Exercise Gaming

If I happen to be at the gym on a cardio day, and don’t feel up to running on the treadmill, I will reluctantly jump on the exercise bike. I usually don’t like the bike because it’s so boring to just sit there, stare at the wall and pedal. I’ll look over my shoulder and see people reading magazines or books wishing I had something to read too.

There’s a new exercise bike that I hope my gym will acquire. NeXfit makes fitness equipment that allows you to enjoy your exercise workout and favorite game at the same time. You can play your games complete with Internet chat and the ability to link with other NeXfit users. During your workout, you can also continuously access your health condition using the bike’s fitness software. You can also setup the coach feature, which helps you achieve the goals you set.

NeXfit has two fitness bikes available, the BK-A6 and the BK-R3. They are both made with a super light aluminum frame and resemble an average fitness bike while combining the benefits of a traditional cardio workout and computer gaming. This whole concept essentially turns fitness equipment into a game simulator. You can play just about any PC game you want, but the racing games probably function the best. Both bikes hook up to a PC using a USB connection and the pedals can be mapped to the joystick’s X- and Y-axis to perform left-to-right and throttle control. On the right handle, a small thumb stick provides mouse control to get you through the game’s menus, and four buttons let you access common game functions.

The BK-A6 features force feedback sensors built into the bike to simulate crashes, changes in terrain or whatever the game’s situation is. The feed back sensors are located in the pedals and seat. In addition an air compressor is used to simulate the uphill and downhill changes in terrain. The handlebars serve as the steering mechanism and swivel left to right. The BK-R3 uses a magnetic field resistance system for the flywheel versus the air compression on the BK-A6.

The whole fitness-game system works fairly well and certainly turns a boring bike workout into fun interactive entertainment. Your workouts will whiz by, as the majority of your attention will be shifted to the video game instead of the workout. NeXfit fit will soon release more versions of its bikes to be compatible with Xbox and PlayStation 2, which should improve game variety and will be easier to hook up to a television.

NeXfit’s bikes are available at www.nexfit.com. The BK-A6 is about $2500 and the BK-R3 is around $1900.