Arcade gyms - XRtainment and Energy Factory

Traditional gyms have been slow to incorporate videogame-based exercise. Instead, what we're starting to see is a new kind of video arcade that features nothing but exercise games.



The Energy Factory in Tenafly, NJ is billed as an "indoor electronic fitness center for kids."

The brainchild of Alex Ehrlich, The Energy Factory is the first center of its kind in the country. Don't expect it to be the last.

Software engineers and game designers are the new warriors in the battle against childhood obesity and inactivity. The National Institutes of Health even is funding video-game research projects as part of its anti-obesity efforts.

The Hoover School, which does not have its own gymnasium, used a federal grant to pay for its visits to The Energy Factory. Grades 1 to 5 each stayed one hour, with seven minutes at every station.

Next up: The XRtainment Zone family fitness center is currently being built in Redlands, California.

“Exertainment” is a mix of entertainment and exercise. Exertainment games are fun and exciting, and will engage you in exercise by moving your entire body! Challenge yourself on XRtainment Zone’s games such as Makoto, 3Kick, EyeToy, DDR, GameBike, Jackie Chan Fitness Studio and more! XRtainment Zone makes exercising together fun; and when it’s fun, kids, parents and adults of all ages will be more successful in keeping fit.

Their blog hints at interesting things to come:

On this last day of January, we had our first big piece of equipment come in. It's called 3Kick, a machine where you stand inside 3 towers, kicking and punching the pads as they light up and beep. We can't wait to be able to put it together! Mark Alexander, the founder/inventor of this product, and his sister drove from Utah to deliver this to us.

UPDATE: The website for 3Kick turns out to be, naturally enough, http://www.3kick.com . The product looks like a great way to practice martial arts strikes at various angles: