Be Fit With Biray

Finally a fitness facility bold enough to ‘officially’ go where many avatars have gone before – Second Life!

As the ‘unofficial’ Health and Wellness Correspondent in Second Life, I have Kix Kayamanu has always talked about the potential of fitness professionals sharing their expertise and education in a virtual environment. People (or in this case, avatars) who may not otherwise enter a gym or be drawn to traditional fitness programs may find this space a much more welcoming place to engage with personal trainers.

While the concept of virtual fitness in Second Life has had slow adoption rates, Club One is attempting to lead the way in investing their efforts in the virtual space.

Check out the video below that highlights some of Club One’s Second Life amenities:

What I like most about their approach is their focus on behavior change. Not only are they recognizing the importance of education in a 3D space, but they are also stressing that behavior change begins from having increased knowledge and self-efficacy. In essence, those who engage in virtual activities and imagine themselves participating in these behaviors will ultimately make a smoother transitions into real world fitness. At least that’s the theory.

Just imagine those who may be intimidated by personal trainers or exercise physiologists, having the opportunity to ask questions and explore their own health and fitness in an environment that is familiar and comfortable to them!

It is still hard to say how many ‘avatars’ will take to this concept or how many fitness professionals will be equipped with the instructional skills to educate and train in a TRUE virtual environment. But, as for me and my alter-ego Kix Kayamanu, we will certainly do our best to support their efforts and keep you posted of their progress!

Left to Right: Jennifer, Ernie, Biray, Genevieve

Earlier this week I attended the Health People 2010 conference in Loma Linda University in California. I was asked by Dr. Ernie Medina, MD and “exergaming evangelist” (and LLU alum) to be part of a panel on “Technology and Behavior Change”. Ernie was moderator and other panelists included Jennifer Shapiro, PhD (Scientific Director, SanTech) and Genevieve Dunton, Phd (Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Preventive Medicine, USC).

Dr. Shapiro discussed an interesting pilot research based on her company’s Text4Diet program (see her full abstract here) where participants were sent SMS/text messages during a weight-loss intervention. The results showed that those who received text-messages during their intervention lost up to 6lbs over the control group. Since text-messaging is such a personal way to reach people, it just goes to show you how it can be effectively utilized to influence people’s decision to make healthier choices throughout their day.

Dr. Dunton’s research was a bit different. It was more of an observational study about children’s level of physical activity and sedentary behaviors in their natural settings. Her research team used mobile phones as a tool to ask and gather data via text-messaging. For more on her research, check out the full abstract here.

My presentation was about how internet use influences behavior change (full session description here). The messages we receive, the social networks we participate in and the content we create online all play a role in how we adopt and maintain certain behaviors (good or bad). With so much of our image/identity being blurred between our online and offline presence, it is important to understand not just the tools available online – but the culture surrounding those tools.

Overall, it was a great conference. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend a lot of the sessions because I was in-out within 24 hours (and those cross-country flights ate up all my time!). As always, it was a pleasure to catch up with my exergaming colleagues, Ed and Tommy, from Exergame Fitness who also showed their support at the conference!

I recently checked out Mobile Net Workout a service that challenges you to get up and move by sending you exercise prompts via SMS or email at schedule times throughout the week. Each prompt comes with a 1-minute exercise challenge (with video on how to perform the exercise). Your job: do the exercise, asap. Then, check it off as done! Simple as that! The idea is: everyone has 1 minute in their day to move – so get up and move it!

The service is $2.99/month and is pre-loaded with 8 different workout programs, each varying from 13 to 38 different one-minute exercises. The programs range from beginner to advance, and they consist of exercises that mostly challenge your muscular strength and flexibility. Once you select a program based on your fitness level and goals, then you can schedule how many ‘challenges’ (i.e. 1-minute exercises) you want to receive throughout the day/week.

I chose the “Total Body Moderate” program because it was recommended as the first workout people go into. I planned my schedule so I could get 3 challenges (or exercises) during my lunch time, and 1 challenge in the mornings over the weekend (I know, I’m lazy, aren’t I? LOL).  And then waited for my challenges to come… Bring it on, MNW! Woot… Woot!

My prompts arrived in my inbox like clockwork. The first few times I enjoyed the random exercise challenges – pushups, plank holds, plies on toes. Then, I started forgetting to do them (mostly because I was in the middle of a project or a conference call). I kept saying I’d get to it in a minute (oh, the irony) but then never ended up going back. (Can you blame me, I’m human!) I eventually changed my settings to receive my 3 challenges throughout the day, instead of all at once. That made things less overwhelming, but I still missed a few here and there. (Ssh… don’t tell)

My thoughts: I think MNW is on the right track in terms of mobile-related fitness services. A minute here, a minute there… every bit of activity counts! This service is especially great for those who have procrastinated starting an exercise plan. You probably won’t turn into a body-builder by doing a few lunch-time lunges, but MNW will help keep fitness on your mind in small doses (even if you don’t complete the exercise challenges). I know I found myself reminded to be more active every time MNW sent me a prompt.

PROS: This is a great tool for people who do not have any fitness equipment or belong to a gym. Most of the exercises can be done quickly by using your body’s resistance. The videos are articulate and the exercise challenges are fun (and doable). The concept is very unique and definitely aligns with current trends of integrating fitness with technology at an affordable price.

CONS: Because the programs are pre-created, it does not account for any specific injury or exercise preference. What if you simply don’t like pushups? What if your knee is bothering you that day? At the very least, a user should have control whether or not an exercise should be removed from the rotation. Site navigation is a bit clunky and confusing – it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what a user is supposed to do once they’ve sign up.

Mobile Net Workout also has a social networking component so you can be ‘friends’ and interact with other users on the site. While I understand the motivational concept behind having friends complete challenges with you, I didn’t really feel compelled to connect with anyone on the site. Most profiles were incomplete. Plus, I couldn’t search for ‘friends’ according to which program they were on or by their location – doesn’t give me much of a starting point for a conversation. Perhaps this site is still too new to tell if this feature will be effective. However, sites like DailyBurn and DailyMile have nailed the “social networking in fitness” concept much better. And without a Facebook or Twitter integration, I have no interest trying to get my friends to log into *ANOTHER* site with me.

Mobile Net Workout is certainly one of many new ventures leading the way in how fitness professionals should be thinking as they move their products and programs into the next decade of fitness services! I look forward to seeing how they evolve over the next year.