Magnetic Plank Sled Stance Trainer
Solution Overview
Problem
Athletes, particularly football players, often revert to a narrow stance when pushing a sled during training, which compromises their balance and stability, making it easier for opponents to bypass them, as existing training devices do not effectively enforce a wide stance.
Innovation Solution
A training device comprising a flexible plank with magnets that temporarily secure to a sled, providing a tactile and visual indication of an improper stance by disconnecting when a predetermined tension force is exceeded, ensuring athletes maintain a wide stance during drills.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a narrow stance is used when pushing the sled, then it is easier to push the heavy, stable object, but the athlete lacks balance and stability for effective blocking
Solution Approach 1:
A plank is introduced as an intermediary element between the athlete and the sled. The plank is attached to the sled and requires the athlete to step on it with both feet spread wide apart, thereby forcing the desired wide stance while pushing the sled. The plank serves as a mediator that translates the requirement for a wide stance into a physical constraint.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a wide stance is enforced during training, then the athlete's balance and stability are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The training device is segmented into simple, discrete components: a plank and an attachment mechanism. The plank itself is a simple rectangular piece of wood or composite material. The attachment mechanism can be as simple as straps, clips, or magnetic elements that secure the plank to the sled. This segmentation keeps the device complexity low while achieving the training objective.
3Reliability
If the plank remains permanently attached to the sled, then the training consistency is improved, but the safety decreases due to inability to detach on improper stance
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment mechanism is designed to be dynamic rather than static. It maintains the plank attached to the sled during normal operation to ensure training consistency, but automatically detaches when a specific condition is met (improper stance). This dynamic behavior allows the system to adapt to athlete performance while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment mechanism incorporates feedback from the athlete's stance width. When the athlete adopts the correct wide stance, the mechanism remains engaged. When the athlete uses an improper narrow stance, the mechanism detects this through tension forces or positional changes and automatically detaches, providing immediate feedback on stance correctness while preventing injury.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively trains athletes to maintain a wide stance, enhancing balance and stability, reducing the risk of injury by allowing the sled to detach if an improper stance is used, thus improving blocking techniques.
Implementation Method 1
A magnetically-responsive material is secured to the sled. The magnetically-responsive material is configured to temporarily secure to the plank
Data Source
AI summary
A training device that is easily and temporarily attachable to any existing sled training device. The training device includes a flexible, elongated plank that resides between an athlete's legs and helps train the athlete to maintain a proper stance width while blocking or pushing a sled. An embodiment includes a magnet secured to the plank at a first end of the plank. The magnet engages the sled and is detached from the sled when the athlete pushes the sled with an improperly narrow stance width. As a result, the athlete experiences a tactile and visual aid to distinguish between proper and improper stance width while pushing a sled.