This invention relates to track exercisers. In particular it relates to such exercisers in which the resistance to forward movement of the runner increases in a controlled manner as running speed increases. In addition it relates to such exercisers having an associated video exercising scene to feedback detailed information to the runner.
Athletic exercising devices are known which can be used by runners off the track to exercise themselves. For the most part these consist of conveyer belts on which the runner can practice. For example U.S. Pat. No. 1,106,729 disclosed a treadmill made up of parallel slats supported on a large number of rollers to maintain a flat upper surface on which a user runs. The user is tethered to a restraining device that prevents him or her from running off the tread. The device also allows use by a pedestrian for walking exercise. The only information fed back to the user is provided by a speedometer which monitors the velocity of the tread.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,017,128 is a similar device, designed to exercise hikers. It also uses a tread-mill type endless belt, having its upper surface supported on a sheet of metal and made of a flexible fabric. The device is designed to be inclinable before use so the hiker may simulate walking "uphill". A tether to restrain the hiker is spring tensioned and connected to the hiker via a belt passing around the hiker's abdomen.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,548 is an exercise device allowing a runner to tether himself to a door and to run on the surface of a floor against the bias of a spring. This permits limited indoor exercise by a traveller in, say, a hotel room.
None of the foregoing devices particularly facilitate a training program that takes into account the need of track athletes to develop great aerobic capacity, leg strength and endurance. In particular, each of the foregoing devices seeks only to provide an alternative to running or walking outdoors. It does not enable the user to improve training performance over what could be accomplished outdoors. The present invention on the other hand provides training superior to what the user would be able to accomplish in a more natural environment.