Once again, just for fun, but with a serious note on sustainability. It's a key concept for Gamercize and an all to often seen flaw for exergaming, so do take a listen. If the player isn't visible below - watch on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHhLrEC5J2E
The term couch potato was once reserved for anybody who favoured a life spent in the living
Then the games console was invented. Children replaced playgrounds with PlayStations, adults were racing virtual sports cars rather than each other, and a brand new type of potato was born: the gamer.room over one in the great outdoors.
With this came questions. How would it impact on the health of the future generation? And if watching that episode of Friends for the 50th time had the power to keep potatoes on the couch and away from the gym, what damage could an Xbox do?
It is estimated that eight out of ten households in the UK now own a gaming console, but while the popularity of the industry has surged, so too have fears over rising obesity levels. Not least in Scotland, where between 1995 and 2010 the proportion of adults aged 16 to 64 who were overweight or obese (BMI of 25 or more) increased from 52.4 per cent to 63.3 per cent.
Yet just as it seemed likely that the country’s obesity crisis was going to be blamed on the latest version of Crash Bandicoot, there came an interesting development. Exercise gaming, pioneered by the Nintendo Wii in 2006, was born. Picking up on the popularity of sports games, Wii encouraged people to join in with the activities on screen, increasing exercise levels while capitalising on the popularity of the gaming culture.
The Wii enables players to participate in a wide variety of sports, from bowling to tennis and water skiing, all from the comfort of the living room. But has gaming evolved into something truly positive for fitness?
Exergaming is now so ubiquitous, every leading console is promoting its own fitness game. And it is not difficult to understand the appeal. A combination of busy lifestyles and a fascination with new technology mean the concept of exercising at home is unquestionably viable. One man who understands the appeal more than most is the CEO of Gamercize, Richard Coshott. “I came across the concept of gaming exercise one school summer holiday on a particularly pleasant day, when I suggested to my sons that we play football in the garden. At the time they were playing FIFA on the PlayStation, and would rather carry on in the World Cup than have a kick-about in the garden. When I insisted they put down the controller and play outside, I realised how out of condition they were from a ‘play’ regime of electronic sports and decided I needed to do something”.
Seeing his sons’ reaction to exercise gaming encouraged Coshott to create Gamercize, a company that markets interactive exercise products to work alongside Xbox, PlayStation and Wii. He explains, “The exercise needed to power the controller becomes automatic and unnoticeable to the brain, making the exercise element sustainable, which leads to real health benefits such as weight control, lower resting heart rate and improved physical co-ordination.”
Promoters are going out of their way to prove exergaming has real health benefits, yet there are still some significant concerns. Coshott admits the contactless nature of the workout increases the risk of injury, while the lack of encouragement from a virtual trainer may lead to a dip in enthusiasm. Furthermore, a study by the medical journal Paediatrics found the average session on Wii boxing, for example, amounted to the same amount of exercise as moderate walking. So perhaps it’s a bit too soon to be burning our gym membership cards.
Interestingly, Health Scotland has reported that during the week, boys spend an average of 31 minutes a day playing games consoles. If those 31 minutes were spent in active gaming, it could go some way to meeting the national guidelines for physical activity. After all, even 31 minutes of moderate walking, aka Wii boxing, is better than sitting still; and if gaming is as popular as the statistics suggest, exercise gaming could be considered a productive way to help achieve a national goal.
Is exergaming deterring people from attending the gym? Though the year on year statistics suggest that, on average, gym memberships fell 16 per cent last year, the likes of David Lloyd Leisure seem untroubled.
Group health and fitness manager Rob Beale says, “Gaming has perhaps attracted a new type of exerciser, but being part of a health club is an entirely different offering, so I don’t expect this to have any negative effects.”
Now, it seems the future of fitness is choice. Game on!!
Exergaming is Driven by Gaming
The Exergame Network has been busy rating exergames (via http://exergamenetwork.blogspot.com/2010/09/experts-rate-exergames-for-consumers.html). Gamercize isn't rated in this batch, but I say - bring it on, we've got the "A" game(s)!!!
Exergaming (Active Gaming) combines video games and exercise to provide a physically challenging but enjoyable experience. Traditionally, laboratory tests have been used to determine exertion levels and mainstream journalists review and rate a game’s game-play.
The Exergame Network (TEN) has created a next generation rating system which is ready for world wide release. TEN’s ratings system evaluates the holistic experience of an exergame in it’s Exergaming Experience Rating System (EERS)
The peer-reviewed EERS results have been compiled by a panel of world renowned exergaming experts. The system used to rate the exergame experience has taken a collaboration of over 12 months, driven by the previous lack of real world consumer information into the genre.
Active Gaming without the Game?
The Aussies know a thing or two about fun, Brett Young from ExergamingAustralia explains "Play" for adults.
So, in the context of play we ‘exercise’. Adults go the gym and ‘lift’ weights, ‘do’ aerobics classes, ‘have’ a fitness boxing sessions or ‘get’ yelled at in boot camp or personal training sessions. But wait you say, adults do ‘play sport’, they ‘play cards’ they ‘play with their kids’ and yes you’re right, in the context of an associated activity we play, as that makes playing legitimate and gives the activity credence and acceptability…but, I would argue that adults do not simply play. Or do we? There is one obvious activity where adults are allowed to play and that’s with PC, video or board games so we do ‘play games’. FYI: The average age of a gamer in Australia is 30! Not 3, 12 or 18 but 30…well and truly adult status. So adults can play games, interesting.
Well now, a breakthrough. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could re-engineer those games to maintain the fun and entertainment aspects AND make them as energetic as real play. Wouldn’t it be great if there were adult technology games that we play, that make us fitter and healthier? Well, we do and would you believe that this genre has been developing since 1982! It began with an Amiga game that used a peripheral amazingly similar to the Nintendo Wii Fit Balance Board. This new entertainment fitness game genre was called Exergaming, and boy has it come on leaps and strides since 1982.
It’s perhaps only over the last decade that the technology for exergaming has become truly feasible. Many of the technological advances in miniaturization, reduction in manufacturing costs, lightweight materials etc, has made domestic exergaming products affordable and family friendly. I suppose this is most readily demonstrated by the wireless motion-sensing platform of the Nintendo Wii. So exergaming has truly come of age, and this is just the beginning!
To borrow a line from Ironman 2, “..technology will make anything possible..”, that is certainly debatable, but it is true that it has made exergaming possible and lately, highly effective. PLAY on the other hand costs nothing, requires nothing except imagination, perhaps a stick, and a rock. PLAY is the polar opposite of technology, so you would think mixing the two would produce nothing but a malfunctioning malady, in reality it has produced a past time that makes it okay for adults to play, it makes play credible and still fun. At Exergaming Australia, we use the essence of this morphing of technology and play in our motto – ‘Serious Fun’.
So, what’s wrong with fitness today. Well for a start, it certainly isn’t play. It’s a ‘serious’ minded activity. Fitness and exercise have become billion dollar industries where ‘fun’ and ‘Play’ have no role to play, so to speak. Fitness has become very serious business, very complicated and very expensive with a lot of companies and individuals becoming celebrities simply because they yell louder and have considerably larger biceps than we mere mortals have. But I wonder how many people think this kind of combative fitness is actually fun? We’ve become accustomed to militant combat or mixed martial arts classes or fitness boxing, and there is certainly no doubting the effectiveness of these methods, they work very well, but they are not for everyone, around 85% of us in fact! Perhaps we should all join the armed forces and be forced to get fit, at least then we could get paid to improve our fitness, as it stands now WE are paying the armed forces to get us fit!
My point is, fitness and exercise, constructed around activities that supposably motivate us due to yelling and screaming ex-military personnel, is not play it’s not entertainment and it’s certainly not fun. It is effective however, no denying that, but it is NOT fun!
Think about when we were kids, when we simply played because it was fun. We never thought about the fitness benefits as we bounded about playgrounds or slogged cricket balls over the back fence. We had boundless energy because we were kids, we were having fun and we did it day after day as a result. Our parents would have been grateful to see us playing as we were entertaining ourselves and out from under their feet, but I bet they never thought, “great, Brett is really improving his aerobic fitness with those short burst between the wickets in cricket”. Nevertheless, play is just for children isn’t it? Adults must do adult things like workout and workup a sweat and just work. Well, I beg to differ!
Again, Exergaming turns modern concepts of exercise on its head. We return to the notion of Play and Fun. If we are truly enjoying what we are doing, we’ll keep doing it willingly, will-power won’t enter into it, we will no longer have to gee ourselves up, torment ourselves with guilt so as to motivate ourselves back to the gym. Exergaming is intrinsically self-motivating as it is entertaining, fun AND physically beneficial – win, win and win. So what is it about exergaming that separates it from normal fitness and exercise activites?
1. I know I’ve mentioned it ’several’ times already, but I must emphasize the fun factor. Exergaming takes the best entertainment technologies available (in games, movies, music and software) and then makes those activities physically challenging. It also requires that the best exergames are fun first and fitness second. That certainly doesn’t mean fitness is ‘secondary’, quite the opposite, it actually means fitness can be inherently fun, thus sustainable like when we played as kids, day after day, year after year.
2. Exergaming is born from computer & console gaming it therefore inherits some of the most powerful and engaging aspects of gaming, namely:
a. Mutliplayer – you can play cooperatively or competitively with your friends, family and mates.
b. Online Multiplayer – as above but you can do so against or with people all round the world 24/7.
3. Results ‘NOW’ – Fitness activities, especially those requiring us to lose weight or simply get fitter can make progress seem excruciatingly slow and tedious, which makes it extremely difficult to stay motivated. Exergaming often has very detailed feedback data, which is tremendously valuable in tracking your progress instantly. Exergaming can tell you your game score, the accuracy of your movements, the power of your blows, the timing of your steps, the speed of your punches, the quality of your cognition and much much more. This gives you direct and immediate feedback on your progress and is tremendously motivating. You use that recorded data as a motivation to improve your previous scores, or to beat a family members score or perhaps even someone who has left their score on a social network site that you visit. Trying to improve your results requires you to be fitter, stronger, more agile more focused more rhythmical and be better at playing the game.
4. Exergaming is geared up for Social Networking. Exergaming is a natural fit for sharing your results, swapping stories and sharing strategies online and in group forums and chat applications like Facebook. Gamers have been sharing statistics online since the internet began and have created vast online communities who support their past times actively and vigorously.
Thanks to Gamercize for the use of the playful picture
5. Exergaming is incredibly accessible – The best Exergames allow people of any physical ability and age to participate together, in the same class at the same time and even compete against each other equally! This flexibility is intrinsic in Exergaming and allows people of any generation to share an activity in synchronicity. This makes Exergaming wonderfully accessible to everyone, everywhere and again enhances the socializing affects of adult playtime, what normal fitness methods call ‘fitness and exercise activities’.
Take your pick, would you prefer to have fun first and get a fantastic fitness benefit from your playtime or make that concerted effort to motivate yourself to the gym and the cardio machine factory that waits in steely silence? My choice is clear: Playtime – GAME ON!
(Via http://exergamingaustralia.com/2010/05/exergaming-playtime-for-adults/)
Companies Cashing In or Checking Out?
International active gaming company Gamercize, today announces the keep fit gadget to revolutionize the way people keep in shape - iPedals. The new product, iPedals, uses patented Gamercize technology to turn any family car into a gym on the go.
The concept of iPedals (priced at $299**) allows the driver to operate the vehicle only while pedalling on the high quality mini cycle installed into the driver foot well. Conventional foot controls of the vehicle are moved to "race car" style paddles on the steering wheel. So long as the driver is exercising, the throttle, brakes and steering remain connected. Stopping exercise disconnects the cars controls, reminding the user to keep moving to maintain control.
Have you ever wanted...
Factors in Exergaming effectiveness
Ok, so it might not really be an exergame, but it shares a lot of features with the active gaming products. However, the basketball, and the exergaming product, while having all this potential, actually do none of the above. Look at the picture below. Now this is achieving all of the above. Do you see how small the basketball actually is in the picture? It's the game that's achieving all of the above, not the ball. The same is true for active gaming products.
Sat on it's own the basketball does nothing. Picked up and used in a game it suddenly becomes the enabler for all the fitness, weight loss, competition, social and skill development objectives. Some exergames are better at providing a start down this path than others, but in essence, it's the implementation of how you use an active gaming product that is the key between successes and failures
Most exergames benefit from programming. That is a set of objectives and a plan on how to meet those objectives by using the equipment. It is about setting tasks to achieve goals. PE teachers regularly write lesson plans to reach the objectives of a curriculum. Each lesson takes one or more aspects to develop and work on.
Some exergames take it upon themselves to implement "programming", but this often fails. An exergame needs to be adaptable to start with to be successful. See below as an example of how a rigid exergame can't tick the boxes of one that allows programming and professional instruction.
What have we learned? We have learned that exergame products are tools, and the effectiveness in using them obviously depends on their basic attributes, but more so on the way the exergame is being used.
We have learned that the games and enjoyment are a great route to reach goals, and that planning is an important aspect in this. I think 2010 will be the year people will be the focus in exergaming, the implementers will make the headlines, and the products seen in the supporting role.
Gamercize Mail-in Refund for Wii Fit
We're giving money back on Gamercize products to Wii Fit owners. The reason is simple, we've seen lots of studies claiming exergaming isn't exercise, studies saying exergaming is no good for fitness. All of these stories have a common fault - Wii Fit. Thanks Nintendo, you're making us all look bad.
Here's how we can change that. Look at the world of exergaming. See there's a lot more to it that virtual gyms. One leading exergame expert, Dr Ernie Medina, said "I find running around a track boring, so how does running around a track on screen make it any more interesting?". He's right of course, the point of exergaming is fun.
Fun and game play is central to the core values of Gamercize, this makes the genuine level of exercise that is inbuilt with Gamercize sustainable. What you get from exergaming should be about the game, about having fun and getting fitter as a byproduct. This is why Wii Fit is letting the exergaming side down by allowing people to think its a fun fitness tool. This is why we're stepping up and putting up the cash to make things right for Wii Fit owners.
Take a look at http://www.gamercize.net where you'll find details of how to qualify for this offer, that includes 3 months GZ Personal Trainer membership.
Study Results from Professionals or Puppets?
Last week the American Council on Exercise released a study that showed Wii Fit didn't come up to it's standards of moderate to vigorous physical activity. This week Nintendo released a study showing that Wii Fit does meet the standards. Who is right?
The moderate to vigorous physical activity standard is very important. It's the basis behind every single country's government health advice. It's the sustained target at which fitness levels improve and overweight health risks can be reduced. Irrespective of METs and V02MAX measurements the basics are "activity that makes you sweat after 5 minutes duration".
Wii Fit is bringing researchers and active gaming (and governments) into disrepute with the constant commercial push and pull with science fact. Largely this is all irrelevant when you look at figures from the Nintendo channel that show a half hour use per month average. Is it MVPA or not, it doesn't matter if you don't use it.
Ask people what they consider good exercise and you'll probably come back with running, swimming, cycling, sport and the number one answer - the gym. Think about what you find in a gym that makes people give this answer - that's right, cardio fitness machines. Now take a look at the picture below and ask yourself - why isn't this exergame (and others like it) being studied?
The reason is awareness, or rather lack of it, in the wider community. There are so many active gaming options available to suit all abilities and interests. Just take a look at the Interactive Fitness and Exergaming wiki site. It's time for researchers to research a bit more before starting trails to make sure they have right equipment under test.
Looking deeper into the work that ACE has done reveals a good tempate for results with easy, medium and hard settings tested, and the full range of biometric data. In looking forwards perhaps the standard needs to be set (or maybe ACE has already set this?) and the different options need to be explored.
Fitness is not a game people!
Now we're having fun with our consoles by keeping fit... or are we. Let's go running and watch counters on the screen! No, let's not. Ok, let's go biking!! What, in a game where you don't actually travel anywhere - no thanks!
I think there's a place for fitness games, the ones that offer virtual workouts and electronic exercise programs. That place would be on the shelf, next to the exercise DVD, covering up the exercise videos behind. If you are workout motivated then these titles will do a far better job keeping you moving than the aforementioned DVD. You may even call them "fun", but consider this... if everyone enjoyed workouts there wouldn't be an obesity crisis, drop of in school sport or need for massive government health campaigns.
Yes, that's right - most people find workouts really really boring. That's why exergaming is way more than just workout games. Some people have even argued that video games are not an integral part of exergaming!!! (Those people are often recaptured quite quickly, so don't worry too much about them)
Gamercize is exactly what exergaming is all about - fun. Fun from video games. Fitness is there, for sure, but it's not the focus... it's like the exercise involved shopping; It's only when you get home with your bags of goodies after a mammoth day's shop do you notice how much effort you must have spent walking and how tiered you feel.
Exergaming needs to be fun, and needs to be fun for long enough to make a difference to the user's health. You may get a week's use out of a fitness game, but that's nothing compared with the immersion of compelling gameplay you get from the real videogames that Gamercize uses.
Need convincing? Mario Kart Wii has been in the UK charts for 76 weeks - Gamercize compatible and what's more damn good FUN!
Free video games for all!
In bleak times there are sometimes rays of hope, and today the British Government will announce a scheme that is just that.
During hard times traditional focal points for shopping, the town centre, have casualties and some shops close. Boarded up shop fronts give a bad impression of an area and add to the doom and gloom of the current situation.
The government scheme is set to provide funding up to £50,000 for temporary regeneration, including using empty shops as art galleries and mother and baby centres. Could more be done? Well, yes... what about the current health crisis where being physical active is just too boring, time consuming and expensive?
There's an opportunity here to address both issues in one hit. Use the funding to create Gamercize game gyms. Why Gamercize? Pound for pound on capital expenditure it's the most sustainable form of video game exercise, allowing any game title to be used for fitness. What's more it's far the least expensive option and it is the only option that allows parents and children to play together.
Do you want to have access to the latest games and consoles without the expense? Do you know you need to get more exercise but can't find the time or anything interesting to do? If the answer is yes, then tell someone, in this case, your MP. Here's what you do:
1. Find your MP by entering your postcode on http://www.writetothem.com/ or http://www.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/mps_and_lords/alms.cfm
2. Send them this message
Let's get some free fitness gaming going in your area, we'll help but it's time for our elected representatives to act!RE: Looking after our town centres scheme
I welcome the guidance and necessary funding put forwards by Government to re-use empty space in town centres for community benefit.
A recession at the same time as a health crisis gives city leaders and fund holders an opportunity to address both issues with one action.
I propose using empty shop spaces for Gamercize game gyms. This will:
· Increase physical activity levels in hard to reach audiences
· Provide a focal point for beneficial youth community
· Revitalise commerce in the local shops due to increase traffic
· Provide employment for local people in gym supervision
· Show England as technical, health and social innovatorsGamercize will part-subsidise every game gym opened and provide ongoing support and promotion for sustainability.
Gamercize is the only game fitness option proven to engage all of the people all of the time and outlives “fitness fads” associated with video game exercise.
Gamercize is a partner of the national Change4Life campaign and I urge you to consider a Gamercize game gym for our town centre.
Nintendo Statistics Show Us the Way!
The Logic behind Exergaming
You must take a look at this presentation, it fully explains the thinking behind Gamercize and other active video games, that make fitness fun!
Thanks to Lisa and Mike for putting this together and sharing it with us!
Revealing Results from Facebook
Effective Fitness Motivation
Everyone knows exercising leads to increased fitness and fitness leads to enjoying a more active life. That is why there are gyms, fitness centers and home gym equipment. The biggest problem in reaching that elusive next level in life is maintaining motivation. How many people have bought home gym equipment, only to leave it unused after a few weeks? How many people have bought gym membership at the start of the year and give up going by then end of May?
Too many. Time and money wasted, not because these approaches are no good, but because the improvement is so gradual it is easy to think you are getting nowhere and just give up. It's no fun, it's tough, you don't have the time and you can't see it making any difference. Very easy to understand, most of us have been there and done it.
Just think about PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 now. How many people buy these things, and make excuses not to use them? How many Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo games consoles sit unused in the garage? Here is a proven formula for motivation and fun! What a shame playing video games is no good for you compared with playing on the sports field? That has all changed now Gamercize has come along!
Attempting to put fitness into video games is not a new idea, it's been tried as long ago as 1982 by Atari and has grown to be called "active gaming" or "exergaming". The problem is putting fitness into games has always focused on the exercise, taking away from the game in terms of quality or control. Remember the gym vs the console? - Motivation comes from enjoyment. Putting fitness into a racing game is a fair example of what I mean. The more effort you expend the faster the car goes. Great concept, but in practice it becomes tedious compared with the temptation to change the game for the next shiny new disc which arrived in the post this morning and has the internet raving about gameplay and graphics.
So can you see why Gamercize is so popular and successful for people striving to better themselves? Reduce the interaction, so exercise can be automatic, and every game can be played with exercise! Like walking and talking on a phone, or running while listening to an iPod, like playing football on the beach or playing in the park with the dog - it is fitness by stealth with the focus on the fun.
Now change the game with that shiny new disc that arrived in the post this morning and the motivation is boosted even further. Exercising with this much motivation, and without a conscious effort, will take you to your fitness goals.
So you're struggling to get out to the park for an hour every day week in, week out? There's never a problem finding time to play video games so why not use this entertainment for your exercise?
