Sometimes you just have to sneak a little fun into your fitness routine.
The next generation of workout gear coming to the consumer market capitalizes on society’s love of fun and games, marrying features such as interactive gaming and bold colors with nuts-and-bolts fitness tools.
At the annual Health and Fitness Business Expo held this month in Denver, prototypes of exercise gear linked with gaming consoles was of high interest to fitness club owners and equipment dealers.
“The future of fitness will be entertainment,” said Bob Damashek, owner of the Fitness Resources, a local consulting company.
Damashek said he noticed the trend especially in cardio fitness machines. The newest treadmills and elliptical machines are equipped with TV screens, USB ports to plug in an MP3 player and more specialized heart rate monitors to keep users informed of progress.
For example, indoor riders can take in the breathtaking scenery of a Tuscan landscape while pedaling a Tunturi stationary bike. An integrated 7-inch-wide console screen displays real-life footage of the great outdoors that is synchronized with pedaling intensity. Go faster, and the video program moves faster.
Classic Outdoor and Recreational Equipment, a contract manufacturing company based in China, was trying to persuade an American company to sell its Game Bike. The system, compatible with the PlayStation II or a PC, hooks a gaming kit up to the exercise bike. Users compete against the computer in a simulated racing course. The company was offering a wireless version as well.
Twister, inventor of the X-Bike and its patented natural movement handlebars, plans to unveil the new X-Dream indoor cycling machine in 2008. The bike realistically tilts to the left or right while cyclists pedal up hills, going as fast or as slow as necessary to overtake a computer-simulated competitor.
The motivator for health becomes fun.
“Based upon what happens in the video, you won’t mind pedaling a little faster or a little longer to avoid hitting deer, elk or other cars,” Damashek says. “You forget about the pain and the monotony in favor of the fun factor.”
Likewise, pumping coins into simulated boxing and Dance Dance Revolution games at a place like a Dave & Buster’s restaurant may also pump up biceps, triceps, lats and delts. Players line up in wait of pulling on gloves and duking it out with a computerized fighter. Every minute spent in a round works up a tremendous sweat.
Other products haven’t reinvented the wheel so much as retooled it.
Traditional equipment such as ellipticals and treadmills has been modified with new features that allow for more adaptive motion and customized workouts. Dumbbells have been upgraded to weighted kettlebells featuring a steel handle attached to an iron bell coated in vinyl to protect the floor and your forearms.
Someone even figured out that the exercise ball might have better balance if it was cut into a half-moon shape and placed flat-side down, thus creating the BOSU — Both Sides Utilized — ball.
Last year, the Octane Q37, an elliptical that sports a pair of ergonomically converging handlebars was hot. While the handlebars on most elliptical trainers’ only move back and forth in a straight-line path, the Q37 bars mimic natural movements, pulling inward as the exerciser strides forward and opening up on the backswing.
Gregg Theander of HealthStyles Exercise Equipment in Ft. Collins, Colo., couldn’t wait to see the new Q47 model at this year’s show. The updated piece not only has 37-inch converging arms but also boasts an adjustable stride.
“We sell 42 different types of ellipticals, but 75 percent of the ones we sold last year were the Octane Q37,” Theander says. “We are impressed with the motion, the rubber foot pedals and the built-in pre-speed fan. Plus, we like the range in price from a more affordable $1,999 scaled-down version to the $3,999 high-end clients want.”
