Barry Brindley of Brentford in Middlesex reckons that physical fitness
enthusiasts need to know precisely how many press-ups they have done and
at what rate. So he has devised a touch-pad with a pressure-sensitive switch
which connects with a computerised counter (British patent application 2
239 336).
Every time an exerciser’s nose touches the pad it notches up on the
counter. The running number is displayed on a liquid crysal display. A clock
timer calculates the rate, and a memory holds reference numbers and rates
for preset personal challenges.
For people who want to do fancy exercises, for instance one-arm press-ups,
without touching the pad, the device can have a microphone instead of a
pressure sensor. The microphone registers the noise of heavy breathing or
a grunt at the end of each press-up cycle.
