of upper post member 70 includes a section of square tubing that telescopes onto post 24. Welded at a close proximity to its top are brackets 71 r, 71 l that extend laterally and obliquely forward at such an angle that arms 90 r, 90 l can rotate without colliding with one another. Spindle assembly 72 r and 72 l (mounted at the extremities of 71 r and 71 l respectively) are each a cylinder that houses a spindle held rotatably in place by two bearings at the top and bottom of the cylinder, which allows arms 90 r, 90 l connected to the top of the spindles to rotate freely (refer to FIG. 7 ). (It should be understood that each of the cylindrical spindle assemblies 72 r, 72 l, 83 l, 83 r, 85 r, 86 r, 86 l, 90 r and 90 l are each a cylinder that houses a spindle held rotatably in place by two bearings at the top and bottom of the cylinder). Refer to FIG. 16 . Main spindle assembly 72 c is shown in FIG. 11 and main spindle assembly 82 a is shown in FIG. 12 also hydraulic arms used in post 70 and 80 is shown clearly in FIG. 13 .
The bottom ends of spindles 72 r & 72 l are connected to cams, which are connected to linkages 73 r, 73 l, respectively, and which are connected at the other end to a cam, which is connected to the spindle of the assembly cylinder 72 c, where linkage 73 l is connected to it's top end cam (88) and 73 r is connected to its bottom end cam (109) (mounted on the extremity of bracket 71 c extending forward from upper post 70) in such a way as to synchronize the movements of the arms 90 r, 90 l with the rise of the user's chest. Assembly 72 c is mounted on the extremity of bracket 71 c. The cam/spindle assembly also has a tensioner 74, which varies the load to the arms 90 r, 90 l in order to vary the strength required by the user as they rotate the arms. FIG. 11 shows linkages 73 r is connected to cam 109 which is connected to cogs 107 which is meshed to cog 104, cog 107 rotated in the opposite direction to cog 104. Also shows linkage 73 c which is connected to a ball and socket type arrangement connected to the top end cam (88) of spindle 72 c where the other end of the spindle (73 c) is connected to the chest pad plate's bottom.
At the top of assembly 72 c, a cam is connected to a rod 73 c (as explained in the above), which is connected to the bottom plate 77 a of chest pad 77, where the forward and backward movements of that linkage 73 c will cause the chest pad's front end to go up and down, pushing the user's chest up and down. As a result, the appropriate motion is carried out by the user in the breaststroke with regards to replicating the breathing techniques. Pad 77 is held in place through a bolt 70 b and nut 70 c configuration (clevis pin) through a bottom fin welded to the bottom of plate 77 a, which is placed inside the clevis 70 a, which is welded at such an angle to the top end of post 70 so that the connected chest pad 77 pivots freely to replicate the breathing techniques.
The arms assembly 90 r and 90 l could each be a hydraulic or a spring-tensioned mechanism, where the front segment is allowed to move away from the rear segment forcefully, to facilitate the arm movements in a breaststroke motion. Hand holster attachments 79 r, 79 l are where the user inserts his hand and rotates the arms and are connected to a cylinder assembly's 83 r & 83 l top end where the bottom end of the cylinder assembly 83 r & 83 l is connected to the far end of the front segment of the arms 90 r & 90 l (the left side has a cylinder assembly similar to 83 r, which is hidden by hand grip 79 l in FIG. 7 and connected to the left arm 90 l by similar structure but is shown clearly in the top of the page of FIG. 11 ). FIG. 14 shows the various stages of the hands and arms movement in sync with the chest pad up and down movements, where A-1 shows the user arms extended fully forward and the hand holsters turned outwards ready to move towards the user's body in order to prepull the user's body forward, A-2 shows the user's hands and arms moved to the second stage (fully extended to the side of the user's body, A-3 shows the third stage where the user's elbow is behind the user's shoulders with the hand flat and to the side of the user's shoulders, and A-4 shows the forth and final stage where the user's hands are slightly forward in front of the user's shoulders and the elbows are adjacent to the user's shoulders.
FIGS. 9A and 12 show the upper rear post 80 for the breaststroke configuration. Three brackets are rigidly attached to the upper rear post 80, including a center bracket 82 extending axially rearward and two brackets 81 r, 81 l extending laterally and obliquely rearward, mirroring the front post 70, as shown in FIG. 9 . At the end of each of the above mentioned brackets 82, 81 r, 81 l, a cylinder assembly 82 a, 83 r, 83 l, respectively, is mounted vertically through the brackets 82, 81 r, 81 l so that a portion of it the cylinder assembly 82 a, 83 r, 83 l extends upward while the rest of it extends downward (the bottom portion of cylinder 83 r is hidden in FIG. 9 ). The cylinder assemblies 83 r, 83 l, 86 r and 86 l house a spindle held in place with a bearing at each end, secured inside the respective cylinder, allowing the spindle to rotate freely as in FIG. 16 .
The top of spindles 83 r, 83 l are connected to arms 85 r, 85 l, similar to the ones used for the arm movements in FIG. 7 . The arms 85 r, 85 l, which can be hydraulic or mechanical with a spring, telescope in motion in order to allow the leg to contract and expand in motion, similar to the leg movements when carrying out a breaststroke. Linkages 84 r, 84 l are connected at the bottom of each spindle 83 r, 83 l to the top and bottom of spindle 82 a, respectively via cam 141 top and 133 bottom, as shown in FIG. 12 , so that both legs and feet move at the same time in the same direction. The bottom cam of spindle assembly 82 c moves in the opposite direction to the top cam in order to replicate the proper movements of the legs, which is achieved via the use of cogs, as shown in FIG. 12 .
The other end of arms 85 r, 85 l are connected to the bottom of spindles 86 r, 86 l, respectively, while the top of each spindle 86 r, 86 l is connected to a corresponding foot holster 87 r, 87 l. Each foot holster 87 r, 87 l swivels up and down along its axis and horizontally around each corresponding spindle 86 r, 86 l to replicate the appropriate foot action as the user kicks back when stretching the legs while performing the breaststroke. FIG. 15 shows the various stages for the legs positions corresponding to the arms and hands movements; FIG. 15 , B-1 (stage 1) at this position the user's legs would be fully extended rearwards which indicates that the kick has been completed, B-2 (stage 2) at this position the user's legs would be split open and moving towards the user's body, B-3 (stage 3) at this position the user's legs would be bending at the knees and the feet would be moving closer to the user's body and about to leave the water upwards, B-4 (stage 4) at this position the user's legs would be fully bent at the knees and the feet are both out of the water and the tows and tilted upwards ready to perform the kick.
All spindles are threaded at the top and bottom and bolts are used to hold the connecting components to it. An alternative configuration allows for the spindle top and bottom to be slotted at its top or bottom or both depending on whether the connecting component is required to move solidly or freely with respect to the spindle. The connected moving components will have slots or cut outs (as per the alternative configuration) to fit the spindle perfectly and stop the components from becoming dislodged, as shown in FIG. 10 . FIG. 10 shows an alternative connector for attaching components to various spindles in the apparatus. The connector has a flat arm 88 terminating in a flat ring 91 and a flat strut 90 extending diametrically across the ring 91. Each spindle has a rotatable spindle pin 100 having a threaded end 92 and a notch 94 defined therein extending diametrically across the threaded end 92 of the spindle pin 100. The notch 94 has a width slightly greater than the width of the strut 90 so that the ring 91 slides over the threaded end 92 and the strut 90 sits in the notch 94. A nut 89 is fastened to the threaded end 92 of the spindle pin 100 to prevent the connector from slipping off the spindle. The spindle pin 100 is rotated when the component is moved, or the component is moved when the spindle pin 100 is rotated. The flattened connector may be mounted on the top end of the spindle, the bottom end or both. It could be a cam or a linkage or an arm (hydraulic or spring loaded).
Various resistance mechanisms can be integrated to provide resistance to all moving parts, such as, the arms and the legs, throughout the apparatus.
It is to be understood that the exercise apparatus for swimmers is not limited to the specific embodiments described above but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the generic language of the following claims enabled by the embodiments described herein, or otherwise shown in the drawings or described above in terms sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the claimed subject matter.

Claims

1. 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.

2-4. (canceled)

5. The exercise apparatus for swimmers according to claim 1, wherein said front chest support section further comprises:

an L-shaped bracket having a first arm extending forward from the upper section of said center post and a second arm extending upward from the first arm;

a rocker plate pivotally attached to the second arm;

a V-shaped head support plate attached to the rocker plate, the V-shaped plate having head support pads attached thereto;

a driven pulley rotatably mounted on the center post;

a linkage connected between the rocker plate and the driven pulley;

a drive pulley mounted on the elongated shaft extending between the lateral posts; and

a belt mounted on the drive and driven pulleys, whereby the head support plate pivots from side to side synchronously with the user's arm movements to mimic head rotation by the user for breathing techniques.

6. The exercise apparatus for swimmers according to claim 1, wherein:

said front chest support section further comprises a drive pulley mounted on said elongated shaft adjacent said center post;

said rear leg support section further comprises:

a rear center post having a lower section mounted on said rear ground-engaging beam and an upper section mounted on the lower section of the rear center post;

a leg support plate extending through the upper section of the rear center post, the leg support plate having a central section pivotally mounted to the upper section of the center support post and lateral sections extending on opposite side of the center support post, the lateral sections each having a leg support pad mounted thereon;

a driven pulley rotatably mounted on the lower section of the rear center support post below one of the lateral sections of the leg support plate;

a linkage extending between the leg support plate and the driven pulley; and

a belt mounted on the drive pulley on said elongated shaft and the driven pulley on the rear center support post, whereby the leg support plate pivots up and down synchronously with circular rotation of the user's arms.

7. The exercise apparatus for swimmers according to claim 6, wherein said central torso support section comprises a telescoping torso post having a lower section mounted on said rear ground-engaging beam and an upper section resiliently mounted on the lower section of the torso post, said torso pad being mounted transversely across a top end of the upper section of the torso post.

8. The exercise apparatus for swimmers according to claim 7, further comprising:

a first bracket extending laterally from the lower section of the center post mounted on said front ground-engaging beam, the first bracket having a threaded bore defined therein; and

a second bracket extending laterally from the lower section of the torso post, the second bracket having a through bore defined therein, said first threaded rod extending through the unthreaded bore in the first bracket and the threaded bore of the second bracket so that rotation of said first threaded rod adjusts distance between said front and rear ground-engaging beams, the center post mounted on said front ground-engaging beam being temporarily fixed in position when the fasteners on opposite sides of the first bracker are fastened against the first bracket.

9. The exercise apparatus for swimmers according to claim 8, further comprising:

a channel mounted on said rear ground-engaging beam rearward of said rear cross members, the center post of said rear leg support section being slidably mounted in the channel, the center post of said rear leg support section having a threaded bore defined therein;

a third bracket mounted on said rear ground-engaging beam forward of said second cross members;

a fourth bracket mounted on said rear ground-engaging beam rearward of the channel mounted on said rear ground-engaging beam, said second threaded rod extending through the threaded bore defined in the center post of said rear leg support section and having opposing ends rotatably secured to the third and fourth brackets, whereby rotation of said second threaded rod slides the center post of said rear leg support section to adjust separation between said torso pad and said leg pads to accommodate length of the user's legs.

10. The exercise apparatus for swimmers according to claim 1, 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 T pad being mounted on a top end of the upper section of the center post axially/transversely parallel to said front ground-engaging beam;

a center bracket extending forward from the upper section of the center post, the center bracket having a vertically aligned cylindrical spindle assembly mounted on a free end thereof, the spindle assembly having a top end and a bottom end;

a pair of lateral brackets extending obliquely forward from opposite sides of the upper section of the center post, respectively, on opposite sides of the center bracket, each of the lateral brackets having a free end;

a vertically aligned cylindrical spindle assembly mounted on the free ends of the lateral brackets, each of the spindle assemblies having a top end and a bottom end;

right and left telescoping arms, each of the telescoping arms having a base end attached to the top end of the spindle assembly mounted on the free end of a corresponding one of the lateral brackets, respectively, and having a piston end resiliently extendable from the base end;

a hand holster rotatably attached to the piston ends of the right and left telescoping arms, respectively;

a first rod linking the top end of the spindle assembly mounted on the free end of the center bracket with the front end of said chest pad plate; and

second and third rods linking the bottom ends of the spindle assemblies mounted on the free ends of the right hand side lateral bracket with the bottom end of the spindle assembly mounted on the free end of the center bracket, and a third rod linking the bottom end of the spindle assembly mounted on the left hand side lateral bracket with the bottom end of the spindle assembly mounted on the center bracket through a cog to enable it to rotate in the opposite direction; and

said rear leg support section further comprises:

a center post having an upper end;

a center bracket extending rearward from the upper end of the center post of the rear leg supporting section, the center bracket having a free end and a cylindrical spindle assembly mounted vertically at the free end of the center bracket, the spindle assembly having a top end and a bottom end;

left and right lateral brackets extending obliquely rearward from opposite sides of the center post of said rear leg support section on opposite sides of the center bracket of the rear leg support section, respectively, each of the lateral brackets having a free end and a cylindrical spindle assembly mounted vertically at the free end of the lateral bracket, each of the spindle assemblies having a top end and a bottom end;

right and left telescoping arms, each of the telescoping arms having a base end attached to the top end of the spindle assembly mounted on the free end of a corresponding one of the lateral brackets of said rear leg support section, respectively, and having a piston end resiliently extendable from the base end;

a foot holster rotatably attached to the piston ends of the right and left telescoping arms of said rear leg support section, respectively;

a first linkage connecting the bottom end of the spindle assembly mounted on the free end of the right lateral bracket with the top end of the spindle assembly mounted on the free end of the center bracket of said rear leg support section; and

a second linkage connecting the bottom end of the spindle assembly mounted on the free end of the left lateral bracket with the bottom end of the spindle assembly mounted on the free end of the center bracket of said rear leg support section via a cog to enable it to rotate in the opposite direction;

whereby the exercise apparatus is configured for practicing a breaststroke.