Walk into any youth fitness clubs or kids fitness games center and you’ll find most of them are put together in a similar way; couches, tv, video game consoles, pop machine etc. In places that are trying to encourage health and fitness for their members, this seems like an odd way to furnish a space. But the reason this style of youth room is so common is because it’s what kids want to do. Tv and video games are great ways to relax from the stresses of school. Kids are also very connected to technology, and especially video gaming on their phones, computers, and gaming consoles.
“The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security of our nation is at stake.”- First Lady Michelle Obama at the Let’s Move! launch on February 9, 2010
However there is a different way to create a space for teenagers at places like a YMCA or Midtown Athletic Club in their youth fitness clubs. Places like the ones mentioned are installing Exergame rooms to replace their less engaging tween/teen centers with more kids fitness games. One of the leading products that these places love is the Exerbike – an interactive fitness recumbent stationary bicycle that is attached to an electronic sensor reading the rpm of the pedals and an XBox. If the pedals are moving, the sensor is engaged and activates the XBox controller so that the biker can use the game console. If the user stops pedaling, the game is paused and the controller stops working. In essence, you have to pedal to play. This product is similar to the Expresso bike, an interactive fitness game cycle, but offers a much wider variety of games to play.
Kids (and even adults) have really enjoyed the Exerbike in their youth fitness clubs. Stories have been shared of how they have biked for forty-five minutes straight or biked six or seven miles without realizing it because they were engrossed in their kids fitness games. And it gets even better when there are two Exerbikes linked to the same XBox system for multiplayer mode because it creates that competitive edge.
The Exerbike is a great way to get kids moving, as well as to introduce them into the fitness world. For kids who aren’t particularly good at sports but may be really good at video games, the Exerbike allows them to do something they excel at while simultaneously getting them to work on their fitness.
For any organization wanting something more for their teens, this is a must have product.