If you think keeping fit is merely mind over matter, Lester Clancy has an invention for you — a cordless jump-rope.

That’s right, a jump-rope minus the rope. All that’s left is two handles, so you jump over the pretend rope. Or if you are truly lazy, you can pretend to jump over the pretend rope.

And for that idea kicking around Clancy’s head since 1988, the U.S. Patent Office this month awarded the 52-year-old Mansfield, Ohio, man a patent. Its number: 7037243.

It’s perfect for the clumsy, Clancy said. “If you are still jumping, you’re still using your legs as well as your arms, and getting the cardiovascular workout. You just don’t have to worry about tripping on the rope.”

It is also good for mental institutions and prisons where rope is a suicide risk, said Clancy, who works as a laundry coordinator in a state prison. And low ceiling fans aren’t a hazard any more, he said.

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