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Some people can power through a session on the stair machine without the aid of an iPod, television or magazine. The rest of us, though, need to combine our fitness activities with a little, or a lot, of distraction.
Luckily, there are more and more ways to do that these days. It used to be that videogames were for couch potatoes. In the past couple of years, though, new games that encourage users to get up and get moving have hit the market. Likewise, fitness companies are spicing up boring old gym equipment by adding game technology. The trend appeals to people looking for a new way to exercise, as well as to parents trying to make their kids' screen time a little healthier.
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While the games, for the most part, don't push players too hard, they do keep users from spending hours moving nothing but their eyes and hands.
"They're sneaking in something that can get you off your butt and on your feet," says Gregory Florez, founder and CEO of health coaching provider FitAdvisor.com. "It's not necessarily a workout, but it gets you moving."
Konami Digital Entertainment's "Dance Dance Revolution," in which players move their feet on a dance pad in time to the beat of a song, is credited with starting the movement in 2001 when it hit the U.S.
The game particularly took off with children, who see it as a fun, musical competition, while their parents view it as a way to get kids off the couch. Early last year, Konami announced a three-year partnership that will make "Dance Dance Revolution" part of health education in every public school in West Virginia.
But the trend of games that incorporate physical activity didn't really take off until two years ago, with the launch of Activision's wildly popular "Guitar Hero," in which players press fret buttons on the guitar controller in sync with scrolling onscreen notes. "Guitar Hero II" for PlayStation 2 was the 10th best-selling videogame of 2006 in terms of units sold, according to the Entertainment Software Association.
The game appeals to a mass audience that wants to rock out, not work out. But, much like Nintendo's "Wii Sports," which launched in late 2006, it has a sneaky way of getting people moving. While not marketed as a game with a fitness element, Wii Sports gamers can mimic the actions of swinging a baseball bat or throwing a punch.
"No matter how you look at it, they're offering more of a workout than just a videogame," says Jason Grimm, vice president of marketing for InterAction Laboratories, whose company makes the Exer-station, a health-conscious game controller. "In many cases, it's a great way of working out."
On the other side of the coin, a handful of fitness companies have been adding videogame elements to gym equipment to attract technology lovers and those simply in search of a more fun or interactive way of getting fit.
In the fall, Expresso Fitness will launch the S2, a bike with a 17-inch LCD screen that gives users the choice of riding a dozen virtual courses or chasing and slaying dragons.
Another option is the Motivatrix MX9 Workout Master, a machine that uses optical scanners to track your movements and report your speed, heart rate, calories burned and work performance. Choose the Max Challenge Workout option, and you can use your entire body as a joystick to play videogames such as "Dynamic Assault," "Dash," "Dart & Swim" and "Calorie Killer." The MX9 was just one of several machines sporting this type of hardware showcased at the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association's 2007 convention, held in March.
While many of the products combining fitness and videogame elements are geared toward children, experts expect gyms will slowly begin offering more equipment with game technology for all ages in the future. For now, though, the trend is primarily sweeping through people's homes, and it's not just the kids who are playing.
Hook up Cybex International's Cybex Trazer to your TV, for instance, and it will project your body movements onscreen as you play soccer goalie in your living room.
"In my family, we play to see who is going to give up first," says Steve Suchanek, director of product management for Cybex. "There's a little bit of kid in all of us. You want to play."
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