Be Fit With Biray

I went from being appalled to applauding in less than 24 hours!

The mayor of Chandler has called out the residents of the city to a wellness challenge. It’s the Chandler Gets Fit initiative, urging everyone to do their best to incorporate more physical activity during the day. The website lists 30 (count ‘em) THREE ZERO fun and easy activities to try. And not one of those activities is an exergame. [Where is Ernie, the exergaming evangelist to spread the word of exergaming in our city's time of need! We should have a cool way to summon you, Ernie - like a bat signal except for exergames!].

I was appalled that exergaming wasn’t on the list! So, I decided to write Mayor Dunn an email sharing my thoughts. I wrote the letter last night in an emotional state. So I decided to sleep on it before sending it this morning. The email went at 9:11am today. Here is the excerpt from my email:

Dear Mayor Boyd W. Dunn,

I am a strong advocate of programs supporting increased physical activity in our community and I was very delighted to see your ’stamp of approval’ on the Mayor’s Wellness Challenge. It is devastating to see how sedentary we have become as a society and any bit of encouragement towards being more active helps.

However, the list that was posted on the website (the one that included 30 ideas to help people be more active) was missing one popular, culturally timely activity: exergaming (video games plus exercise). Exergaming, such as playing Dance Dance Revolution or the Nintendo Wii, has been a hot topic among fitness professionals, researchers and health educators. It is a comparable alternative to traditional forms of activity, like walking, cycling and kickboxing. What most people don’t realize about exergaming is that it has the potential of being a ’stepping stone’ to other modes of activity (such as those listed in your 30). Those who may not feel comfortable participating in fitness or sports-related events may find exergames beneficial in other ways, such as building confidence and self-esteem (which can translate into other areas of life), as well as, weight-loss and increased fitness.

Please include exergaming on this list. I know it may be a small favor to ask. But simply adding ‘exergames’ helps strengthen the research that supports active video games as an accepted form of physical activity. After all, Chandler’s very own Tumbleweed Recreation Center has an entire room dedicated to exergaming.

At 9:53am (in less than an hour!), I got a response. (I was quite surprised at his quick response, actually). Here is what he wrote:

Dear Mr. Alsac,

Thank you for the e-mail and for your interest in the Wellness Challenge. You make an excellent point and we will soon add exergaming to the site as a way to stay healthy. I appreciate the input.

Sincerely,
Mayor Dunn

Did you read that?! He used exergaming and healthy in the same sentence! This must be applauded. I will have to personally shake his hand on October 18th at the “Chandler Day of Play” event when the Mayor will recognize all of those who stayed active during his challenge.

The fact that I was referred to as a ‘mister’ instead of a ‘miss or ms.’ in his email is, at this point, forgiving.

Another one for the exergaming team! [Ernie would be proud!]

Two weeks ago, I attended an exergaming summit in beautiful Portland, Maine to discuss the future of exergaming – its advantages, limitations, barriers, and applications. A big ‘thanks’ goes out Beth Bryant and Ben Sawyer from Games for Health initiative and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation for making this retreat possible. In the two-day intensive, we launched into interesting discussions about this growing field.

For more on those in attendance and general overview of the summit, Dr. Ernie Medina wrote an excellent post on his Exergaming Evangelist blog. The results from our conversations will eventually be published in a white paper and delivered in presentations at next year’s Games for Health conference. Stay tuned.

Now that I’ve had a couple of weeks to digest the outcomes of the retreat, I wanted to revisit a question that had been on my mind prior to attending this summit.

“Do exergames belong in the gym?”

Now, obviously I’d be the first to say “YES!” without batting an eye. And, yes, I still firmly believe there is a role for exergames within the fitness community. I’m certainly not suggesting they should be excluded as an additional mode of activity or equipment in a facility. But given the culture of a club and roles of the fitness professionals who staff it, exergames are not successfully coupling within this group.

Let’s take a closer look at the roles our fitness professionals play in this environment. They are in the business of creating and designing a workout experience. Their knowledge and experience have taught them the art and science of comprehensive program design. Exergames are developed in such a way where anyone can simply plug-in and play, by-passing the element of program design. They don’t take advantage of the education and expertise that fitness professionals bring to their jobs. If fit pros wanted to integrate exergaming into their program, outside of facilitating game play or motivating the players – what else are they to do? Verbally translate the directional arrows during a session of Dance Dance Revolution?

Exergames (at least, the ones currently on the market) DO NOT complement the strengths or highlight the roles of the qualified, certified fitness professional.

I feel I can somewhat qualify this statement. In my experiences teaching DDR classes in group exercise settings (in gyms & at recreational facilities), I honestly found my role as a facilitator disappear as participants caught on to game (often within the same class period). Although the classes were well-attended, it wasn’t clear how much of this was due to my instruction. Sure, as a video gamer and exerciser I was able to generate enthusiasm for exergames (as well as provide the equipment for the class). But as a fitness professional, I couldn’t help but notice how I was curbing my traditional teaching skills and refocusing my role.

An exergame should be able to retain its unique benefits (the fun-factor, its social appeal, the built-in biofeedback mechanisms, etc.), while still taking advantage of skills a fitness professional brings to this environment (by utilizing their expertise and teaching styles). Currently, there is no reason to couple fitness pros with exergames.

So if we ever want exergames to be successful in a gym setting, we have to justify to the fitness professionals how they can benefit from delivering exergames as an alternative mode of activity. Otherwise, we’ll just have fitness professionals on one side of the gym doing their thing and exergames on the other side (stuck near childcare).

One of the reasons why I started this blog over a year ago was to have a place to explore my thoughts on how new media technologies and video games were effecting health and fitness in all aspects (both in those who seek healthier lifestyles and professionals who help guide others to pursue one). And although there’s still plenty more to learn, I’ve discovered many interesting applications along the way that enhance our health and fitness initiatives – especially living in this techno-driven generation.

I went to SXSW-interactive last year and was underwhelmed by the health and fitness-related sessions. Granted, it’s a tech conference, but there were a few health/fitness themes. (For one, they had yoga classes in the mornings!) Anyway, of the few sessions that discussed health and fitness, none were too tech-intensive.

This year I said “NO MORE!”

I joined forces with media and technology executive, David Eckoff, and together we submitted a proposal! Here was a tech-guy (whom I had met on Twitter, btw) who was also interested in fitness! Perfect. After a few gmails back-and-forth, cross-continental skype sessions, and several google doc revisions – we finally came up with the following idea:

Reduce MySpace Between Waist & Thighs So Wiki Live Longer

Let’s face it, most of us in the Web 2.0 community lead a non-stop lifestyle, with jobs that keep us plugged in 24/7, online, time-starved and sedentary. And that could be killing us. Literally.

When Internet famous blogger Om Malik suffered a heart attack December 28, it was a wake up call that he needed to change his non-stop unhealthy lifestyle. “Living a healthier life isn’t just one of my New Year’s resolutions,” Malik wrote. “It’s doctor’s orders.” We know we should be taking better care of ourselves. We might even know a few things we could be doing. But how to get started? And how to keep it going with all the demands on our time? In this highly participatory session, discover how Web 2.0 platforms and technologies can help us achieve our health and fitness goals!

There are over 1200 sessions submitted to SXSW interactive this year. And popular vote definitely has some pull. We would love to have the opportunity to showcase innovative ways people are moving towards healthy behaviors by doing simple things online… can you say ‘Twittercise’? (No joke, this exists.)

Please click on the link above.
Create your SXSW account (it takes a few seconds).
Your VOTE is appreciated!

The folks over at American Express launched a contest a few weeks ago called Members Project where you submit an idea that you think will make positive impact on the world. People vote. And winning projects are funded. AmEx is giving away 2.5 million dollars! (First place winner gets 1.5 million).

Each submission falls under a category (Arts & Culture, Community Development, Education, Environment & Wildife, and Health). The subcategories under ‘Health’ (which only has 62 submissions as of this post) breakdown further into Disease & Disorders, Education and Outreach, Elderly Care, and Fitness/Obesity/Wellness.

Here is what baffles me: there are only 13 – yes THIRTEEN submissions under Fitness, Obesity and Wellness. I’ve read all of the submissions and I must report that some of the ideas are simply miscategorized, several of them have been done before, and the rest were either too vague or underdeveloped to have any feet. That leaves about 2 or 3 potential ideas in the running for 1.5 mil. A bit underwhelming, don’t you think?

I’ve met plenty of creative health and fitness professionals out there this summer with amazing ideas. There are still 12 days left to submit a proposal. (I think you have to be an AmEx cardholder to submit – which I’m not – so I can only vote on the projects). But when there’s 2.5 million dollars at stake for a health and fitness idea, I’m surprised there aren’t more people jumping at this opportunity!

Go on, then… change the world!

Parents everywhere want to know: can playing video games actually be healthy for you and your kids?

Video game consoles, like Nintendo Wii, have taken game play into a more interactive form of entertainment. These so-called ‘exergames’ (exercise plus video games) have researchers suggesting this be the next step against childhood obesity. But why not decide for yourself? I will be discussing the scientific facts behind game play and their health-related benefits and limitations. Isn’t it time we learn just the facts.

(Oh yeah, and be prepared to get your game on!)

Exergaming: Just the Facts!
Date: Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
Time: 6:30 PM -7:30 PM
Location: Chandler Library (Hamilton Location)
3700 S. Arizona Avenue, Chandler, AZ
Contact: Call front desk 480-782-2828 for more information.

I’ve been playing around a lot on Gyminee, a fitness-related social networking site. (Just think Facebook for fitness with additional features for logging your workouts and meals.) Anyway, they’ve recently launched a new feature called “challenges” where you can challenge your friends (aka “Gym Buddies”) to a task. It can be for anything! ‘First to lose 10 pounds’ or ‘Most miles ran in a week’ or ‘Longest without a beer’… you get the picture. I’ve challenged my Arizona-based Gym Buddies to 5K race in October called “Ghosts and Goblins” (I guess the Halloween theme is appropriate since we’re not all at the same fitness level, so it might scary to see a few of my colleagues cross the finish line. LOL)

Anyway, these ‘challenges’ can be both public (meaning, anyone on Gyminee can participate) or private (you can invite specific participants). Create one for your personal training staff or one for just your clients!

Gyminee also let’s you set up rewards for each challenge. With our 5K challenge, whoever finishes the race first will get the prize: money towards iTunes store. Five bucks goes into the pot when anyone accepts the challenge. As of this post, there are only 4 of us… so the winner will get $15 worth of entertainment spending!

The cool thing about these challenges is each one comes with their own widgets. See below:

This leader board widget showcases the people involved in the challenge. Great for small group challenges when you want to see how everyone is doing.

Or, post this widget instead:

This one showcases your ranking in the challenge without listing others involved. So if you have an ongoing challenge with a lot of people involved, you can let everyone know where you rank above/below other participants!

Every time someone accepts a challenge or updates their progress toward their challenge, these widgets automatically update! Gyminee also offers other widgets that track things like body weight, protein intake, progress reports, etc. So, why not put a widget on your blog or website? This way you can generate excitement both within your Gyminee community, as well as, by cross-pollinating the web!

The application of these widgets are endless, but hopefully they act as another way to keep people motivated in reaching their health and fitness goals (and challenges)!

Oh yeah, and they’re FREE!

(Only 85 days to go until my challenge starts… wish me luck!)