Active Gaming is Stealth Exercise

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.

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Change4Life - 60 Active Minutes from active gaming

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?

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Free FM Pedometer during Games for Health month from Gamercize

It may not be Nike+ and an iPod, but it's free!

To celebrate the fifth annual Games for Health conference in Boston, MA a pedometer with built in FM radio will be bundled free with every Gamercize purchase in June!

The key message for this offer is to support active lifestyles, a commitment Gamercize has made in partnership with the government awareness campaign Change4Life.

Using Gamercize's patented exergaming fitness machines with video games consoles such as Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PS2 makes you fitter and more healthy.

Take advantage of your new abilities and increased energy with this offer from Gamercize and listen to your favourite radio station as you take on the ultimate level - the great outdoors.

Gamercize recognises the purpose of exergaming and Games for Health not as just a fun way to be fit but also to bring improved public health to the masses. For more information on Gamercize visit http://www.gamercize.net, where this offer will be made official at the end of this month. For more information on Games for Health in general visit http://www.gamesforhealth.org/

The Games for Health Fifth Annual Conference will be held in Boston between June 11 and 12, with a special pre-conference date of June 10. To book for this event visit http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=688555

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Exergaming Rocks AAHPERD

Gamercize brings the fire and makes Tampa come alive!

The national physical education show in Florida last week was full of exergaming, not only on the exhibition floor but also in the seminars, poster sessions and workshops. Gamercize was there too, making it all real!

Even before the conference began there was a special NASPE session "Using Technology in Physical Education Teacher Education" in one of the conference hotels. The use of technology to as a tool to make PE teachers life easier included Web 2.0, electronic student response systems and online assessments. Multiple sessions were presented by Derrick Mears (Western Washington University), Lisa Hansen (University of South Florida), Joanne Leight (Slippery Rock University) and Patrick Fine (Chesterfield Elementary School).

The highlight of the pre-conference was an excellent, in-depth presentation by Lisa Hansen on exergaming (Active Gaming) and Interactive Fitness. This started with issues around obesity, the decrease of general levels of physical activity and the role Recreational Screen Time (RST) has to play in this decline. The obvious choice of using technology for fitness instead of against fitness was presented, backed by research.

The most important aspect of the presentation for me was the thinking around implementation, to ensure exergaming is as effective in the real world as it can be proved in the lab. As Gamercize was early to Tampa, available (and portable enough!) this was used as a demonstration piece for a lesson plan to illustrate hands-on the key of the presentation. Using Gamercize and running through the lesson plan showed a subject's (Thanks Allison!!) resting heart rate of around 60 peak at 130 with an average of 120 throughout the 30 minute piece.

Gamercize itself was set up at booth #736 in the exhibition halls and was constantly busy, with word spreading around the delegates to visit our first appearance here! The key aspects of the equipment that rocked the conference are the ability to play any game, and hence get all kids interested, and the minimal interaction of "move to play" that enables all physical abilities to play exergames!

Of course the low cost of the equipment was of huge interest, and a few delegates between them even purchased all the demo equipment right off the booth at the end of the exhibition! This did make break-down much simpler! There is still a 10% discount running at http://www.gamercizeusa.com/ for those that missed out at the show!

The first of the two formal sessions that delivered the exergaming message at the conference was "#351 - A Critical Look at Fitness Technology for Kids" by Dan Drury of Gettysburg College, parent of two and exergame evaluator. This session concentrated on the factors that make exergaming work, Intensity, Duration, Mode, Frequency and Progression.

Both the exercise physiologist view and kids perspective had equal billing to give a presentation that, I think, shook the delegates up to the fact not all exergames are created equal. Giving PE a structured approach to evaluation is an excellent idea and I agreed with the entire piece. I was surprised but happy to see Gamercize images in the presentation as illustrations for some of the points!

The second session that shook the halls of the Tampa Convention Center was "#551 - Exergames: Bridging the Gap between Video Games, Activity and Fun" by Stephen Yang of SUNY Cortland, parent of two and long standing exergame guru. This session focused on doing rather than talking and included short introductions by notables such as John Foley (SUNY Cortland), Lisa Hansen (USF), Andrea Oh (iTech Fitness) and Aaron Hart (Station PE).

The workshop started with brief introductions and key messages from Stephen's team before breaking out into Q and A sessions with the presenters. All the time the students from SUNY Cortland were getting their game on with DDR, Gamercize and Gamebike - while wearing heart rate monitors which were displayed on the big screen!

The common theme for the sessions was - oversubscription! Dan's presentation had delegates sitting and standing in the corridor outside while Stephen's workshop had attendance well beyond the capabilities of the PA system and even had exergaming spilling out into the concourse!

I would like to give special thanks to Lisa and Stephen for allowing Gamercize to be part of their sessions. Ernie, you were missed and would have enjoyed this conference immensely! Now we've set the scene for exergaming in PhysEd at Tampa all we have to do is deliver it to the kids and Let it Rock!

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Exergaming Ethics

When Good Exergaming goes Bad.

Last week I visited AAHPERD and spoke to a great many delegates, presenters, academics and exhibitors about the state of the exergaming industry in physical education. This particular post deals with just the bad news from the conference.

I went to two poster sessions from students who tested exergaming (in the form of Nintendo Wii) against non-virtual sports. The results were as I expected, exergaming was no substitute for real sports in terms of physical exertion or movement. The surprise was the impression I had from speaking to the researchers - they expected Wii Sports to "win".

Most, if in fact not all, of the people who spoke to me about exergaming at AAHPERD has an equal level is disillusionment with the Wii in physical education. It's not that the Wii is bad, it's in fact very good - but expectations have been set to unrealistic levels. Other exergame vendors are also guilty of this, not necessarily in exertion levels, but more on sustainability. What we need here can be summed by one word : ETHICS.

The other public facing side of exergaming is the service provision companies. I heard about incomplete installations, lack of support, poor equipment choices and generally poor customer service. This concerns me a great deal, as exergaming needs a better reputation than this.

I know money is tight for service companies, and there must be a greater tendency to "cut and run", but it should also be mentioned that money is tight for everyone! The industry is not reacting correctly to provide a better value customer experience. What we need here can be summed by one word : ETHICS.

There are bad exergame companies and there are good ones, these are just the bad. Ask your vendor or supplier "how do your kids find this stuff?". You'll invariably discover, as I have, that the bad eggs don't have direct experience with children! If you're dealing with someone who's not been a teacher or parent - beware!!!

There is no point calling out the names of the products or companies that are operating to short term commercial goals rather than long term ethical ones, because this economic crisis will naturally remove them one by one. Let's not say anything bad about any company in particular - "Nah! Just smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave."

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Can games like 'Wii Fit' really work it?

The games that work best will be the ones that are the most fun!

Stephen Yang as contacted by Kim Painter, Senior Health Columnist for USA Today, for comments on how effective exergames are for cardiovascular benefits and overall health. He had a great discussion and here is the article that was just posted online today.

But games that are more demanding, more interactive or both are on the way or already available, says Stephen Yang, assistant professor of physical education at the State University of New York-Cortland. For addictive, calorie-burning fun, Yang recommends Eye Toy Kinetic (for PlayStation2), a workout game that points a camera at the user to track movements and provide instant feedback.

He also likes tween favorite Dance Dance Revolution (for various game systems), which is not marketed as an exercise game but fits the bill. And he directs parents to Gamercize, a British import that connects to any video game system — and keeps it running only as long as the user keeps moving on a mini-bike or step machine.

The future will bring games that track heart rates and keep exercisers working at a challenging but safe pace, he says. Virtual group workouts, with participants connected online to a live coach, will happen, too, he says.

But the games that work best, Yang says, will be the ones that are the most fun.

via Exergame Lab @ SUNY Corland - http://exergamelab.blogspot.com/2009/03/can-games-like-wii-fit-really-work-it.html

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Stealth Fitness comes to AAHPERD

Gamercize brings the 101 of Exergaming for Schools

AAHPERD Will be very exciting for Gamercize as Active Gaming is predicted to be the hot topic there for 2009! This will be my first year at the event, where I'll be presenting in various sessions (as the poster shows!). More importantly I'll be on hand from time to time at the Gamercize USA booth; so now's your chance to do the talking and my opportunity to listen!


AAHPERD is in Tampa, Florida from March 31th to April 4th and the "must-see" booth is Gamercize on #736. My other tips are, for the pre-conference on Tuesday register for "Technology for Instruction in Physical Education activity" and see Lisa Hansen's presentation.

For Friday the workshop #551 "Exergames: Bridging the Gap between Video Games, Activity, and Fun" is a must-see headlined by Stephen Yang and has the "who's who" of exergaming presenting... as well as myself as a late addition.

That leaves two days; so come and see the Gamercize USA booth, maybe I'll see you there! Safe travels!

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Exergaming Makes Me Sick

Exergaming suffering from "video gaming revulsion"

Last year I presented Gamercize to a group representing the Trust that has a lot to do with Youth Sport (of which we are members). The chairwoman of this organisation is highly respected and even holds an MBE (that’s the honour below the widely recognised British OBE). After watching a short TV clip from BBC East Midlands as part of the presentation, that showed kids using video games for exercise, she could hardly contain herself.

It was not the fact that we’d happily engaged 97% of the kids in moderate to intense levels of activity (while traditional PE here is littered with sick notes and missing kit) that meant she lost composure; it was, in contrast, a negative response. “Seeing those kids playing video games in PE makes me feel sick!” she retorted, and the only question she asked in the whole presentation was “are those DVDs?” while pointing to a stack of kids PS2 games.

Needless to say she was in the minority of 1, as the closer the delegates were to implementation or kids, the more fired up and keen they were. The trend to the positive from government and organisations like this Trust are far more encouraging. Responses like these, starting with the Chief Medical Officers annual report, published this week, illustrate the tides of change for exergaming acceptance:

"My concern over the growing obesity ‘time bomb’ facing this country is well known, and the East Midlands is looking at the possibility of using interactive computer games to help obese children lose weight. Initial results look promising, and this could prove to be one of the ways of engaging overweight children in exercise." Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health.

"Gamercize is unique, innovative and exciting. Our Youth Fitness Academy and Playscheme Kids have found the concept fun, interactive and competitive." Jon Randall, Facility Manager, Southampton (Chamberlayne) Leisure Centre

"This test encouraged children to be more active, and that’s a great starting point. I know as a dad that the reason why video games are so popular is because they are so good, and kids will not leave them. It’s better to be smart and work with the games, making children more active in the process." Dr Ian Campbell, medical director of Weight Concern and associate specialist University Hospital Nottingham

"This is a very interesting result – it opens up a possible way of getting children more active." Dr Colin Waine, chairman of the National Obesity Forum

"Physical inactivity in children is a major cause of the obesity epidemic, and Gamercize provides an innovative solution, reducing sedentary behaviour, whilst maintaining enjoyment, making it a popular and appealing remedy. This study begins to show that by providing more novel opportunities, it is possible to increase a child's activity in a painless and effective way." Dr David Haslam, Clinical Director of the National Obesity Forum

"Ideally children should be running around fields and expending energy naturally, but a lot of children are unable to do this so active gaming brings about energy balance. The key to all this is that children must have fun and the value of Gamercize is that children have a great time using it." Tam Fry, National Obesity Forum's board member for children and the Honorary Chairman of the Child Growth Foundation

“I first saw Gamercize at a schools trial, where a class of 31 children were exercising on steppers and cycles playing PlayStation2. Out of all the equipment at the trial, boys and girls were asked to vote for a favourite. Gamercize was the clear winner, proving twice as popular as a second placed game racing bike. From a schools perspective, the flexibility of Gamercize to be used with more than one player provides a required social aspect to physical education. The ability to choose any game is also very useful, and helps maintain interest over time and engage all children.” Helen Ley, Sports Development Manager, Sport Hampshire & IOW

"We are committed to increasing opportunities and access for active participation amongst young people in the City. This innovative approach in partnership with Southampton Football Club and Gamercize is an initiative that compliments Active Southampton challenge of getting the people of Southampton active 30 minutes a day." Jayne Ludden, Sport and Recreation Services Manager, Southampton City Council

"This is a great British invention that could begin to bridge the gap between exercise levels of both adults and children today and what they should be doing. It makes it realistic to achieve an hour’s exercise in a lunch time if you’re stuck in the office and likewise for children who would rather stay inside playing games." Brigid Simmonds OBE, Business in Sport and Leisure CEO, who also worked on the Foresight Obesity Report

“Gamercize is a brilliant way to engage with pupils who my not be currently active within school sport. It gives a new opportunity to pupils allowing them to win in competitions individually and as a team, plus, have a fun social aspect that can incorporate even the unlikeliest of teachers! The great thing about Gamercize is that pupils do not even realise they are active gaming and come off the machines sweating with heavy breathing. Gamercize came to one of my schools for a pilot demonstration and it was great to know that over the course of the day pupils stepped a huge amount that equated to jogging all the way from Derby to Liverpool City Centre”. Phil Basterfield, Competition Manager, Derbyshire Sport

I'm happy to leave the last word with the expert majority... case closed!

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Wake up call for Change4Life

Anti-Video Game Campaign Unfairly Targets Industry

If you are going to spend millions of pounds in a massive awareness campign, you are bound to make a few mistakes. Websites, posters and radio adverts from Change4Life have labelled video gaming as a bad thing for your health. What about Gamercize, Wii, Eyetoy and DDR? It's unfair to depict gaming as a bad thing, there's even an organisation called Games For Health set up to facilitate the health and fitness promotion of gaming.

Lots of top companies have complained, but there seems no sign of recognition from the campaign that it got some facts wrong. This is taking away from the main message of Change4Life, which is to eat better and move more to improve health. If the words and letters are falling on deaf ears, let's explain it with pictures... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r42VboHtg0

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Change4Life Warns Against Video Games

Video Games = Early Death? (but not with Gamercize).

It was bound to happen sooner or later, the UK government has pointed the finger at video games.

The public perception has always been playing games makes you fat, and the Department of Health, through the Change4Life awareness campaign say that'll kill you.

So, if you "do nothing" you will be at more risk than if you're active. If you don't want to give up the video games for a nice pair of red socks, an OS map, walking boots and a golden lab just yet, then do the smart thing; add Gamercize to your existing gaming, so you can be active while playing video games.

If you don't... video gaming might just kill you, and the bad news with being dead is you won't be able to complete FEAR 2, so go to http://www.gamercize.net/ and place an order.

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