Let the Games Begin! - Exergaming IHRSA

Let the Games Begin!

Why can't exercise be fun? It can! Just try exergaming! By Jean Suffin

'Exergaming: A new category we can't ignore . . . What is that? Exercise and games. You know, making exercise fun rather than a drudge? Not a bad idea. We like it. A lot.' 'SNEWS SNEWS, which reports on the fitness and outdoor-sports equipment industry, made that observation earlier this year in its review of the top stories of 2005, and it's one that more and more people'the public, and club members, staff, and owners'are coming to share. For years, new technologies that have methodically eliminated the need to move one's body in order to work or entertain oneself have been blamed for the increasingly pathetic state of the nation's collective physique. Now, however, some of the same high tech is being utilized to do exactly the opposite: to make exercise more appealing, fun, and rewarding. Exertainment systems'think of a TV screen mounted to a treadmill or stationary bike'attempt to mask the tedium of a long workout by diverting the user's attention. Exergaming systems go one step further, actually motivating people to get movin'. In this case, the equipment'freestanding pieces or video units linked to cardiovascular machines'involve exercisers in an exciting interactive experience, allowing them to compete against a computer, a score, or other club members. The approach, it would seem, has a great deal of potential. It's a natural for populations that have grown up with PlayStations, cell phones, and iPods, especially children, who are now confronting the threat of rampant obesity and, conceivably, as a result, reduced life spans. It also addresses, head-on, what is probably the greatest obstacle to regular exercise: Americans' remarkable faculty for getting: bored. Brian Cassidy, the executive director of Healthtrax Fitness and Wellness, in Hanover, Massachusetts, thinks exergaming may be a part of the answer to providing the most rewarding club environment for members of all ages. He purchased two interactive bikes after seeing them at an IHRSA trade show, and is pleased to report that his members love them. In addition to being fun, the units are also versatile. 'The lower competition levels are easy'anyone can enjoy them'and the higher levels are quite challenging,' he explains. The bikes' newness, attractiveness, novelty, and tech-sexiness, he notes, have actually prompted prospects to join the club. 'It's great,' Cassidy points out, 'if you can, in essence, position exercise as a side effect, an extra benefit.' Jim Buck, the owner of Anytime Fitness, a franchised, 24-hour, key-access club in Clinton, Massachusetts, recently acquired two interactive bikes, and is also convinced of their value. 'Members can get a great cardio workout without thinking about what they're actually doing,' he reports. 'They're having fun, while also, simultaneously, working out.' Exergaming options Exergaming dates to the 1980s, but, over the past few years, a number of innovative companies have designed, developed, and begun to deploy products that, by taking the work out of workouts, are successfully enticing people to exercise. Cybex International, based in Medway, Massachusetts, has attracted a great deal of attention with the Trazer, a unique interactive video game that it released more than a year ago. Trazer consists of a large TV screen and a 10' x 10' exercise area situated in front of it. The player stands in front of the screen, and their movements are tracked by infrared signals as they respond to video and audio cues produced by the unit's software. Their responses are reflected by an icon on the screen. Depending on the program selected, the user jumps, lunges, shuffles, sprints, or runs, as prompted, in order to score points. The Trazer is suitable for individuals of all ages and fitness levels, from people recovering from injuries to elite athletes in training. Workout results can be stored and tracked, and, given future enhancements, transmitted over the Internet to document progress or compete against other players. 'If you include Trazer-based movement in a training regimen, you've got members hooked,' insists Paul Dolan, the director of business development for Cybex. Dolan refers to exergaming as 'stealth exercise.' He told SNEWS that, 'The kids and adults who are playing don't realize how good it is for them and that they are working quite hard. They are just having fun.' Richard Kentopp, the president of Source Distributors, Inc., which markets the Cateye Fitness Products line, concurs. 'We already know that kids think playing video games is fun, based on the size of the video-game industry. We've heard estimates that the business is now $4 billion larger than the movie industry . . . More than 70 million kids already have an Xbox, GameCube, PS2 or other gaming device. 'Gaming is huge, and it's here to stay!' Cateye has responded to the opportunity with the GameBike GB-300R, which transforms an aerobic workout into pure playtime. Users can connect the bike directly to Xbox, Game Cube, PS2, or a PC and play any speed-related game. The rider controls the speed of play via pedal RPM, and direction of play via the steering wheel. The unit's full-function fitness computer offers five levels of heart rate control, as well as interval training, mountain profiles, and a manual adjust mode. 'We're taking the time that they'd normally be spending in front of the TV and making it active and productive,' says Kentopp. 'If you ask the kids if they're exercising or playing a video game, they'll invariably tell you that they're doing the latter'which is exactly what we want them to think. In fact, whether it's children or adults, the reaction is much the same'total concentration on the game, with exercise nearly being an afterthought.' Expresso Fitness, based in Sunnyvale, California, has taken a similar approach. It manufactures the Spark, a virtual-reality-enhanced bike that can take users on any one of 29 virtual tours predicated on actual GPS geography data. The rider has to steer, shift, and react to each program's varying resistance levels, which mimics the actual motion of riding a bike outdoors. Up to eight units can be networked to provide group interaction, and the bike can also be utilized to spark-up indoor cycling classes. Future models will connect directly to the Internet, allowing users to download more courses, personalize their fitness regimen, track their races, and compete against one another. A new model, the S2, has a 'ghost-rider' feature that allows a cyclist to compete against their own last attempt. 'In developing the Spark, our goal was fun,' explains Sandra Ballinghoff, the vice president of sales and business development for Expresso Fitness. Fit Interactive, based in Paradise, Utah, has taken a different path to exercise appeal. It manufactures 3 Kick, an engaging, interactive kickboxing game. To play, the exerciser stands in the middle of three posts, which provide random light and auditory cues identifying targets that must be hit or kicked. The resulting fast-paced workout helps develop speed, agility, coordination, and strength, and is appropriate for users of all ages; a special children's mode disables the equipment's top row of lights, which would be too high for kids to reach. A new version of the game, called Corner Kick, requires less floor space in a club. And future versions of 3 Kick will offer options that engage the core muscle and enhance other skills. 'People are so receptive to this idea that some are seriously considering adding a wing to their facility to make room for it,' reports Mark Alexander, the president of Fit Interactive. Kilowatt, a video-game tool manufactured by Powergrid Fitness, Inc., of Laurel, Maryland, transforms the exerciser's body into the controller for any PlayStation 2, Xbox, or Gamecube video game. The Kilowatt functions like a 5' tall joystick, which the user pushes, pulls, and leans on to control the on-screen action, facilitating an effective isometric strength-training workout. The unit offers 20 levels of adjustable resistance. 'Interactivity isn't just a buzz word,' explains Jason Grimm, the vice president of marketing for Powergrid. 'It's a key that unlocks a new generation of members. Now, instead of playing games while sitting on the couch, they can join a club and play games to get in shape.' The company's line of products includes the Kilowatt Sport, the Kilowatt Spark, the Kilowatt Pro, and the Kilowatt Pro Jr. for children. The Sportwall, a computerized wall with moving targets, started out as a skill-building tool for tennis players, but has since evolved into an exergaming activity that people of all ages can enjoy in a group environment. The brainchild of Sportwall International, Inc., of Santa Barbara, California, the Sportwall offers three categories of games: playground games for children; group-exercise for adults; and, for personal training, the Performance PT system. The programs differ in level of difficulty, but are all designed to help players develop speed, agility, and muscular strength, while increasing cognitive skills. 'They get hooked and excited by the game and don't realize the demands on their body,' notes Cathi Lamberti, the founder and CEO of Sportwall. Yet another variation on exergaming is provided by the RealSports video simulator, produced by Visual Sports Systems (VSS), of Toronto, Ontario. This unique device allows the user to practice real-life sports movements, using traditional equipment, playing in computer-simulated environments against virtual opponents. The options currently include baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer and golf. RealSports provides sports-specific strength training and a total-body cardiovascular workout, and future models will also allow users to track performance data. 'On one level, the obvious excitement generated by a sports simulator appeals to those who haven't yet found a way to get involved in fitness, while, at a more advanced level, the realism and accuracy of the activities can challenge and improve the performance of the most dedicated athletes,' attests Ben Abrams, the director of sales for VSS. All things considered, the future looks very bright for the exergaming category. For users, it's fun, engages the body and mind, appeals to individuals of all ages, and fosters interaction with other club members. For clubs, it helps sell membership, enhances group-fitness programs, adds a tracking component to training, and can be marketed to the entire family. Sounds like a win/win sort of game to us! The Exergaming Zone Ernie Medina, who's been nicknamed 'the Exertainment Evangelist,' has taken the exergaming concept to an entirely new level by creating an 8,000-square-foot exergaming club, the XRTainment Zone, in Redlands, California. 'When I'd seen enough of these games, I decided to put together a cool fitness arcade that could be marketed to the kind of person who wouldn't normally go to a regular gym,' he recalls. Medina emphasizes that he isn't interested in competing with traditional health clubs, or in simply fielding a different version of ESPN Zone, which combines sports-oriented restaurants with 10,000-square-foot Sports Arenas offering a wide range of physically interactive games. Rather, he notes, he intends to focus on fitness and results, but for people who shy away from standard clubs. His basic goal is to serve what he's convinced is an untapped niche. More and more, exergaming innovators are beginning to suspect that the most successful application of their products may lie in an integrated approach'a virtual zone, as it were, where members can move through a series of games. To that end, Cybex, Powergrid, and Sportwall are collaborating to offer, respectively, the Trazer, Kilowatt, and Sportwall in a virtual-game-circuit configuration. The manufacturers believe that, if they promote other exergaming products, it will help the category as a whole. BroadcastVision Entertainment, based in Agoura Hills, California, provides and assembles exergaming venues, branded Fitness Arcade Xpress, for clubs. The firm makes it simple and easy for its clients to introduce a number of popular exergaming options, including, among others, Powergrid's Kilowatt, Cateye's Game Bike Pro, and Konami's Dance Dance Revolution. BroadcastVision provides package deals on the games, and sets up the monitors, surfaces, and technology. The company's Website describes the result as 'a delineated, 'club within a club' exercise entertainment arcade that offers circuit training for aerobic and cardiorespiratory conditioning, core balance, and agility exercise. It's a combination of video-game technology and exercise equipment technology that appeals to a wide variety of people that find conventional exercise boring.' 'Exergaming allows fitness facilities to tap into markets where, in the past, they haven't had much penetration'for instance, with youth and family memberships,' observes Kevin Fee, the vice president of marketing and creative development for BroadcastVision. 'Exergaming creates a new level of interest among these demographic groups.' Jean Suffin is a freelance writer for CBI and can be contacted at jsuffin@comcast.net.