Pokemon Go! prodded millions of smartphone users to venture around their communities in search of Pokemon to catch. (Photo: Shutterstock)
The explosion of fitness apps in recent years hasn't necessarily led to a fitter nation.
The fitness industry is trying to change that by redesigning apps. The idea is to encourage users to engage in healthy activities that they already enjoy, rather than to push them to engage in exercise that they feel like they're being guilted into.
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There are already examples of apps that have succeeded at getting people active, perhaps unwillingly. The most prominent example is Pokemon Go!, which prodded millions of smartphone users to venture around their communities in search of Pokemon to catch. In addition to the fitness benefit, some people suffering from anxiety-related disorders said that the game had helped them conquer the psychological barriers that prevented them from leaving their homes and interacting with the outside world.
"What's the best way to get people off their butts and walking their steps and doing all that other kind of healthy living?" asks Michael Yang, a major investor in health technology, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. "Sometimes it's an interesting kind of game that overlays the physical world and virtual world and sending people on quests."
Virtual reality offers a number of opportunities to mix fitness with entertainment. VirZoom, a game recently profiled in Men's Fitness, takes the stationary bike to the next level: users pedal to drive what feels like a real-life helicopter, tank or kayak.
One company, Black Box VR, has plans to open an entire gym in San Francisco focused on exercise/entertainment options.
As is the case with a lot of new technology, current VR fitness machines are currently too expensive for the average consumer. Black Box says that it hopes to be able to reduce the average price of its equipment from $20,000 to $5,000 in the next several years. Even with the dramatically reduced price, it will likely be too pricey for most.
There will be less expensive – and perhaps less ambitious – options as well.
Katherine Isbister, a professor at the Center for Games and Playable Media at the University of Southern California, is researching ways to create games that encourage people to exercise through social interaction. One of her past projects is the game YaMove, where friends can compete against each other by creating synchronized dances that others have to replicate.
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