Be Fit With Biray

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).

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.

In early May, I convinced my parents to buy a Nintendo Wii (finally!). And after pestering my dad to play a game with me after dinner one night, I ended up getting my ass seriously whooped in a virtual tennis match by someone who twice my age! I knew right then and there, my fitness skills were doing me no good in this arena.

I came across this comic and it reminded me of a conversation I had with Alasdair when he came here for his 3-week visit to US in April. He had worried that his Wii-Fit would also reprimand him upon his return back to Scotland. I’m sure he’ll appreciate the humor in this cartoon.

Although I still don’t have a Wii-Fit (yet), my name is on several waiting-lists and hopefully some 17-year-old kid from GameStop will call me when one shows up at his store. (I’m not holding my breath, though.) In the meantime, I’ll just focus on practicing my virtual backhand swing. Next time I play against my dad, he won’t even see the ball coming!

The field of exergaming and ‘games for health’ continue to grow. The momentum is strong and the scientists, programmers and health/fitness professionals have been rapidly pushing its research, development, and application. I’ve been following and even participating in some of these discussions, and I thought I’d share some highlights from the past few weeks!

Last month’s Games For Health Conference brought interesting topics to the table in the area of exergaming. Although I was unable to attend the conference this year, most of the powerpoint presentations have been made available on SlideShare for viewing. Check out the Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) presentation which discusses how exergames and healthcare combine (they have been working together with Ernie Medina, Jr and XRTainment Zone). Another interesting note: Hope Lab’s motto “Lead with Fun, Health Will Follow” seems to be the attitude to have when developing games. Check out their presentation which also features the results of their mega-gaming contest Ruckus Nation. Also, although we hear about kids being the focus of most exergamming programs, DanceTown has designed an interesting game for ‘Gray Gamers’ (elder population). This is just the tip of the iceberg, 33+ other slideshows from the conference that have also been uploaded.

I also had a chance last month to meet with exergame physiologist Alasdair Thin, PhD. All the way from Scotland, his 3-week American tour included the Games For Health Conference in Baltimore and visits with fellow exergamers across the nation, with stops into Florida, California, and Canada. I was delighted to host the Phoenix leg of his trip. We spent the day talking about the G4H conference (check out his presentation on Designing Body-Movement Controlled Video Games to Maximize Energy Expenditure) and discussing various topics in gaming, technology, health education/promotion. (Our conversations were also inspired by the 2-hour hike up Squaw Peak Mountain – breathtaking!) Alasdair’s visit coincided with the US launch of the Wii-Fit (which was launched in the UK months earlier, so he already had one). One key question he left me with to ponder: “What makes a perfect exergame?”

I connected with the world’s first Exergaming Personal Trainer! Luke Pyper (from the UK) actually trains clients from their homes using various exergames! He has a group on Facebook “Keeping Fit with Video Game Consoles” and also writes various articles for GamePeople where he tackles various games and does exhaustive reviews of them – check out his verdict on Dance Dance Revolution.

And fellow group fitness instructor/trainer Raina Casarez (aka Penda), the Goddess of Virtual Fitness, launched a “Let’s Get Moving Community Fitness Day” in Atlanta located at ‘Welcome All Park & Facilities’. Group exercise instructors, personal trainers, yoga and dancers instructors gathered to showcase their innovative fitness classes to the community (for free!). Penda, of course, demonstrated her Wii and Dance Dance Revolution classes! Many instructors had not been exposed to video games, and for some, it was their first experience with these games. Although the event was to get the community moving, Penda’s goal was to get fellow fitness professionals excited about exergaming! Listen to her radio show episode that discusses details of the event here!

Innovation is everywhere, as you can clearly see! Exergames have arrived and are being incorporated into all aspects of health and fitness. This will advance our industry in ways we’ve never imagined and change the way we teach and train people around the world!

Obviously, I’m a big supporter of exergames (exercise + video games = interactive game play). After all, I spent my years in grad school studying the cardiovascular responses to PS2’s EyeToy: Kinetic. And while I believe exergaming will continue to push the boundaries of traditional game play AND fitness, I’m also curious to see if gaming will have any reverse effects on how people play games in the real-world.

Three years ago, a group of scientists at the University of Singapore developed the Human PacMan game – (no, I’m not talking about Pacman going ‘live‘), but a version of the game immersed in the real-world!

“The new game, called Human PacMan, superimposes a 3D PacMan world on top of the city’s streets and architecture. Players enter the game by donning a wearable computer, headset and goggles before choosing to play the role of PacMan or one of the Ghosts. Players’ movements are tracked using GPS receivers and motion sensors and they are linked back to a central computer system by wireless Local Area Network.”

How COOL is this?! To those who still believe exergames limit the player’s interactions outside (which at times, it does), this type of integration seems genius! Let’s spend less time bring realism to games. And more time bringing gaming to the real world, literally! Anyone know why we aren’t seeing more of these games on the market?

This whole concept challenges PlayStation’s “Live in Your World, Play in Ours” slogan. Maybe they should consider changing it: “Live in Your World, and Play in it, too!”

No, it’s not a typo. I didn’t mean to write “North by Northwest” (the famous Hitchock-Cary Grant flick thriller). I meant, South by Southwest – the Austin based film-music-interactive media festival!!!  AAAAH! I’ve been wanting to attend this conference since I was a film student in college. But since leaving the ‘biz’ and developing interests in the new media technology, this year I finally get to attend the interactive portion!

My colleagues and fellow Twitter friends from Arizona will also be there… @rrodrigo, @cogdog, @iboughtamac, and @hardaway! I’m looking forward to meeting new uber-techno geeks, like me, and entertaining conversations that explore the possibilities of the future!

I will be tweeting as often as possible, so be sure to follow my feed @befitt. But I will also be tumbling live from Austin on my new Tumblr Blog (it’s like Twitter but you get to microblog with text, pictures, audio, and video!)

See y’all when I get back!

I had the opportunity to lunch with Ernie Medina (“Exergaming Evangelist”) this weekend while I was visiting southern California. I met him on Sunday afternoon outside of his exergaming facility XRTainment Zone. I had first heard of Ernie while exploring the exergaming community amidst working on my master’s thesis. In 2006, I also met him briefly at the Games For Health conference in Baltimore, MD.

Little did I know, we would both create Google Alerts for ‘exergames’ (or some derivative of the word) and follow similar links and blogs on the topic over the next two years. Everytime I’d come across an exergaming post, Ernie would have already been there, usually having posted the first comment. And if someone wrote about exergaming unfavorably, he was quick to counter the post with reasons in support of exergaming – justifying with hyperlinks, health statistics, and gaming research to back up his comments. In addition, he would email the exergaming listserv and suggest they do the same!

When I arrived to the Zone, Ernie enthusiastically showed me the facility (btw, the pictures on their website hardly do it justice – it’s so much better live). The ‘Zone’ really sets the bar when it comes to creating an optimum exergaming facility. Its comfortable layout and design (use of space), exercise programming (full with testing and assessments), and community outreach efforts are far better than most traditional fitness facilities. They even have a kitchen area devoted to full cooking classes and a room for Yoga. Plus, they have free wireless (what a bonus!)

You can’t help but appreciate (and support) the lengths Ernie is going to in the name of exergaming! Spending a few hours with him last Sunday made it evident why he truly is the “Exergaming Evangelist”!

Thank you, Ernie, for your time and hospitality!
See you all at the Games For Health Conference this May!

Kix here!  Your health and fitness correspondent from Second Life.  Biray has asked me to post an update regarding latest in-world health and fitness news.

It seems many health and healthcare organizations have created a presence in our virtual bubble.  Everything from support groups for autism and AIDs, to communities on counseling and cancer.  Check out these resources by teleporting to HealthInfo Island (contact Carolina Keats for the TP).  Or if you have yet to cross over into our world – you can visit the SL-healthy wiki to learn more about the communities that have combined their virtual efforts.

Check out my latest blog post “Don’t Drink and Fly” about creating health-related messages using Second Life.  I witnessed a simulated car crash which turned out to be a creative ‘don’t-drive-drunk’ campaign.

Last, but not least – came across few more health clubs and fitness facilities in SL.  Check out my latest article “Move Your Body” in The Looking Glass, online magazine about SL.

“What is the deal with exergaming?”
Sound like something Seinfeld would say? Perhaps.

Yesterday, two blog posts (one was linked to the other) briefly discussed why exergaming wasn’t “clicking” in the commercial fitness industry. According to blog editor of both posts Marc Onigman “it may be because TV is a passive medium.” I’d agree that the act of watching TV might be a physically passive experience, but so is reading, going to the movies, attending operas and plays, working on the computer and sitting at a cafe chatting with friends. (Granted, the latter might be more intellectually, emotionally, psychologically stimulating – but that’s a different argument.)

Anyone who has played exergames like Nintendo Wii or Dance Dance Revolution knows that exergaming is not a passive activity. Simply because these games are developed on platforms that require a TV and/or screen connection, doesn’t discount its effectiveness. In fact, there are plenty of exergames that do not require a TV output.

Dr. Ernie Medina (exergaming evangelist and CEO of XRTainment Zone) posted excellent comments on Onigman’s blog! Medina showed evidence in favor of exergaming. One key point that he articulated was how its impact had gained big support in the health and fitness arena: “The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently announced an $8.25 MILLION grant for interactive gaming research.”

Exergaming’s low adoption rate in commercial fitness industry has little to do with TV and everything to do with the commercial fitness industry. Health clubs and gym facilities, which often cater to the active population who enjoy the traditional gym environment, are sticking to fitness programs that work (or have minimal financial risk). They have an audience that prefers seeing weight machines, not gaming machines. I think clubs are holding back and watching the exergaming trend evolve, waiting for the right time to decide if they should make an investment or not (essentially, a good business practice, no?)

But exergames are not going away, they are gaining more mainstream momentum. How it will change the purpose, function, and audience of a health club – only time can tell. Some believe those health clubs that do invest, will stay on top of their game (yes, pun intended), and those that don’t – well, it would be like walking into a premiere club of today and seeing zero indoor cycling equipment and zero Spinning classes. They’d simply be outdated.

Kix here – your health & fitness correspondent from SecondLife! I know the followers of this blog have an interest the application of exergames! Well, I have great news – we love ‘em in the virtual world, too! In fact, last weekend I spent (way too much) time playing the in-world version of Dance Dance Revolution. No, I didn’t get a high score (only 4090 points), but I did complete 24 combos! So, if anyone wants to challenge me for a SL competition – name your day & time and I’ll meet you at Meg Writer’s house (80, 27, 22) in EduIsland II. Game on, my exer-peeps!