Exercise system and method

Abstract

An exercise system includes a frame, an upper body carriage, a lower body carriage, a positioning carriage, a resistance assembly attached to the frame, and a connecting mechanism. The frame includes a right guide rail, a left guide rail, and a central guide rail disposed between the right guide rail and the left guide rail. The upper body carriage includes an upper right and an upper left carriage slidingly attached to the right and left guide rail, respectively. The lower body carriage includes a lower right and lower left carriage slidingly attached to the right and left guide rail, respectively. The connecting mechanism mechanically couples one of the upper body carriage, the lower body carriage, or the carriage to the resistance assembly such that the resistance assembly applies a predetermined level of resistive force to the upper body carriage, the lower body carriage, and/or the tension carriage.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An exercise system, comprising:
 a frame including a right guide rail, a left guide rail, and a central guide rail configured to be disposed between the right guide rail and the left guide rail;   an upper body carriage including an upper right carriage configured to be slidingly attached to the right guide rail and an upper left carriage configured to be slidingly attached to the left guide rail;   a lower body carriage including a lower right carriage configured to be slidingly attached to the right guide rail and a lower left carriage configured to be slidingly attached to the left guide rail;   a carriage configured to be slidingly attached to the central guide rail;   a resistance assembly attached to the frame; and   a connecting mechanism configured to mechanically couple at least one of the upper body carriage, the lower body carriage, and the carriage to the resistance assembly such that the resistance assembly applies a predetermined level of resistive force to at least one of the upper body carriage, the lower body carriage, and the positioning carriage.   
     
     
         2 . The exercise system of  claim 1 , wherein the upper body carriage and the carriage are configured to lock together such that the upper body carriage and the carriage simultaneously translate between a forward direction and a rearward direction. 
     
     
         3 . The exercise system of  claim 1 , wherein the lower body carriage and the carriage are configured to lock together such that the lower body carriage and the carriage simultaneously translate between a forward direction and a rearward direction. 
     
     
         4 . The exercise system of  claim 1 , wherein the upper body carriage includes an attachment plate configured to attach the upper right carriage to the upper left carriage. 
     
     
         5 . The exercise system of  claim 1 , wherein the lower body carriage includes an attachment plate configured to attach the lower right carriage to the lower left carriage. 
     
     
         6 . The exercise system of  claim 1 , wherein the upper body carriage includes a pair of vertical handles and a pair of horizontal handles. 
     
     
         7 . The exercise system of  claim 1 , wherein
 the upper body carriage includes a lower right extremity support secured to the upper right carriage and a lower left extremity support secured to the upper left carriage, and   the lower body carriage includes a right extremity support secured to the lower right carriage and a left extremity support secured to the lower left carriage.   
     
     
         8 . The exercise system of  claim 1 , wherein the frame includes a vertical member and the resistance assembly is attached to the vertical member. 
     
     
         9 . The exercise system of  claim 1  further comprising a top support disposed on the upper body carriage, wherein the upper right carriage and the upper left carriage are attached to the top support. 
     
     
         10 . The exercise system of  claim 1 , wherein the resistance assembly includes a weight stack. 
     
     
         11 . The exercise system of  claim 1 , wherein the upper body carriage includes a lower right extremity support pivotably secured to the upper right carriage and a lower left extremity support pivotably secured to the upper left carriage. 
     
     
         12 . An exercise system, comprising:
 a frame including a guide rail having a first end and a second end;   an upper body carriage and a lower body carriage, each one of the upper body carriage and the lower body carriage configured to be slidingly engaged with the guide rail to translate in a reciprocating motion relative to the first end and the second end of the guide rail;   an upper body support secured to the upper body carriage;   a lower body support secured to the lower body carriage; and   a resistance assembly attached to the frame and mechanically coupled to at least one of the upper body carriage and the lower body carriage such that the resistance assembly applies a predetermined level of resistive force to at least one of the upper body carriage and the lower body carriage.   
     
     
         13 . The exercise system of  claim 12  further comprising a connecting mechanism configured to mechanically couple at least one of the upper body carriage and the lower body carriage to the resistance assembly. 
     
     
         14 . The exercise system of  claim 12  further comprising a carriage configured to be disposed on the upper body carriage or on the lower body carriage and a connecting mechanism configured to mechanically couple the carriage to the resistance assembly. 
     
     
         15 . The exercise system of  claim 12 , wherein the upper body carriage includes a pair of vertical handles adapted to pivot about a horizontal pivot axis for angular orientation adjustment. 
     
     
         16 . The exercise system of  claim 12 , wherein each one of the upper body carriage and the lower body carriage includes a lock mechanism configured to selectively secure the upper body carriage and the lower body carriage to the guide rail. 
     
     
         17 . The exercise system of  claim 12 , wherein the resistance assembly includes at least one of a weight stack, a hydraulic piston, a flywheel, and a resistance band. 
     
     
         18 . A method of performing an exercise comprising:
 placing a portion of an upper body of an exerciser on an upper body support surface such that a right elbow is aligned with and beneath a right shoulder and a left elbow is aligned with and beneath a left shoulder, the portion of the upper body including a portion of a right arm and a portion of a left arm;   placing a portion of lower body of the exerciser on a lower body support surface such that the exerciser is face down with a flat back drawing obliques in and navel towards a spine; and   translating at least one of the portion of the upper body and the portion of the lower body in a reciprocating motion between a forward direction and a rearward direction such that a plurality of muscle groups of the exerciser are activated,   wherein the plurality of muscle groups are selected from the group consisting of abdominal muscles, deltoid muscles, triceps muscles, latissimus dorsi muscles, quadricep muscles, pectoralis muscles, and gluteal muscles.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising:
 providing a frame including a guide rail having a first end and a second end; 
 providing an upper body carriage and a lower body carriage, each one of the upper body carriage and the lower body carriage configured to be slidingly engaged with the guide rail to translate in a reciprocating motion relative to the first end and the second end of the guide rail; 
 providing an upper body support secured to the upper body carriage, the upper body support defining the upper body support surface; 
 providing a lower body support secured to the lower body carriage, the lower body support defining the lower body support surface; 
 providing a resistance assembly attached to the frame; and 
 providing a connecting mechanism configured to mechanically couple at least one of the upper body carriage and the lower body carriage to the resistance assembly such that the resistance assembly applies a predetermined level of resistive force to at least one of the upper body carriage and the lower body carriage, 
 wherein 
 the portion of the upper body is placed on the upper body support surface of the upper body carriage and the portion of the lower body is placed on the lower body support surface of the lower body carriage, and 
 at least one of the portion of the upper body translates in the reciprocating motion between the forward direction and the rearward direction via the upper body carriage and the portion of the lower body translates in the reciprocating motion between the forward direction and the rearward direction via the lower body carriage. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising gripping a pair of vertical handles or a pair of horizontal handles.