HIP PUSH BELT

Abstract

A belt is provided for use in performing hip thrust exercises. The hip thrust belt of the present invention comprises a flexible support pad attached to a flexible belt. Hook-and-loop fasteners are provided on the belt to secure the ends of the belt to dumbbells or other weights, including barbell weight plates and kettlebells. The hip thrust belt allows the weights to hang on the outer sides of the user's hips and thereby increases the effort required to perform hip thrust exercises. Hip thrust exercises are believed to strengthen the gluteal and hamstring muscles.

Description

This application claims the benefit of United States Patent Application Serial No. 16 / 990,920, filed on August 11, 2020, and entitled Hip Push Belt, which is incorporated herein as this reference. FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to fitness equipment, and more particularly to a belt for performing hip thrust and glute bridge exercises that has a simple structure, facilitates easy storage, and provides convenient operation. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The advanced development of society is causing people's lives to become increasingly busy and stressful. In particular, office workers are generally unable to find the time to go outdoors for exercise, meaning that most are only able to use the little free time they have after work to do simple calisthenics exercises to strengthen and stretch their muscles and increase their body's metabolic function. Hip thrusts and glute bridges are one such type of calisthenics exercise. It is widely believed that hip-lifting exercises, such as the hip thrust and glute bridge, are useful for strengthening the gluteal and hamstring muscles, and more generally, the muscles of the legs, hips, and lower back. These exercises are limited, however, by the inability to easily increase their difficulty by adding moderate weights. Due to the hip-lifting nature of these movements, effective devices or machines that allow for hip loading during the exercises have not yet been developed. Therefore, there is a need in the field for an effective means of increasing the difficulty of hip-lifting exercises through the addition of moderate weights. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is used to increase the effort required to perform hip thrust and glute bridge-style exercises. In recent years, hip thrust exercises such as the hip thrust and glute bridge have been widely adopted by fitness enthusiasts to improve physical conditioning. An exerciser performs glute bridge exercises by lying on the floor with legs and arms extended. The user then bends their knees upward until they touch or are within a few inches (1 inch = 2.54 cm) of the user's extended fingertips. This is the starting position. To perform the exercise, the exerciser then raises their hips until their back and legs are raised in a straight line from the shoulders (on the floor) to the knees (raised), and then returns to the resting position. The related hip thrust exercise is similar, except that an exerciser begins the exercise seated on the floor with their shoulder resting on an elevated surface, usually a weight bench, rather than on the floor. It should be noted that the arms are not used to perform these exercises. All effort comes from the movement of lifting the hips.Hip thrusts and glute bridge-style exercises are believed to primarily work the gluteal and hamstring muscles and, more generally, to improve leg, hip, and lower back strength. The difficulty of these exercises can be increased by holding a weight across the hips. The present invention provides a belt, known as a hip thrust belt, that allows a user to easily load their hips with weights in order to increase the effort required to perform hip thrust and glute bridge-style exercises. The hip thrust belt has a simple structure that can accommodate a variety of weights commonly found in home or commercial gyms, facilitates easy storage, and provides convenient operation. The hip thrust belt of the present invention features a flexible support pad over which a flexible belt is placed. A variety of weights, such as dumbbells, barbell weight plates, kettlebells, and bags filled with sand or metal shot, can be suspended from opposite ends of the belt. Elastic bands can also be used instead of weights. Hook-and-loop fasteners are used to secure the weights to the flexible belt. The flexible support pad, to which the flexible belt is attached, is configured to lie or rest across a user's hips, such that the weights suspended from the flexible belt hang along the sides of the user's hips. The flexible support pad may use hook-and-loop fasteners to allow the support pad to fold over the flexible belt.Alternatively, manes can be used instead of the hook and loop fasteners on the flexible support pad to secure the pad when folded over the flexible belt. The flexible support pad can also be equipped with a layer of high-friction, anti-slip material on the side that rests across the user's hips to better secure the pad, preventing it from slipping during exercise. Similarly, the flexible belt can be equipped with layers of high-friction, anti-slip material to better secure the weights. The hip thrust belt disclosed in the present invention is not only structurally simple, but also facilitates its storage and transport. When in use, in conjunction with dumbbells or other weights hung on the outer sides of a user's hips, the hip thrust belt allows the weight of the dumbbells to be used to increase the resistance force on the user as they raise their hips while performing hip thrust or glute bridge exercises, thereby enhancing the effect of the exercise on the user's hip and abdominal muscles. To allow for a further understanding of these objectives and the technological methods of the invention in the present document, a brief description of the figures is provided below, followed by a detailed description of the preferred embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIGURE 1 is a structural view of the front side of a hip push belt of the present invention. FIGURE 2 is a structural view of the reverse side of the hip push belt of the present invention. FIGURE 3 is a three-dimensional structural view of the hip thrust belt of the present invention. FIGURE 4 is a schematic view showing the state when one end of a flexible belt is press-fitted to a flexible support pad according to the present invention. FIGURE 5 is a schematic view showing the state when the other end of the flexible belt is press-fitted to the flexible support pad according to the present invention. FIGURE 6 is a schematic view showing the state when the flexible support pad is clamped around the two ends of the flexible belt according to the present invention. FIGURE 7 is a schematic view showing an operating state of the hip thrust belt in use paired with dumbbells according to the present invention. The FIGURES are a schematic view showing an operating state of the hip thrust belt in use paired with weight plates according to the present invention. FIGURE 9 is a schematic view showing an operating state of the hip thrust belt in use paired with kettlebells according to the present invention. FIGURE 10 is a schematic view showing an operating state of the hip thrust belt in use paired with sandbags according to the present invention. FIGURE 11 is a structural view of the front side of another modality of the hip push belt of the present invention. FIGURE 12 is a schematic view showing an operating state of the hip thrust belt in use paired with elastic bands according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying FIGURES, which show preferred embodiments of the invention. However, the invention can be incorporated in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Instead, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is exhaustive and complete, and fully conveys the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Similar numbering refers to similar elements from beginning to end. The hip thrust belt 10 of the present invention assists an exerciser or user to retain a weight across the user's hips when performing glute bridge or hip thrust style exercises. With reference to FIGURES 1 to 3, the hip thrust belt 10 includes a flexible support pad 11 and a flexible belt 12. The flexible support pad 11 has a first face 112, a second face 114, a midline or first axis 110, a first edge 120, and a second edge 122. The midline or first axis 110 divides the flexible support pad 11 into a first side 16A and a second side 16B. The flexible belt 12 has a first face 116, a second face 118, a first edge 124 and a second edge 126, and a first end 13A and a second end 13B. The hip push-up belt of the present invention utilizes hook-and-loop style fasteners, comprising hook fasteners and loop fasteners, which are pressed together to form a connection between fabric elements. These hook-and-loop fasteners are commonly known by the trade name Velero. The flexible support pad 11 of the hip push belt 10 includes a first hook fastener 134 positioned on the first face 112, on the second side 16B, adjacent to the first edge 120. A first loop fastener 135 is positioned on the first face 112 on the first side 16A, adjacent to the second edge 122. In the example embodiment, the second face 118 of the flexible belt 12 is placed on the first face 112 of the flexible support pad 11 on the first side 16A of the flexible support pad 11, midway between the midline or first axis 110 and the first loop fastener 135. Alternatively, the flexible belt 12 can also be placed on the second side 16B of the flexible support pad 11 between the midline or first axis 110 and the first hook fastener 134. In the example embodiment, the flexible belt 12 is placed on the flexible support pad 11 such that the first end 13A and the second end 13B of the flexible belt 12 extend equidistantly from a midpoint 18 of the flexible support pad, i.e., the flexible belt 12 is centered lengthwise on the flexible support pad 11. The flexible belt 12 includes a first hook fastener 131 of pre-set length provided on the first face 116 of the flexible belt 12 in a section that overlaps the flexible support pad 11. A first loop fastener 132 of pre-set length is provided on the first face 116 of the flexible belt 12 at the first end 13A and the second end 13B of the flexible belt 12. A second hook fastener 133 of pre-set length is provided on the second face 118 of the flexible belt 12 at each of the first and second ends 13A and 13B of the flexible belt 12. Each of the first and second ends 13A and 13B of the flexible belt 12 has a length that is pre-set to extend beyond the corresponding side of the flexible support pad 11 and is sufficient to secure a weight and fold over the flexible support pad 11. Because the hip push belt 10 of the present invention is structured mainly from the flexible support pad 11 and the flexible belt 12, it is not only simple in structure, but also provides the option of using either a folding method or a rolling method to facilitate storage of the hip push belt 10 and its transport. With reference to FIGURES 3-5, when in use, the hip thrust belt 10 of the present invention allows two dumbbells 20 to be placed respectively on the flexible belt 12 at each end 19 of the flexible support pad 11, as shown in FIGURE 3, after which the first loop fastener 132 at one end 13A of the flexible belt 12 is pressure-fastened into the first hook fastener 131, as shown in FIGURE 4, causing one of the dumbbells 20 to be wrapped around and held firmly at one end 19B of the flexible support pad 11. With continued reference to FIGURES 3-5, the first loop fastener 132 at the second end 13B of the flexible belt 12 is pressure-fastened to the second hook fastener 133 at the first end 13A, thereby causing the other dumbbell 20 to be wrapped and securely fastened to the other end 19A of the flexible support pad 11, as shown in FIGURE 5. In actual use, the width of the flexible support pad 11 is at least twice (or more than double) the width of the flexible belt 12, and the flexible belt 12 is placed on one side (either 16A or 16B) of the flexible support pad 11 adjacent to the midline or first axis 110, allowing folding over the other side of the flexible support pad 11 towards the side provided with the flexible belt 12, as shown in FIGURE 6, thereby enclosing the first and second faces, 116 and 118, of the flexible belt 12 and preventing the first and second ends, 13A and 13B, of the flexible belt 12 from being arbitrarily released. With reference to FIGURE 7, the hip thrust belt 10, along with the dumbbells 20 at the two ends, 19A and 19B, of the flexible support pad 11, allows the flexible support pad 11 to be positioned on the user's lower abdominal area. This causes the dumbbells 20 to be positioned accordingly and hang on the outside of the user's hips. The weight of the dumbbells 20 at the two ends, 19A and 19B, of the flexible support pad 11 increases the resistance force on the user as they raise their buttocks to straighten their body, thereby enhancing the exercise effect and effectiveness on the user's stomach and hip muscles. It is understood that when the user is using the hip thrust belt 10 of the present invention in a supine position, the flexible support pad 11 is placed on the user's lower abdominal area, and then the flexible belt 12 is used to successively wrap and securely fasten the two dumbbells 20 to the two sides of the flexible support pad 11. After finishing using the dumbbells 20, the user only needs to successively separate the first and second ends, 13A and 13B, of the flexible belt 12 from the flexible support pad 11 to quickly remove the dumbbells 20. The hip thrust belt 10 of the present invention can also be used with barbell weight plates 30, as shown in FIGURE 8; or with kettlebells 40, as shown in FIGURE 9; or with sandbags equipped with loops 50, as shown in FIGURE 10; or with elastic bands 55, as shown in FIGURE 12.These types of weights are attached to the hip thrust belt 10 by threading or sliding the first and second ends, 13A and 13B, of the flexible belt through the holes in the barbell weight plates or kettlebell handles or sandbag loops equipped in this way. With reference to FIGURE 11, in the hip push belt 10 of the present invention, the width of the flexible support pad 11 is more than twice the width of the flexible belt 12, and the flexible belt 12 can be positioned adjacent to either side of the midline or first axis 110 of the flexible support pad 11. In an alternative embodiment, the flexible support pad 11 is provided with at least one first magnetic member 14A positioned adjacent to the first edge 120, corresponding to at least one second magnetic member 14B positioned adjacent to the second edge 122, wherein the magnetic members 14A and 14B are configured with opposite poles in order to secure the two sides, 16A and 16B, of the flexible support pad 11 when the sides are folded to secure the flexible belt 12. In another embodiment of the hip thrust belt 10 of the present invention, either a portion of the second face 114 of the flexible support pad 11, as shown in FIGURE 2, or the entirety of the second face 114, may be provided with a layer of anti-slip material 151. The anti-slip layer 151 is used to increase the friction between the hip thrust belt 10 to reduce the likelihood of the hip thrust belt 10 shifting arbitrarily during the process of performing hip thrust exercises. With reference to FIGURES 1, 3, and 11, the flexible belt 12 can also be provided with layers of anti-slip material 152, wherein the anti-slip material is placed on the first face 116 of the flexible belt 12 between the loop fasteners 132 at each of the first end 13A and the second end 13B of the flexible belt 12 and the hook fastener 131 at approximately the center or midpoint 18 of the flexible belt 12. The layer of anti-slip material 152 is used to improve the retention of dumbbells 20, or other weights, thereby reducing the likelihood of the dumbbells, or other weights, being arbitrarily displaced during the process of performing hip thrust exercises. The hip thrust belt 10 of the present invention has a simple structure that facilitates storage and transport. When in use, along with weights hung on the outer sides of a user's hips, the hip thrust belt 10 allows the weights to be used to increase resistance as the user raises their buttocks to straighten their body while performing hip thrust exercises, thereby enhancing the exercise effect on the user's gluteal and hamstring muscles. Furthermore, first and second layers of non-slip material can be used to prevent the hip thrust belt and weights from shifting during repeated body straightening exercises, thus correspondingly increasing reliability and safety during use.The hip push belt of the present invention shall generally be produced from textile materials, and its component parts shall be assembled by means of sewing. Those skilled in the art will understand that flexible non-textile materials may be used instead of fabrics for all or some of the component parts of the hip push belt, and that adhesives, rivets, or other joining means may be used instead of sewing. It is proposed that the hip thrust belt 10 of the present invention be used while performing hip thrust exercises such as glute bridges and hip thrusts. To perform a glute bridge exercise, an exerciser or user first lies on a floor with legs and arms extended. The exerciser then places the hip thrust belt 10 of the present invention across their hips. The exerciser then bends their knees upward until they touch or are within a few inches (1 inch = 2.54 cm) of the user's extended fingertips. This is the starting position. To perform the exercise, the exerciser then raises their hips until their back and upper legs are raised in a straight line from the shoulders (on the floor) to the knees (raised) and then returns to the resting position.The related hip thrust exercise is similar, except that an exerciser begins the exercise seated on the floor and then leans forward onto an elevated surface, usually a weight bench. After placing the hip thrust belt 10 of the present invention across their hips, the exerciser raises their hips until their back and upper legs are in line. It should be noted that the arms are not used to perform these exercises. All effort comes from the movement of raising the hips. It is believed that hip thrust and glute bridge-style exercises primarily work the gluteal and hamstring muscles and, more generally, improve leg, hip, and lower back strength. Industrial Applicability This invention is a hip thrust belt that can be industrially applied to performing hip strengthening exercises useful for general strength and conditioning and for rehabilitation purposes. The hip thrust belt of the present invention comprises a flexible support pad attached to a flexible belt. Hook-and-loop fasteners are provided on the belt to secure the ends of the belt to dumbbells or other weights, including barbell weight plates and kettlebells. The hip thrust belt allows the weights to hang on the outer sides of the user's hips and thereby increases the effort required to perform hip thrust exercises. The embodiments of the present invention described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention, and a wide variety of modifications to these may be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A hip thrust belt, characterized in that it comprises: a flexible support pad having a first face and a second face; a flexible belt having a first face, a second face, a first end, and a second end; wherein the second face of the flexible support belt is positioned on the first face of the flexible support pad, and the first and second ends of the flexible belt extend from the flexible support pad and are of sufficient length to secure a weight and fold over the flexible support pad; a first hook fastener positioned on the first face of the flexible belt positioned on the flexible support pad; first loop fasteners positioned on the first face of the flexible belt at each of the first and second ends;second hook fasteners placed on the second side of the flexible belt at each of the first and second ends; and wherein, when the first end of the flexible belt is folded, the first loop fastener at the first end engages the first hook fastener and wherein, when the second end of the flexible belt is folded, the first loop fastener at the second end engages the second hook fastener at the first end.

2. The hip push belt according to claim 1, characterized in that the flexible belt is placed on the first face of the flexible support pad above or below a midline of the flexible support pad.

3. The hip push belt according to claim 1, characterized in that the flexible support pad includes a first hook fastener positioned on the first face above the midline and a corresponding first loop fastener positioned on the first face below the midline, wherein the flexible support pad can be folded and secured in the folded condition by the first hook fasteners engaging with the first loop fasteners.

4. The hip push belt according to claim 1, characterized in that the flexible support pad includes at least one magnetic element positioned on the first face above the midline and at least one corresponding magnetic element having an opposite pole positioned on the first face below the midline, characterized in that the flexible support pad can be folded and secured in the folded condition by the magnetic elements.

5. The hip push belt according to claim 1, characterized in that the flexible support pad is provided with a layer of anti-slip material iviA / a / zu¿o / uu i / oi 10 on the second side.

6. The hip push belt according to claim 1, characterized in that the flexible support pad is provided with a layer of non-slip material on the second side on one side of the midline on which the flexible belt is placed.

7. The hip push belt according to claim 1, characterized in that a layer of non-slip material is placed on each of the first and second ends of the flexible belt between the first loop fastener and the first hook fastener.

8. A method for loading and performing a hip thrust exercise with a hip thrust belt, characterized in that it comprises: providing a hip thrust belt having: a flexible support pad having a first face and a second face; a flexible belt having a first face, a second face, a first end, and a second end; wherein the second face of the flexible support belt is positioned on the first face of the flexible support pad; a first hook fastener positioned on the first face around a midpoint of the flexible belt; first loop fasteners positioned on the first face of the flexible belt at each of the first and second ends; and second hook fasteners positioned on the second face of the flexible belt at each of the first and second ends;Fold the first end of the flexible belt such that the first loop fastener at the first end engages with the first hook fastener to form a loop at the first end of the belt; fold the second end of the flexible belt such that the first loop fastener at the second end engages with the second hook fastener at the first end to form a loop at the second end of the belt; secure a weight to the loop at the first folded end and to the loop at the second folded end of the flexible belt; and perform a hip thrust exercise with the hip thrust belt positioned across the user's hips.

9. The method for loading and performing a hip thrust exercise with a hip thrust belt according to claim 8, characterized in that the step of performing a hip thrust exercise comprises: a user lying on their back; a user raising their knees to an elevated position while keeping their feet on the ground; and a user raising their hips upward until the back and upper legs are aligned.

10. The method for loading and performing a hip thrust exercise with a hip thrust belt according to claim 8, characterized in that the step of performing a hip thrust exercise comprises: a user sitting on the floor while resting their shoulders on an elevated surface or weight bench; and a user lifting their hips upward until their back and upper legs are aligned.

11. The method for loading and performing a hip thrust exercise with a hip thrust belt according to claim 8, characterized in that the step of securing a weight comprises placing a dumbbell in the loop at the first end and another dumbbell in the loop at the second end of the flexible belt.

12. The method for loading and performing a hip thrust exercise with a hip thrust belt according to claim 8, characterized in that the step of securing a weight comprises threading the first end of the flexible belt through a hole in a weight plate and threading the second end of the flexible belt through a hole in another weight plate before folding the first and second ends of the belt.

13. The method for loading and performing a hip thrust exercise with a hip thrust belt according to claim 8, characterized in that the step of securing a weight comprises threading the first end of the flexible belt through a kettlebell handle and threading the second end of the flexible belt through a kettlebell handle before folding the first and second ends of the belt.

14. The method for loading and performing a hip thrust exercise with a hip thrust belt according to claim 8, characterized in that the step of securing a weight comprises threading the first end of the flexible belt through a handle of a loop of a sandbag equipped with a loop and threading the second end of the flexible belt through a loop of a sandbag having a loop before folding the first and second ends of the belt.

15. The method for loading and performing a hip thrust exercise with a hip thrust belt according to claim 8, characterized in that the step of securing a weight comprises threading the first end of the flexible belt through a loop of an elastic band and threading the second end of the flexible belt through a loop of an elastic band before folding the first and second ends of the belt.

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