People-Powered Gyms

While floating around on the internet as I tend to do, I found an interesting article about an outdoor gym that generates electricity. You can find the article itself here.

The concept of generating your own energy through exercise is a brilliant one and until recently was only a fun, experimental thing rather than a day to day experience. I remember watching a street performance in Bath years ago where the audience were invited to cycle on a machine and as you did you powered the music system. I took on the challenge single-handedly (I was always an optimistic child!) and managed about 20 seconds of powering it myself before collapsing exhausted. It displayed brilliantly the amount of energy needed to produce even the little things we take for granted every day. I've seen similar systems in Science Museums and other places with a similar goal.

However in the last 5 years we've started to take it more seriously, first in Hong Kong in 2007 and since then in gyms all over the world. The technology is starting to spread throughout America too, with a number of different companies creating gym equipment that stores electricity to be used by the facility. Check out this article for more information.

While the American gyms are doing their bit for the environment and gym-goers can brag of their moral superiority, if you're not someone who normally goes there's no real draw for you to start. However this new outdoor gym in England lets you see how much you're generating at each piece of equipment. They're even coming up with new technology that will allow you to charge your phone or MP3 with the electricity you generate! Being able to benefit from taking part in such an activity (health benefits are often lost on today's youth sadly) and actually take away the fruits of your effort will certainly encourage people to start working out at these places. I'm actually disappointed that the only gym currently resides in Hull - a 4 hour drive from where I live.

I actually cannot wait for this kind of technology to be local to me. I've been meaning to join a gym for ages and this would definitely be the final push that I needed!

What do you think of these new gyms? Is there one near you?