Exercise systems, methods, and apparatuses configured for evaluating muscular activity of users during physical exercise and/or providing feedback to users

Abstract

The present disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus that facilitate exercise. The system may include one or more convenient, fun, easy to use and low impact exercise apparatuses. An exercise apparatus may comprise one or more physical user interface components configured to engage one or more body parts of the user. The user may perform exercises by exerting forces on individual ones of the one or more user interface components. In some implementations, gameplay may be incorporated into one or more exercises through a game interface presented to the users. Users may be coached during gameplay to perform one or more exercises such that exercise and gameplay may be seamlessly integrated.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for evaluating muscular activity of a user during exercise and providing feedback to the user, the system comprising:
 an exercise apparatus configured to engage a user in a substantially seated position, the exercise apparatus comprising one or more user interface components configured to engage one or more body parts of the user while in the substantially seated position, wherein the user performs exercises by exerting forces on individual ones of the one or more user interface components;   one or more sensors configured to generate output signals conveying information related to one or more parameters of muscular activity of the user during the exercises, wherein individual ones of the one or more sensors are coupled to corresponding individual ones of the one or more user interface components; and   wherein the one or more sensors are configured to be communicatively coupled with one or more physical processors, such that the one or more physical processors are configured by computer-readable instructions to:
 obtain output signals conveying information related to one or more parameters of muscular activity; 
 determine values for the one or more parameters of muscular activity based on the output signals, the parameters corresponding to one or more of a muscle and/or muscle group activated by the user during performance of the given exercise, an amount of force exerted by the muscle and/or muscle group during the given exercise, an amount of repetitions of activation of the muscle and/or muscle group, an elapsed time of performance of the given exercise, or an amount of calories burned; and 
 effectuate presentation of exercise instruction via one or more feedback components configured to provide feedback to the user, the instruction relating to coaching the user on exerting forces on the one or more user interface components. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more user interface components include components configured and arranged to engage one or more of a hand, a wrist, an elbow, an arm, a torso, a head, a shoulder, a back, a hip, a thigh, a knee, a calf, an ankle, or a foot of the user. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more user interface components include one or more of an arm portion, a hand portion, and a thigh portion. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise sensors configured to measure force. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors are configured to wirelessly couple to the one or more physical processors. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein one or more feedback components provide one or more of visual feedback, auditory feedback, tactile feedback, or olfactory feedback. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein a feedback component includes a display screen. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more feedback components are disposed at the exercise apparatus and/or a mobile computing device. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more physical processors are configured by computer-readable instructions to provide the determined values as input to a gaming system and wherein the exercise instruction is provided as part of gameplay in a game executed by the gaming system. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more physical processors comprise at least part of the gaming system. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , additionally comprising the one or more physical processors. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more physical processor comprise part of a mobile computing device. 
     
     
         13 . A system for evaluating muscular activity exerted by a user during exercise and providing feedback to the user, the system comprising:
 an exercise apparatus including one or more repositionable sensor configurations, wherein a user performs exercises using the apparatus by exerting forces on individual ones of the repositionable sensor configurations;   one or more sensors included with the one or more repositionable sensor configurations, the one or more sensors configured to generate output signals conveying information related to one or more parameters of muscular activity of the user during the exercises;   one or more physical processors communicatively coupled to the one or more sensors and/or feedback component, the one or more physical processors configured by computer-readable instructions to:
 obtain output signals conveying information related to one or more parameters of muscular activity; 
 determine values for the one or more parameters of muscular activity based on the output signals, the parameters corresponding to one or more of a muscle and/or muscle group activated by the user during performance of the given exercise, an amount of force exerted by the muscle and/or muscle group during the given exercise, an amount of repetitions of activation of the muscle and/or muscle group, an elapsed time of performance of the given exercise, or an amount of calories burned; and 
 effectuate presentation of exercise instruction via one or more feedback components configured to provide feedback to the user, the instruction relating to coaching the user on exerting forces on the one or more user interface components. 
   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the exercise apparatus comprises a thin flexible material. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more repositionable sensor configurations are movable relative to the exercise apparatus. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more repositionable sensor configurations are removably engageable to the exercise apparatus. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise sensors configured to measure force. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more sensors are configured to wirelessly couple to the one or more physical processors. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more feedback components provide one or more of visual feedback, auditory feedback, tactile feedback, or olfactory feedback. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein a feedback component includes a display screen. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more feedback components are disposed at the exercise apparatus. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more physical processors are configured by computer-readable instructions to provide the determined values as input to a gaming system and wherein the exercise instruction is provided as part of gameplay in a game executed by the gaming system. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the one or more physical processors comprise at least part of the gaming system. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 13 , additionally comprising the one or more physical processors. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more physical processor comprise part of a mobile computing platform. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the exercise apparatus is configured to cover one or more of a chair, a stool, a car seat, a bench, a bed, or a wall. 
     
     
         27 . A system for coaching a user performing one or more exercises, wherein the user performs exercises by exerting forces on individual ones of one or more user interface components coupled to an exercise apparatus, the system comprising:
 one or more physical processors configured by computer-readable instructions to:
 effectuate presentation of exercise instruction via one or more feedback components, the instruction relating to coaching a user on exerting forces on an exercise apparatus using one or more muscles and/or muscle groups; 
 obtain output signals generated from one or more sensors coupled to an exercise apparatus, the output signals conveying information related to one or more parameters of muscular activity of the user during the exercises; 
 determine values for the one or more parameters of muscular activity based on the output signals, the parameters corresponding to one or more of a muscle and/or muscle group activated by the user during performance of the given exercise, an amount of force exerted by the muscle and/or muscle group during the given exercise, an amount of repetitions of activation of the muscle and/or muscle group, an elapsed time of performance of the given exercise, or an amount of calories burned; and 
 modify the presented exercise instruction based on the determined values, the modification corresponding to coaching the user to continue exerting forces using a given muscle and/or muscle group or to exert forces using a different muscle and/or muscle group. 
   
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the one or more physical processors are configured by computer-readable instructions to maintain an exercise history associated with the user based on the determined parameter values, the exercise history reflecting changes in the parameter values for the one or more parameters over time. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the one or more physical processors are configured by computer-readable instructions to provide the determined values as input to a gaming system and wherein the exercise instruction is provided as part of gameplay in a game executed by the gaming system. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the one or more physical processors are configured by computer-readable instructions to:
 execute an instance of a game, and implement the instance of the game to facilitate user participation in the game that takes place in a virtual space, wherein user participation in the game includes controlling game entities within the virtual space; and   provide the determined values as control inputs for controlling the game entities in the virtual space.   
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the one or more physical processors are configured by computer-readable instructions such that controlling the game entities includes controlling the movement of the game entities within the virtual space, wherein the exercise instruction is provided as part of gameplay during user participation in the game, and wherein exercise instruction corresponds to a target movement control of the game entities within the virtual space. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the one or more physical processors are configured by computer-readable instructions such that determined values for a parameter corresponding to an amount of force exerted by the muscle and/or muscle group during the given exercise are provided as control inputs for controlling a movement of the game entities. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the one or more physical processors are disposed at the exercise apparatus. 
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the one or more processors are disposed at a mobile computing platform. 
     
     
         35 . A method of coaching a user performing one or more exercises, wherein the user performs exercises by exerting forces on individual ones of one or more user interface components coupled to an exercise apparatus, the method being implemented in a computer system including one or more physical processors and storage media storing machine-readable instructions, the method comprising:
 effectuating presentation of exercise instruction via one or more feedback components, the instruction relating to coaching a user on exerting forces on an exercise apparatus using one or more muscles and/or muscle groups;   obtaining output signals generated from one or more sensors coupled to the exercise apparatus, the output signals conveying information related to one or more parameters of muscular activity of the user during the exercises;   determining values for the one or more parameters of muscular activity based on the output signals, the parameters corresponding to one or more of a muscle and/or muscle group activated by the user during performance of the given exercise, an amount of force exerted by the muscle and/or muscle group during the given exercise, an amount of repetitions of activation of the muscle and/or muscle group, an elapsed time of performance of the given exercise, or an amount of calories burned; and   modifying the presented exercise instruction based on the determined values, the modification corresponding to coaching the user to continue exerting forces using a given muscle and/or muscle group or to exert forces using a different muscle and/or muscle group.   
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , additionally comprising maintaining an exercise history associated with the user based on the determined parameter values, the exercise history reflecting changes in the parameter values for the one or more parameters over time. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 35 , additionally comprising:
 providing the determined values as input to a gaming system and wherein the exercise instruction is provided as part of gameplay in a game executed by the gaming system.   
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 35 , additionally comprising:
 executing an instance of a game, and implementing the instance of the game to facilitate user participation in the game that takes place in a virtual space, wherein user participation in the game includes controlling game entities within the virtual space; and   providing the determined values as control inputs for controlling the game entities in the virtual space.   
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein controlling the game entities includes controlling the movement of the game entities within the virtual space, wherein the exercise instruction is provided as part of gameplay during user participation in the game, and wherein exercise instruction corresponds to a target movement control of the game entities within the virtual space. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein the determined values for a parameter corresponding to an amount of force exerted by the muscle and/or muscle group during the given exercise are provided as control inputs for controlling a movement of the game entities. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the one or more physical processors are disposed at the exercise apparatus. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the one or more processors are disposed at a mobile computing platform.