Physical exercise generally improves health and physical conditioning. The benefits of regular physical activity can be obtained through several types of exercise. Each type of exercise includes at least one of the four muscular phases. These muscular phases are isokinetic, isometric, concentric, and eccentric. The isokinetic muscular phase is achieved through quick repetitive motion, while the isometric muscular phase is achieved through the tightening and holding of these tightened muscles. The concentric muscular phase is achieved through the slow contraction of muscles, while the eccentric muscular phase is achieved through the slow relaxation of the muscles under a load.
Exercise that use the isometric muscular phase (hereinafter referred to as “isometric exercise”) are effective for developing strength in a specific muscle or group of muscles. Isometric exercises may be used for rehabilitation because of the ability to isolate the exact area of muscle weakness. Additionally, this type of exercise can provide a fairly quick and convenient method for overloading and strengthening muscles with slight chance of injury and without the need for special equipment.
The efficient development of the abdominal muscles of the human body is particularly difficult. Because the abdominal muscles are not attached to any joint, traditional joint movement exercises are ineffective. Exercises such as sit-ups or weight-loaded variations on sit-ups may indirectly involve the abdominal muscles, but are inefficient because much exercise energy is dissipated in the joints and muscles attached to the joints, such as hip flexors. The use of isometric exercises on the abdominal region has the result of isolating the abdominal muscles, thereby allowing the proper muscles to be overloaded and strengthened.
However, for any isometric exercise to yield the proper results, it must be performed properly. The exercise must focus on the proper muscle and the proper muscle must be contracted, held contracted and relaxed for the proper time intervals. If the exercise is performed on the wrong muscle group, the targeted group will receive no overloading, and thus will not strengthen. If the exercise is performed on the correct muscle group, but for incorrect time intervals, the targeted muscle group will not undergo the proper overloading required to strengthen.
The majority of people who exercise are unaware of the proper methods of isometric exercise. During the exertion of exercising, even those who are aware of the proper method and timing often fail to follow it. Thus, there is a need for instruction with regard to the performance of isometric exercises, particularly there is a need for instruction as to how long to contract the muscles, hold the muscles in a contracted state, and relax the muscles.
Additionally, during any exercise routine, the user often has a need for motivation and encouragement. As with any exercise, the exertions of each movement gradually become more and more difficult, typically causing the user to need motivation or encouragement to finish. It is generally accepted that the majority of muscle overloading and growth happens in the last few repetitions of an exercise, and these are typically the repetitions that, without motivation or encouragement, the user will forego. Since the movement and actions are the same for each exercise repetition, the user may also become bored, and may therefore need motivation or encouragement to finish the proper number of repetitions while performing them correctly.
This need for motivation or encouragement is often solved by users joining a fitness club or gymnasium. Fitness clubs and gymnasiums often offer what are known as “personal trainers,” who offer exercise instruction as well as motivation and encouragement. However, there are several drawbacks to personal trainers, as well as fitness clubs and gymnasiums. First, joining a fitness club or gymnasium generally costs a significant amount of money. Obtaining the instruction and motivation of a personal trainer can often cost the user even more. Second, the time required to go to a fitness club or gymnasium and exercise often exceeds the time available to people to exercise. Third, having to travel to a different area in order to exercise can be quite inconvenient, depending on the location of the fitness club or gymnasium.
Some of these drawbacks are solved by using home exercise equipment. Such home equipment may be relatively inexpensive, and the user can exercise when he or she has time and when it is convenient. However, the majority of home exercise products do not offer the user the instruction or motivation that can be found at a fitness club or gymnasium. Such home exercise equipment may include instructional videos or digital video discs, but such aids are inconvenient in that they are separate from the exercise device. This separation often leads to the user foregoing use of the instructional video or digital video disc.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a home abdominal isometric exercise device that has a component which provides active instruction and motivation to the user. There is also a need for such an exercise instruction component that visually and/or audibly guides the user through different multiple muscular phases of an exercise.