An article of footwear for strengthening and relaxing foot and lower leg muscles

Abstract

Footwear for strengthening and relaxing foot and calf muscles and for developing overall body coordination includes: a device for fastening the footwear to the user's foot, and a flat sole, the underside of which is in contact with the ground, and the upper side of which is provided with a training element for interacting with the user's foot, the training element being exchangeable, and fastenable in the upper layer of the sole. In another embodiment, the device for fastening the footwear to the foot includes elastic straps secured to the edges of the sole, and a flat sole, the underside of which contacts the ground, and the upper side of which is provided with a training element for interacting with the user's foot, the training element being an insole having through-slots through which the straps can be passed.

1 . An article of footwear for strengthening foot and lower leg muscles and for developing overall body coordination, comprising a means for fastening the article of footwear to the wearer's foot, a flat sole, the underside of which is in contact with flooring, and the upper surface of which is constructed with a training element for interacting with the wearer's foot, characterized in that the training element is designed to be exchangeable for changing the type of training and is secured within the sole upper layer via a spike connection, or snap fasteners, or an adhesive layer, or a textile fastener. 
     
     
         2 - 5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein it is designed for wearing on either right or left foot. 
     
     
         7 - 8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the training element is configured in the form of a flat insole with a thickness of 5 to 60 mm. 
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the training element is configured in the form of a flat insole having a smooth outer surface providing for the foot sliding over a smooth surface. 
     
     
         11 . The article of footwear of  claim 10 , wherein the training element further includes an elastic tricot cover providing for the foot sliding over a smooth surface. 
     
     
         12 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the training element is configured in the form of a semi-cylinder or a polyhedron having its base secured on the sole upper surface along the longitudinal axis of the latter. 
     
     
         13 - 19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the training element is configured in the form of a flat insole having arranged, on its upper surface, in the forepart, a segment having a triangular cross-section and gradually narrowing towards the insole central part, thus causing the foot toe portion to be raised in the vertical plane. 
     
     
         21 - 27 . (canceled) 
     
     
         28 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the training element is configured in the form of a convex hemisphere arranged in the sole central part, wherein the surface in contact with the foot causes the foot's transverse arch to be flexed along the convex surface. 
     
     
         29 - 31 . (canceled) 
     
     
         32 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the training element is configured in the form of an elastic insole having an upturned forepart region configured to straighten under the force exerted by the foot when walking. 
     
     
         33 - 34 . (canceled) 
     
     
         35 . An article of footwear for strengthening foot and lower leg muscles and for developing overall body coordination, comprising a means for fastening the article of footwear to the wearer's foot, a flat sole, the underside of which is in contact with flooring, and the upper surface of which is constructed with a training element for interacting with the wearer's foot, characterized in that the means for fastening the article of footwear to the foot is configured in the form of elastic slings secured at the edges of the sole, and the training element in the form of an insole has through cutouts through which the slings can be passed and is designed to be exchangeable. 
     
     
         36 - 42 . (canceled) 
     
     
         43 . The article of footwear of  claim 35 , wherein the training element is provided with a semi-cylinder or polyhedron secured on its upper surface, under the foot arch or under the waist area, perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis. 
     
     
         44 . (canceled) 
     
     
         45 . The article of footwear of  claim 35 , wherein the training element has a triangular diagonal section and gradually narrows in the direction from the outer heel seat region towards the inner forepart region, thus causing the outer region of the foot heel portion to be raised and causing the front inner region of the foot toe portion to gradually descend in the diagonal direction in the vertical plane. 
     
     
         46 . The article of footwear of  claim 35 , wherein the training element has a triangular diagonal section and narrows in the direction from the inner heel seat region towards the outer forepart region of the sole, thus causing the inner region of the foot heel portion to be raised and causing the front outer region of the foot toe portion to gradually descend in the diagonal direction in the vertical plane. 
     
     
         47 . The article of footwear of  claim 35 , wherein the training element has a triangular diagonal section and narrows in the direction from the outer region of the foot toe portion towards the inner region of the foot heel portion, thus causing the outer region of the foot toe portion to be raised and causing the inner region of the foot heel portion to gradually descend in the diagonal direction in the vertical plane. 
     
     
         48 . The article of footwear of  claim 35 , wherein the training element has a triangular diagonal section and narrows in the direction from the inner forepart region towards the outer heel seat region, thus causing the inner region of the foot toe portion to be raised in the vertical plane and causing the foot to be turned outwardly. 
     
     
         49 . The article of footwear of  claim 35 , wherein the training element has its outer surface gradually sloping from the insole outer edge towards its inner edge, thus causing the foot outer portion to be raised in the horizontal plane and causing the foot to be turned inwardly. 
     
     
         50 . The article of footwear of  claim 35 , wherein the training element has its outer surface gradually sloping from its inner edge to its outer edge, thus causing the foot inner portion to be raised in the horizontal plane and causing the foot to be turned outwardly. 
     
     
         51 . The article of footwear of  claim 35 , wherein the training element is provided with flat thickened portion arranged under the heel portion, arch and metatarsus so as to form a bench under the foot's metatarsophalangeal joints. 
     
     
         52 - 53 . (canceled) 
     
     
         54 . The article of footwear of  claim 35 , wherein the training element includes an ellipsoid or a semi-cylinder secured between the hallux and the second toe. 
     
     
         55 - 56 . (canceled) 
     
     
         57 . A training kit, characterized in that it includes the article of footwear of  claim 1  and at least two training elements configured to be exchangeable for changing the type of training.