Be Interactive in your Fitness Training!
Social Networking Flexes its Muscles
You used to be able to access social networking sites like Facebook from your work PC but now it has been taken away. Why? How can you possibly arrange the weekend without it? How can you check what photos you have been tagged in from last weekend?
Facebook is, according to the web information company Alexa, the most popular social networking site having overtaken MySpace last month. It also joins the list of sites companies prefer not to have workers using. Reasons for blocking sites vary from the concerns about network traffic, issues around data security down to the slightly more honest “you are here to work not browse”. I know of one company that has even blocked news sites including the BBC.
While I do agree that during working hours the need for access to such sites has very little credibility, there is no compelling reason to block access which also includes lunch hours. After all, your unpaid time at lunch has been compromised by the location of your work. You can’t exercise free choice in what you do, and if you live more than half an hour from home you wouldn’t even be able to check your Facebook page.
So how do you get your Facebook access at work? The answer came in a month or so ago with an email to Gamercize customer services, which found its way to my desk. The email was from an employee of a large corporation that had banned Facebook and was located out of town in a remote commercial zone. The disappointed worker had been keeping in touch with friends not by company telephone or company email, but by Facebook. He asked if we could contact his boss with an idea.
That is exactly what I did, putting forward his idea to use a couple of PCs, due for replacement, to be moved into the canteen and put on the internet. The justification for having these machines was given by having them connected with the Gamercize PC-Sport Stepper, helping the company provide exercise in the workplace. The two “Internet Café” machines, as they have been called, have been in for a week now and proved very popular.
Happy employees get to use the internet in their free time, without losing the opportunity for lunchtime exercise. The corporation is happy that they can provide this service to their employees and can start to address work health targets. Now all that remains if for those employees to fan the Gamercize Facebook page!
Shown with Wii-Fit and Nike+
Gamercize has been on BBC News on two separate occasions so far this year; Geoff Maskell reported on Gamercize in schools and Tom Hepworth featured Gamercize in gyms. For some reason the reports have not been put up on the BBC website, but our friends in Australia know how to put it all together though, after all they are in the future!
On Australian TV, technology expert Charlie Brown featured Gamercize GZ Pro-Sport for Xbox 360 alongside Wii-Fit and Nike+. The Today Show is very popular across Australia and especially in Melbourne.
Nintendo demonstrator, Jamie, starts off with Wii-Fit and I must say Charlies review is very accurate and realistic in what the balance board aims to achieve - not sensationalist as I have seen from some US and UK news sources! Jamie then jumps on the Gamercize equipment to show us how it works. Even though there is a Pro-Sport version for the Wii our Nintendo demonstrator is given the Xbox 360 version!
However, someone at the show played an even worse trick on him and set the GZ Pro-Sport to it's maximum exercise level!
Being a great sport, Jamie rises to the challenge and pumps up the pace, showing us less capable mortals Gamercize's true potential in real cardio exercise. I'm very pleased with the coverage, at last Wii-Fit and Gamercize are not put head to head in competition, but are both more accurately shown as totally different products. I'm sure Nintendo will agree.
One thing I will say though - use Gamercize and it will get you fit! Check out the TV clip from the Today Show here.
Expert Sets Guidelines for Improvement
The exergaming world was rocked by criticism following the use of exergaming as a replacement for traditional physical education. The story that originated in the UK has since circulated the globe with criticism from as far away as Australia for not being real exercise and for giving up on sport.
The articles highlighted research stating the console used was only 2 percent more extra effort over sedentary gaming. The odd part is this; the discouraging research came from the same university that praised the equipment via BBC news one year earlier.
If you are not confused by this U turn, you should be. I am used to seeing one research study contradict another, but never from the same source! Both studies did make national BBC news though, not that I am suggesting anything with that statement.
So step in Dean Horridge, from Fit for Sport and most recognised for his work with the TV show "Ian Wright's Unfit Kids" (pictured). In his most recent article he sets out a number of guidelines for schools to follow in order not to fall foul of the hype. I met Dean last year at a trade show, and he's worth listening to. Here is a summary of his tips for setting up a program and product selection to schools;
1. Discuss with kids what they want.
2. Involve the children in your testing.
3. Check suppliers research into activity.
4. Spend wisely, and do not buy without trying.
5. Get trained to use new equipment.
6. Change the sessions often to keep interest.
7. Plan for the long term suitability.
8. Keep safety in mind but maintain enthusiasm.
9. Make sure all kids can participate regardless of ability.
10. Watch out for equipment storage needs.
I have not specifically mentioned any products in the post, because the experience of a failed exergaming program could be applicable to any equipment, no matter how good or bad the machines are.
Obviously choosing equipment where the cardio fitness benefits and sustainability are beyond doubt is the best start - but then again, I would say that!!
Life Balance of Exercise and Eating But ironically, despite the fact that today's children no longer see crisps as a treat, the older generation probably consumed more fat.
I criticised an anonymous article from the BBC earlier this month for being unbalanced and sensationalist. Now, I am very pleased to see the bias properly addressed.
Health reporter, Clare Murphy, has written a far better article, obviously from careful research and a clear understanding of issues surrounding obesity. Included are these centrepiece quotes which help outline the misconception that weight is linking only to what you eat:
The 1950s child also took more exercise, and the balance between food and energy expenditure is a key one.
So perhaps we can stop blaming food for lack of fitness and weight issues, and now look at both sides of the equation; Eating and exercise need to be balanced.
BBC Ignores Department of Health Advice.
The article on the BBC website today quite rightly points out obesity is on the rise across the world. BMI graphs from many countries has led the BBC to bend the question of obesity, leading with junk food as the cause. Some people see through the simplistic view in the BBC's fully moderated forum.
The BBC decides to take marketing research to promote an article that contains no story at all. It is a pity the publicly funded BBC does not spend these public monies on programming. Public money has already been spent on research that goes deeper into the issues. The advice from the Department of Health says calorific food intake has not increased in 30 years.
The expert health website goes on to say
Advancement in technology has given us all the excuse to get our entertainment without putting in physical effort. The freely available statistics from the USA show youth obesity follows video game play. Game time certainly eats into time previously spent outside being active, because it is more enjoyable, convenient and less effort.Although the rise in obesity cannot be attributed to any single factor, it is the imbalance between energy in (through the food choices we make) and energy out (mainly through physical activity), which is the root cause.
Getting Fit Again
Blogging at Work
I am taking the rare step of writing a post at work today, to highlight an interesting use of blogs. Normally I'll put up a weekend post or two sharing some information or picture that I find interesting to me. I see it is a personal choice to post; there are no revenue generating adverts and this blog does not generate personal income.
Other blogs have no revenue generation, the best example being the blog of the BBC Editors. In contrast, it does appear the editors have blogging as an unwritten task within their job descriptions. A post from Peter Barron, indicating peer pressure to write posts, asks what frequency of posting is perceived as reasonable. Clearly the number of posts per week has not been written into the contracts yet!
Personally I think a post "only every ten days or so" is probably about right, maybe once a week. I am lucky though, as I am writing for pleasure and not from pressure.
