The present invention is related to muscle exercising devices and more particularly to such devices that are used to isotonically exercise the wrist and arms.
There is a considerable inadequency in the field of isotonic exercise devices for developing wrist and arm strength and endurance. Conventional wrist "curl" exercises utilizing weights have only limited effectiveness primarily due to inflexibility of the exercise device and lack of proper anatomic design. Existing equipment used for developing muscles in the wrist and arms typically function to develop muscles in a different manner than when the muscles are used in the execution of a movement in a sport or activity. In short, existing devices do not have the capability to train and develop muscles in the region of the wrist and forearms for optimum benefit in selected sports and activities.
Sports activities involving the use of a hand held club, racquet, bat or similar device demand strong wrist and forearm muscles. Examples of such sports are golf, baseball, hockey, racquet sports, Jaialai, polo, horseshoes, cricket, etc. Properly exercised and developed wrist and forearm muscles add to swing power and control. Additional benefits from proper exercise are also realized in throwing activities associated with baseball, bowling, volleyball, basketball, javelin, shot put, etc. Skill in other activities such as canoeing, pistol shooting, fly and spin fishing, wood chopping, archery, fencing, etc. may also be greatly improved by proper wrist and forearm exercise.
Most present wrist and forearm exercise involves either lifting weights via a rotatable hand grip device or operating a hand grip against selected frictional resistance. The weighted apparatus are usually wall or frame mounted and include a dowel shaped handle to be rotated about a fixed axis in order to lift the weight. Devices that employ frictional resistance to turning forces have the same basic handle design as the weighted varieties.
The basic problem with the above apparatus is inflexibility of the turning handle(s). The resistance is offered along the axis of the hand grip and the turning forces applied must be substantially perpendicular to the turning axis. Such a relationship does not permit proper exercise of the primary muscles involved in abduction and adduction of the wrist joint. It also makes exercise of the proper pronator and supinator muscle groups difficult, since the wrist must be adducted beyond the natural, optimum wrist-forearm angle in order to accomplish the exercise. The resulting motion is therefore not a product of natural muscle function.
The present device makes use of a pair of angularly disposed handles joined to a hollow housing. One handle is fixed along its axis to the housing while the other rotates about an angularly disposed axis. Further, the second handle is itself angularly disposed from its turning axis. The angle of the handle to its axis is selected to be the optimum angle at which the muscles involved in all wrist movement may best be exercised.
A primary object of the present invention is thus to provide an exercising device that may be used in various postures to effectively exercise specific groups of muscles of the arm and wrist in order to increase strength, control, and endurance of natural wrist motions.
Another object is to provide such an exerciser that is compact and can be easily stored and transported, and that can be used effectively without requiring special facilities.
Another object is to provide such an exercising device that is very simple in construction and therefore relatively maintenance free.
A still further object is to provide such an exercising device that is adjustable to offer varied resistance for selected wrist and forearm motions, so adjustments can be easily and quickly made to accommodate the various muscle groups and to change the resistance to fit any desired exercise program.
These and yet further objects and advantages may become apparent from the following description, which, taken with the accompanying drawings, describe a preferred form of the present invention.