Exercise machines are known that have been designed for exercising various muscles of the human body, and in particular some of such machines are specifically designed for exercising the muscles of the upper body. However, most of the known machines are designed to exercise specific muscles or muscle groups by the user performing a specific movement of part of the machine against a predetermined resistance. Machines for exercising the cardio- vascular system are generally different machines from those for exercising the muscle groups.

A gymnasium will often have many types of such machines, so that a person can move from machine to machine to perform the various exercises and thereby work through a complete exercise programme to exercise substantially all of the muscle groups of the body and perform cardio-vascular exercises. Such an arrangement is ideal for a gymnasium, since one person will not use any one machine for an extended period, thereby enabling another person to use that machine. However, it is generally too costly, and requires too much space, for a person to have all of the differing types of machine at home to enable that person to perform the various exercises on all parts of his/her body and cardio-vascular system. To overcome this problem, it is also known to provide a multi-gym machine, which is constructed as a combination of many of the differing types of specific muscle exercising machines referred to above. However such machines are also costly and relatively large, so that many people can neither afford to purchase such a machine or have the space to house it. Also such machines are not designed to exercise the cardio-vascular system.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine for exercising the upper body, whereby a variety of differing exercises may be performed to exercise different muscles and muscle groups of the upper body, and also for exercising the cardio-vascular system.

The invention provides an exercise machine having at least one operator position and comprising at least one movable handle, a transmission system connected to the handle and a motion resistance arrangement drivingly connected to the transmission system, whereby movement of the handle is transmitted by the transmission system to cause movement of the resistance arrangement, the position of the handle being adjustable relative to the at least one operator position and the transmission system whereby movement of the handle is effected by differing motions performed by the operator.

The machine may comprise a pair of handles. The position of the handles relative to each other may be adjustable. The motion of the handles may be rotational. The plane of rotation of each handle may be adjustable, and they may rotate in the same plane as each other or in different planes. The handles may be coupled to rotate about a common spindle, or they may be independent of each other so as to be rotatable in opposed directions. The radius of rotation of the handles may be adjustable.

The transmission system may comprise a shaft and gear arrangement, or may comprise a chain and sprocket arrangement.

The resistance arrangement may be adjustable to provide differing levels of resistance. The resistance arrangement may comprise a magnetic resistance device, a fluid resistance device or a friction resistance device.

The machine may comprise a seat, which may be positional adjustable at the at least one operator position. The seat may be movable to alternative operator positions.

The machine may comprise speed indicating means, and may comprise power indicating means.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic drawing of one embodiment, Fig. 2 shows one arm of the embodiment of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a schematic drawing of part of a second embodiment, and Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the embodiment of Fig. 1 in an alternative configuration.

Referring now to Fig. 1, there is shown an exercise machine 10 having an operator position 11 defined by a seat 12. The seat 12 is mounted on a telescopic post 13, and is adjustable for height by means of a peg 14 being located in a selected one of several holes 15. The exercise machine 10 is provided with a pair of handles 16,17, each of which is connected by a respective chain 18,19 to a transmission head 20. The handles 16, 17 may be coupled to rotate about a common spindle 34, or they may be independent of each other so as to be rotatable in opposed directions, as shown by the double headed arrows in Fig. 1. The transmission head 20 is connected by means of telescopic shaft 21 to a universal joint 22 and then by means of a further shaft 23 to a resistance arrangement 24. The chains 18,19, the transmission head 20, the shafts 21,23, the universal joint 22 and the resistance arrangement 24 are all contained in a housing (not shown for clarity). In this case the resistance arrangement 24 is a magnetic resistance device in which a magnet 25 mounted on a disc 26 moves adjacent a coil 27. The length of the coil 27 is variable by means of a"potentiometer slide"28 to vary the resistance. The movement of the magnet 25 past the coil 27 also enables the speed of rotation of the disc 26, and hence the speed of rotation of the handles 16,17 to be measured, and having regard to the resistance set by the slide 28, the power generated by the operator can be calculated. These may be displayed on an indicator 29.

The handles 16,17 are shown in bold in diametrically opposed disposition, a position to enable a"cycling"motion to be performed by the operator. For performing an alternative form of exercise, the handles 16,17 can be placed in adjacent disposition, as shown in dotted, for rotational movement"together".

To vary the exercise, the length of the cranks 30 to which the handles 16,17 are attached can be altered as shown in Fig. 2. This will vary the radius of the rotational movement of the handles 16,17 in either of the configurations shown in Fig. 1. The exercise generated by rotation of the handles 16,17, either the"cycling"motion or the"together"motion, may be performed substantially at shoulder height when the operator sits on the seat 12 and the handles 16,17 are at the height shown in Fig. 1. This form of exercise will be of benefit to certain muscle groups of the body. However, other muscle groups may be exercised by alteration of the height of the handles 16,17 relative to the floor and/or the seat 12. This may be achieved by altering the length of the telescopic shaft 21 in the embodiment shown in Fig.

1, and/or by pivoting the upper part of the machine 10 about the universal joint 22, as shown in Fig. 3. In this latter embodiment, the shaft 21 has been replaced by a chain 31. In similar manner the shaft 23 could be replaced by a chain drive if preferred. The Fig. 3 embodiment is also shown with the handles 16,17 in the adjacent position.

As a further alternative configuration for the performance of different forms of exercise, the handles 16,17 may be moved to the position shown in Fig. 4. In this case, the handles 16 17 rotate in a horizontal plane about spaced axes 32,33.

By suitable adjustment of the height of the handles 16,17, and the operator sitting on the seat 12 or standing adjacent the machine 10, the rotational movement of the handles 16,17 may be performed at any height between the knees of the operator and at arms length above the head. The handles 16,17 may be rotated in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction as viewed in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 1, in a"cycling"or"together'motion, and in a vertical or horizontal plane as shown in Figs. 1 and 4 respectively. In these ways different muscle groups may be exercised. In addition, by performing relatively few rotations against a high resistance, muscle strength may be enhanced, whereas by performing many rotations against a lower resistance the cardio-vascular system of the operator may be exercised.

Alternative embodiments of exercise machine will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art. For example the magnetic resistance arrangement may be replaced by a pneumatic or hydraulic resistance arrangement in which the resistance is created by the motion of a body within a fluid, for example a fan. Such an arrangement can be used to create a cooling airflow over the operator if desired. As another alternative, a variable force band brake around a drum may be used to provide the required level of resistance. The shaft or chain and sprocket transmission arrangements shown may be replaced by belt and pulley drive arrangements if preferred. Although the exercise machine 10 is primarily intended for exercising the muscles of the upper body, it is possible to exercise the legs by attaching clips or straps to the handles 16,17 so as to enable the feet to be secured thereto. The handles 16,17 may then be moved by a pedaling motion using the legs. By means of the invention, a single exercise machine is provided which enables many of the muscle groups of the body to be exercised as well as the cardio vascular system. The single machine requires less space, and is less costly than the known multi-gym machines or the many machines required for exercising the differing muscle groups as generally provided in gymnasiums.