Handle and exercise arm assembly for use with an exercise machine

Abstract

Convergent exercise machines and a method using resistance for exercising the upper torso and arm muscles, for complete natural joint articulation of shoulders, elbows and wrists. The circular exercise motion path is machine-determined and defined by a pair of exercise arms, each arm rotating about an arm pivot axle and having a handle assembly with a wrist joint accommodating pivot. The diameter of the circular exercise motion path is adjusted for the user's arm length. The method includes the following steps: defining the position of the arm pivot axle so that the machine-determined circular exercise motion path is coincident with the movement of the wrist joint accommodating pivot from start to finish of an exercise, and defining the position of the arm pivot axle to be located in a plane parallel to the plane positioned through the user's shoulder joints and at a lateral displacement from it, and at a location further into the exercise stroke than the parallel plane. The method has a further step of adjusting the position of the exercise arm handles to accommodate user's arm length. Wrist joint accommodating pivots allow the user's hand to move in a non-circular motion path. Each type of the machine of the present invention can be made with a singular arm pivot axle, two co-linear arm pivot axles or two co-planar parallel arm pivot axles.