Kettlebell Accessories

Abstract

Kettlebell (weight training) exercise equipment to protect an athlete's body from injury and to improve exercise/training form may include palm, wrist and/or forearm protectors in a glove-like form, or the kettlebells themselves may be fitted with suitable padding materials to achieve similar effect.

1 . A wrist protector, comprising:
 a protective element having a first surface and a second, opposing surface; and   a channel defined on the first surface of the protective element;   wherein the protective element is shaped to extend over at least a portion of a wrist of an athlete.   
     
     
         2 . The wrist protector of  claim 1 , wherein the protective element is a plate. 
     
     
         3 . The wrist protector of  claim 2 , wherein the plate includes a pad. 
     
     
         4 . The wrist protector of  claim 2 , wherein the plate includes a plastic material. 
     
     
         5 . The wrist protector of  claim 2 , wherein the plate is injection molded. 
     
     
         6 . The wrist protector of  claim 1 , wherein the second surface of the protective element is shaped to be complementary to at least a portion of a shape an athlete's wrist. 
     
     
         7 . The wrist protector of  claim 1 , wherein the second surface is positioned adjacent to a dorsal surface of the athlete's wrist when the wrist protector is being worn by the athlete. 
     
     
         8 . The wrist protector of  claim 7 , wherein the wrist protector is used during kettlebell training exercises and wherein the first surface of the protective element is positioned such that the kettlebell contacts the first surface of the protective element when the athlete engages in kettlebell training exercises. 
     
     
         9 . The wrist protector of  claim 1 , wherein the channel comprises a first side wall, a second side wall, and a web interconnecting the first and second side walls. 
     
     
         10 . The wrist protector of  claim 9 , wherein the first side wall and the second side wall are positioned at an angle that is at least 90° with respect to the web. 
     
     
         11 . The wrist protector of  claim 9 , wherein the first side wall and the second side wall are positioned at an angle with respect to each other. 
     
     
         12 . The wrist protector of  claim 1 , further comprising a carrier, wherein the protective element is operably secured to the article of manufacture. 
     
     
         13 . The wrist protector of  claim 12 , wherein the article of manufacture is selected from the group consisting of a sleeve, a wrist band, a glove, a brace and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         14 . An article of manufacture, comprising:
 a first surface configured to extend over a dorsal surface of at least a portion of an athlete's wrist and hand; and   an opposing, second surface configured to extend over at least a portion of a palmar surface the athlete's hand;   wherein the second surface includes a proximal end and a distal end, and   wherein the distal end includes a medial recess positioned on a medial side of the distal end and a lateral recess positioned on the lateral side of the distal end.   
     
     
         15 . The article of manufacture of  claim 14 , further comprising a wrist protector as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the wrist protector is operably secured to the first surface of the article of manufacture. 
     
     
         16 . The article of manufacture of  claim 14 , wherein the second surface extends from a medial edge of the athlete's hand to a lateral edge of the athlete's hand when the athlete is wearing the article of manufacture. 
     
     
         17 . The article of manufacture of  claim 16 , wherein the medial recess is positioned adjacent to the medial edge of the athlete's hand and the lateral recess is positioned adjacent to the lateral edge of the athlete's hand. 
     
     
         18 . The article of manufacture of  claim 17 , wherein the medial recess and the lateral recess are positioned to extend across at least one of the metacarpophalangeal joints of the athlete's hand. 
     
     
         19 . A piece of athletic equipment, comprising:
 a kettlebell having a main body portion and a handle;   a pad operably secured to at least a portion of the main body portion at a position that comes into contact with an athlete's wrist when the piece of athletic equipment is being used by the athlete.   
     
     
         20 . The piece of athletic equipment of  claim 19 , wherein the main body portion is shaped to complement the athlete's wrist at the position that comes into contact with the athlete's wrist when the piece of athletic equipment is being used by the athlete.