Exercise mat

[0001] This invention relates to exercise mats.

[0002] Exercises done on the floor are performed more comfortably with the use of a pad. The pad provides cushioning from the hard floor, a non-slip surface, and also demarcates the user's exercise area in the case of group exercises. The current exercise pads, however, are simple, flat, pliable pads. These pads, although providing general cushioning during the exercise, do not provide the requisite cushioning for isolated body parts that receive the greatest amount of pressure, such as the hands, the knees, and the feet. Creating a thicker pad would make the pad too cumbersome to carry.

[0003] Current pads focus on improving the transportability and anti-slip surfaces of the pad. Therefore, there is a need for a lightweight, transportable exercise mat that can provide the proper support and cushioning to body parts receiving the greatest amounts of stress and pressure without increasing the cumbersomeness of the exercise mat.

[0004] The present invention is directed to an exercise mat that provides the proper cushioning for the exerciser. The exercise mat comprises a mat and a plurality of supports strategically positioned for specific body parts. In some embodiments, the supports may be removable. In some embodiments, the supports may be integrally formed into the mat. The exercise mat may further comprise a cover. The cover may have pockets to receive the supports. In some embodiments, the cover and/or the top surface of the mat may comprise protuberances to reduce slippage.

[0012] The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of presently-preferred embodiments of the invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0013] With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the exercise mat 100 is designed to provide additional support and comfort to parts of an exerciser's limbs, such as the hands, wrists, elbows, knees, and feet during an exercise, such as yoga. The exercise mat 100 comprises a mat 102 having a plurality of supports 104 strategically positioned so as to accommodate the exerciser's upper and lower limbs.

[0014] The mat 102 provides a comfortable surface upon which the exerciser can perform his or her exercises. The mat 102 is generally rectangular in shape having a top surface 106 and a bottom surface 108 opposite the top surface 106. The mat 102 can be made in any other shape, such as round, oval, square, triangular, and the like and may come in a variety of sizes to accommodate exercisers of different heights and sizes.

[0015] In some embodiments, the mat 102 comprises a cushioning material 110. Suitable cushioning material 110 includes foam, rubber, gel, and any other material that can absorb shock. The top surface 106 may comprise material that is cushioning, comfortable to the touch, absorbent, or any combination thereof, such as textiles and fabrics, vinyl, rubber, silicone, plastics, polypropylene, polyurethane, synthetics, elastomers, polymers, and the like. In some embodiments, the top surface 106 may comprise material that is fluid impermeable so as not to soak up sweat that may accumulate on top of the mat during exercise. Such a material also facilitates cleaning the mat 102.

[0016] The bottom surface 108 may be integrally formed with the top surface 106 and, therefore, be made from the same material as the top surface 106. This also allows the mat 102 to be reversible so that the supports 104 can protrude from either side. In reversible embodiments, the supports 104 can be made to protrude out from the side opposite the floor, for example, by using fluid or loose material for the support 104. In some embodiments, the bottom surface 108 may be made from a different material and fastened to the top surface 106, for example by stitching or adhesives. For example, the bottom surface 108 may be made from material that is more conducive to preventing slippage while the top surface is made from material that is more conducive for providing comfort and/or absorbency. Alternatively, the mat 102 may be constructed from a single piece of material and a cover 200 may be utilized to lay on top of or envelope the mat 102 so as to provide the proper material for the top and bottom surfaces to provide the proper function, i.e. comfort, absorbency, or non-slip surface.

[0017] The top surface 106 of the mat 102 comprises a plurality of supports 104 strategically positioned so as to accommodate a user's upper limbs and/or lower limbs during an exercise to provide comfort and additional padding. The supports 104 each comprise a cushioning 110 material made from a fluid material, such as gas, air, liquid, water, oil, and the like; semi-rigid material, such as gel; and/or a solid material. If a solid material is used, the solid material may be a single piece, such as rubber, foam, fabric, and the like, or it may be a plurality of loose pieces, such as beads, feathers, plastic chips, and the like. Any other material or substance that absorbs shock is also suitable. For example, the cushioning material may be memory foam manufactured under the trademark Tempur-Pedic® or silica gel.

[0018] In some embodiments, the supports 104 may be dome-shaped or cylindrical in shape although any shape is suitable. Each support 104 may be of uniform shape and size for ease of manufacturing and transferability with other supports 104. In other embodiments, the supports 104 may come in a variety of shapes and any sizes to accommodate various body parts as shown in FIG. 4. The various body parts that may require support include upper limbs, such as the head, arms, shoulders, elbows, forearms, wrists, and hands; and lower limbs, such as the legs, thighs, knees, shins, ankles, and feet. For example, some supports 104 may be elliptical or oval in shape to accommodate an arm, while others are circular, rectangular, or square to accommodate the hands, knees, feet, or head. In some embodiments, the supports 104 may be contoured to fit specific body parts. For example, the support may have a concavity 400 or dip to receive an exerciser's upper or lower limbs. The concavity 400 may be in the general shape of the body part intended to be received. For example, if the support 104 is intended to receive the shin or forearm, the concavity 400 would be an elongated, elliptical or tubular shape. For knees, elbows, or the head, the concavity 400 may be bowl shaped. For the hands, the concavity 400 may be shaped like an open hand. Additional supports 104 may surround the concavity 400 to facilitate keeping the specific body part inside the concavity 400 during an exercise.

[0019] In some embodiments, the supports 104 may be permanently sealed, meaning that once the cushioning material 110 is inserted it cannot be removed without destroying the support 104. Alternatively, the supports 104 may have a closeable opening 112 through which the cushioning material 110 may be inserted and removed. For example, the closeable opening 112 may be a sealable hole or an opening closeable with a fastener. The opening 112 may be closed by any reversible fastening means such as zippers, buttons, hook-and-loop fasteners, and the like. This allows the cushioning material 112 to be removed, replaced, refilled, or otherwise properly maintained or adjusted.

[0020] In some embodiments, the supports 104 may be integrally formed into the mat 102 as shown in FIG. 3. In other words, the mat 102 and supports 104 are made from one continuous piece of material. At the area of the supports 104 an excess amount of material may be provided to increase the thickness of the supports 104 relative to the rest of the mat 102. For example, the mat 102 may be a single, flat piece of foam or rubber but at strategic location, an excess amount of the foam or rubber may have been formed to raise that area above the rest of the mat, thereby forming the support 104. As another example, the mat 102 may be a single, flat piece of textile or fabric material, such as a towel, with an excess amount of cotton or other material formed at strategic locations to form the support 104. If the supports are integrally formed into the mat, a variety of exercise mats 100 will have to be manufactured so as to provide the proper limb positioning of exercisers of different sizes.

[0021] In some embodiments, the supports 104 may be reversibly attachable to the mat 102 as shown in FIG. 2. In other words, removable supports may be fastened to the mat 102, and removed from the mat 102 without destroying the mat 102 or the support 104. For example, the bottom of the support 104 may comprise a fastener 206 to fasten to the top surface 106 of the mat 102. Suitable fasteners 206 include a hook-and-loop fastener, an adhesive material, a magnet, a highly resistive or other non-slip surface, and the like. The top surface 106 of the mat 102 comprises the reciprocal fastener material to attach with the fastener on the bottom surface of the support 104. This allows a single size mat 100 to be manufactured, while allowing the exerciser to position the supports according to his or her physical profile and the desired exercise. In some embodiments, the mat 102 may comprise a combination of removable and integrally fixed supports 104.

[0022] In some embodiments, the top surface 106 of the mat 102 may comprise a mark 402 so as to facilitate proper placement of the supports 104 for exercisers of different sizes, for different exercises, or for different body parts. These marks 402 can function as instructional tools to teach beginning exercisers where to properly position their limbs so as to perfect their body alignment during the exercise. Using suitable fasteners 206, exercisers can quickly and easily place and secure supports 104 on the proper mark 402 and when ready for a different position, move the supports 104 to the next proper mark 402.

[0023] For example, exercises may be performed on the exerciser's hands and knees or feet. A first pair of supports 104a may be positioned or fixed on the mat so as to accommodate placement of the hands in a comfortable position, such as approximately shoulder width apart. A second pair of supports 104b may be positioned away from the first pair of supports at a distance that accommodates the placement of the exerciser's lower limb, such as the knees or feet while the exerciser's hands are still on the first pair of supports. Each support in the second pair of supports 104b may be placed apart from each other at a distance comfortable to the exerciser. A third pair of supports (not shown) may be positioned apart from the first and second pair of supports to accommodate the positioning of any remaining body parts that may require support. For example, if the second pair of supports 104b accommodates the knees, the third pair of supports may be positioned to accommodate the feet, and vice versa. These placements may be integrally formed into the mat 102 by the manufacturer. In the removable support embodiment, these supports 104 may be positioned by the exerciser and secured in place using a fastener.

[0024] In some embodiments, the top surface 106 of the mat 102 may further comprise protuberances 202. The protuberances 202 serve to increase the friction between the user and the cover 200 to provide a non-slip surface. Preferably the protuberances 202 are spread throughout the mat 102. The protuberances 202 are much smaller in size than the supports 104 and much more frequent in number. In the preferred embodiment, the protuberances 202 are cylindrical in shape. The protuberances 202, however, may be any other shape, such as dome-like, pyramidal, conical, block-shaped, cubical, and the like.

[0025] In some embodiments, the exercise mat 100 may comprise a removable cover 200 positionable on the top surface 106 of the mat 102. The cover 200 may comprise a plurality of pockets 204 or cavities integrally formed into the cover 200 as a means for receiving a support 104. Each pocket 204 or cavity may align with one of the supports 104. Preferably, the shape of each pocket 204 or cavity is substantially similar to the shape of the support 104 so as to fit snugly on to the support 104. In some embodiments, the pocket 204 or cavity may be lined with an elastic band to better adhere to the supports 104. Other means to secure the pockets 204 onto the supports 104 may be utilized, such as magnets, hook-and-loop fasteners, adhesives, friction, clips, and the like.

[0026] In some embodiments, the cover 200 may comprise holes 208 through which the supports 104 are inserted and exposed as another means for receiving a support 104.

[0027] The cover 200 may be made from any type or combination of material, similar to the mat 102, such as textiles and fabrics, vinyl, rubber, silicone, plastics, polypropylene, polyurethane, synthetics, elastomers, polymers, and the like, or any other material that is absorbent and comfortable. Since the cover 200 will be the point of contact with the exerciser, the cover 200 should be comfortable to the touch. Furthermore, since the cover 200 serves as an outer covering, the cover 200 may be absorbent so as to absorb the sweat that falls onto the mat 100. The cover 200 may be removable and washable so that after use, the exerciser can quickly and easily remove the cover 200 from the mat 102 and have it cleaned.

[0028] The cover 200 may be a single layer to lay on top of the mat. In some embodiments, the cover 200 may be a double layer into which the mat 102 may be inserted. In the double layer embodiment, the cover 200 may also be a single integral piece or at least two separate pieces affixed together, for example, by stitching. Using at least two separate pieces allows one side of the cover 200 to be made from a comfortable, absorbent material while the other side may be made from a non-slip material. The double layer cover further comprises an opening through which the mat 102 may be inserted or removed. The opening comprises a fastener, such as a zipper, hook-and-loop fastener, snap buttons or the like to reversibly close the opening.

[0029] In embodiments utilizing the cover 200, the cover 200 may comprise protuberances 202, a textured surface, or some other non-slip material to provide a non-slip surface for the exerciser.

[0030] The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention not be limited by this detailed description, but by the claims and the equivalents to the claims appended hereto.