Weight lifting shoes

Abstract

A weight lifting system wherein shoes of substantially normal fit and construction have additional parts that are designed to attach to and detach from corresponding hardware on weights and weight holding devices, and the additional parts on the shoes will not interfere with walking or other exercises or with the normal function of the shoe. Structural support for the added parts is embedded in the sole of the shoe where it will be unnoticeable by the user. The hardware works quickly and easily and a plurality of different weights is preferred with the net result being that the user can quickly and easily pick up and put down weights with their feet, change the amount of weight, and change weights from foot to foot and, hence, can easily move from one exercise to another, and there is no need to remove the shoes when performing other exercises.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application for Patent No. 61 / 191,171 filed on Sep. 4, 2008 for “Weight lifting shoes and their weights” from Thomas Jay Zeek.[0002]The sandals and weights shown in this application are not claimed per se in this application and will be claimed in a later application.FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0003]Not Applicable.SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM[0004]Not Applicable.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0005]This invention pertains to weight lifting, specifically to a device that improves the quality and number of exercises that a person can do with their legs. It is a pair of shoes that enable the user to easily pick up and put down weights with their feet and to change weights quickly and they do not interfere with the user's ability to walk or to do other exercises.[0006]While exercises for the upper body have always been easy to do and plentiful, exercises for the legs have been fewe...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018]The current invention is a shoe that is normal in every way except for the addition of a small amount of hardware added for the purpose of attaching to weights, and a small amount of structural support for that hardw

Problems solved by technology

While exercises for the upper body have always been easy to do and plentiful, exercises for the legs have been fewer and much more difficult to coordinate.

This problem is normally addressed by the use of large expensive weight lifting machines.

Machines called leg curl and leg extension machines take up a lot of room in the user's house and are only good for a couple of exercises.

Other weight lifting machines such as donkey kick machines are more expensive and for most people require a gym membership.

Weighted shoes have been invented which don't hurt the ankles like ankle weights do but they make changing and removing weights difficult, and they hamper walking and other exercises because they remain heavy.

In both of those inventions changing weights is time consuming and difficult.

All of these inventions are hampered by the limited amount of weight they can employ.

They all accommodate heavy weight and in one case the ease of changing weights rivals my own invention, but all have the same drawbacks, namely that they interfere with walking and doing other exercises.

The thickness of the sole plates makes walking awkward and makes other exercises awkward and dangerous as the user could easily “fall off their heels.” They would have to be removed when the user is switching between upper body and lower body exercises.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,950 uses a thin sole plate but changing weights requires the user to fumble with individual weight plates instead of trading out the entire weight or weight holding device.

The sole plate is very rigid and flat and not at all conducive to walking.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,927 to Catanzano describes a similar device in which the sole plate is made up of a plurality of weights which can be thin but it is rigid and still awkward and is limited in the amount of weight it can incorporate.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,214,052 to Good refers to an exercising boot “preferably made by casting suitable metal in a shaping form or mold.” It is intended to be worn in place of shoes and not over shoes and therefore will be difficult to fit properly.

Its rigid design again makes walking and other exercises difficult and dangerous.

The first drawback of Vaile's invention is that the structural support for the parts that attach to weights comes in the form of a steel toe section in the front of the shoe.

This steel toe completely eliminates all flexibility in the shoe from the ball of the foot forward, which interferes with the ability of the user to bend his or her toes back as would be necessary to for instance run on a treadmill or perform any other exercise that involves standing on the toes of either foot.

A worse drawback of Vaile's steel toe design is that it prevents the user from pushing their toes down, which may be necessary to keep from falling over forward when the user is lifting heavy weights with their upper body, or doing squats with a barbell on their shoulders.

Vaile's design also has the drawback of having the weight over the toes of the user's foot.

Being forced to exercise too many muscles at the same time reduces the effectiveness on the target muscles because the user will get tired before the target muscles have been fully worked.

Images