New Gamepad Designed To Build Muscles? 441
Robmonster writes "The BBC are reporting a story about a product designed to address both exercise and videogaming in one fell swoop. According to the piece: 'A new type of gamepad from a US fitness equipment company aims to turn the couch potato gamer stereotype on its head. The Kilowatt controller by Powergrid Fitness is designed to build up muscle while playing a PlayStation 2, Xbox or PC game." The article explains: "In a racing game like Gran Turismo, the harder you push on the joystick, the faster a car goes, while pulling back slows down the vehicle."
White House Approved Lifestyle (Score:4, Funny)
The World Health Organization recommends [who.int] eating better but they have probably never played video games.
Re:White House Approved Lifestyle (Score:5, Insightful)
The WHO basically ignored factoring in lifestyle, saying instead that certain diets were optimal for everyone. The WHO isn't wrong, they are just being overly stringent with their guidlines. The US prefers to emphasize that a healthy lifestyle can also be an enjoyable lifestyle.
I don't see anything wrong with that. Calories are Calories, the only difference is quantity.
Re:White House Approved Lifestyle (Score:2, Insightful)
BULLSHIT (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:BULLSHIT (Score:4, Informative)
Just because you fortify it, doesn't mean it's healthy!
The main problem with today's health is the myth that "fat is bad". So they make all this fat-free foods that people gobble up. Their blood sugar spikes from all the carbs and they're hungry again too soon.
Enriched flour is a terrible misnomer. It means that for the food companies to save money, they've taken wheat, ground it down to a powder, losing all the vitamins. Then fortify it with vitamins, and make cereal, bread, cakes, cookies, and pastas. The bad thing is, it's only 1 step above sugar.
Complex Carbohydrates, protein, and fat all satiate your hunger for much longer than sugar and simple carbs.
I'm no Atkins fan, but I did learn a lot from it. I only cut out simple carbs and counted calories when I lost my 150 pounds.
Re:White House Approved Lifestyle (Score:5, Informative)
What they neglect to mention is that sugar and white flour might as well be the same thing. It doesn't matter if you consume 50g of carbs from sugar, or from flour, they rapidly become the exact same thing in your body.
The biggest problem with food in america is that we have a tendency to eat preprocessed food, and preprocessed food tends to have huge amounts of sugar added to it for flavor. Personally, I have always hated overly sweet food, such as the pizza sauce at Domino's... But the fact is, all this extra sugar is making us fat. Any carbohydrates you take in become fat if you don't burn (use) them.
What you need to read on this topic is a fine article in the NYT by one Gary Taubes entitled "What if it's all been a big fat lie?" Unfortunately, NYT moved that to an archive article and you have to pay $2.95 to read it now, because they are bastards. I mean seriously, I can see a dollar or something, but three bucks? In any case I condensed the article (sharply, I'm afraid) in an article I wrote for Everything2 entitled "How the Government Fattened America [everything2.com]". Please be gentle to E2, though it has moved to a new host it is still pretty fragile in terms of overuse.
One of the important paragraphs from my article runs like so:
The bottom line is that the government tells us to choke down the carbs. A bag of sugar (from C&H) says that "Sugar Contains No Fat" but eating fat doesn't even raise your cholesterol, eating fat mixed with a bunch of carbohydrates does. The emphasis on low-fat diets (which do not work for most people) causes many people to consume more carbohydrates. Problem is, the more carbs you eat, the more glucose ends up in your body at once. Glucose regulates hunger. Your brain will eventually build up a tolerance to it, meaning you have to eat more carbs to feel full. So, then you eat more carbs, which means you become more resistant to glucose - a classic vicious cycle.
On top of all this, when you consume carbohydrates your pancreas produces insulin as part of the conversion process. The more carbs you take in, the more insulin is produced. The more insulin you produce, the harder your pancreas has to work, and eventually it will give up and you will become a diabetic. How's that for your carb-heavy payoff?
So, in summation; The government says sugar is bad and other carbs are good, when in fact all carbohydrates (except fiber, which is indigestible, and cleans out your colon) have the same effect on your system. (The less processed they are, however, the slower they are
not new. (Score:5, Funny)
(I obviously havnt read the article)
We need a total body workout (Score:2)
DDR builds only the lower body. It's too bad nobody makes a home version of Para Para Paradise, an arm game, or EZ2Dancer, which works both the upper and lower body.
Re:We need a total body workout (Score:3, Informative)
Not if you hang on to a couple of heavy weights and try to keep your balance while playing on heavy...
Re:We need a total body workout (Score:3, Interesting)
Trying to mix in uppercuts however, tends to cause misses because of the vertical weight shift.
GTRacer
- Hey Yo Captain Jack!
Re:We need a total body workout (Score:2, Funny)
Re:We need a total body workout (Score:5, Insightful)
Tell that to my legs...my calves and thighs are incredibly toned and solid after many moons of DDR and not much else exercise. I used to have the typical pasty flabby geek legs - now they're pasty beefcake geek legs!
GTRacer
- Also uses hand weights to balance out the toning
Re:We need a total body workout (Score:5, Funny)
Re:not new. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:not new. (Score:3, Funny)
It was fun, though!
Re:not new. (Score:3, Funny)
That game was the quickest way to break an Apple][e joystick.
I remember Nintendo put out the Power Pad for that game.. great leg workout, although most people just knelt down and hit the pad with their hands.
Re:not new. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:not new. (Score:5, Funny)
Even older... (Score:5, Funny)
This would be more helpful (Score:5, Interesting)
The faster I ran on this thing, the faster my compile would go. I'd buy it.
Re:This would be more helpful (Score:5, Funny)
Re:This would be more helpful (Score:2)
I can see it now... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I can see it now... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I can see it now... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I can see it now... (Score:4, Funny)
What the hell is this? (Score:3, Insightful)
Why all the gimmickry?
Re:What the hell is this? (Score:2)
I mean, I have dogs, but you guys all sit inside all day and are pale.
So instead of killing your boss (Virtually, in your mind, so you wont in rl) with your fingertips, youd have to work for it. Perhaps even for thirty minutes.
THEN eat less, and sure nuff, youd loose weight.
"/Dread"
Re:What the hell is this? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What the hell is this? (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh yea? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:What the hell is this? (Score:5, Informative)
a very un-insightful statement there.
many people that are overweight do stop eating when they are not hungry. their insulin-intolerance causes a insulin spike to last too long making them hungry too long.
Maybe if you knew much about the human diet and medical conditions that are common to cause obesiety you would have not made such a stupid remark.
want to lose weight? go to a doctor and have him/her tell you what YOU need for weightloss and lifestyle changes. only a fool believes the line of yours I quoted.
Re:What the hell is this? (Score:5, Insightful)
Most people will just finish the portions they are served.
Stop being an apologist for all those poor fat people that have everything stacked against them. If they are 5'3" and 270lbs from eating at McDonald's every day, it's not the fault of McDonald's, it's the fault of the person that didn't figure it out when they were 200lbs, then 210, 230, 250, etc...
Hell, I'm overweight because I sit on my ass all day and eat too much. I finish all my fries even after I'm no longer hungry.
I read a study once that fat people don't remember what they've eaten as well as thin people.
This is great (Score:4, Funny)
Re:This is great (Score:5, Funny)
1.) It builds strong forearm muscles (Make sure to swap hands, occasionally for equal development of both forearms. Hey, it's "like a new lover!").
2.) Good for the prostrate and related muscles.
Re:This is great (Score:2)
Re:This is great (Score:2)
typical fitness mistake (Score:2)
Re:typical fitness mistake (Score:2)
What you say???!!!
Poo (Score:2)
DDR is for you (Score:2)
find me a machine that involved exercise, video games, a love life, advice on stocks, and beer
Exercise and video games: Dance Dance Revolution by Konami.
A love life: The gathering of players of both sexes at arcades that have a DDR machine may lead to the beginning of a relationship.
Advice on stocks: Buy Konami.
Beer: Unfortunately, this is the only hard part. Most arcades I've visited do not serve alcoholic beverages, and I don't know how many bars have DDR machines next to their video slot mac
Re:DDR is for you (Score:2)
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Nintendo had this in the 80's, it was a flop. (Score:2)
Re:Nintendo had this in the 80's, it was a flop. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Nintendo had this in the 80's, it was a flop. (Score:2)
Re:Nintendo had this in the 80's, it was a flop. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Nintendo had this in the 80's, it was a flop. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Nintendo had this in the 80's, it was a flop. (Score:2)
Time for some DDR!
Re:Nintendo had this in the 80's, it was a flop. (Score:2)
The industry has changed, as well as the target demographic (30 year old males). Perhaps if you RTFA.
Sig Feil!
Re:Nintendo had this in the 80's, it was a flop. (Score:2)
The power pad is nearly identical to the Dance Dance Revolution pads, which are quite succesful. The difference is not the hardware, it's the software.
This product will almost certainly flop, because it doesn't have any games designed for it, so there almost certaintly won't be any games that are more fun using it. As well as being much too expensive.
Re:Nintendo had this in the 80's, it was a flop. (Score:2)
Change of tact? (Score:3, Funny)
So they're saying... (Score:3, Funny)
Woohoo! Bring it on!
Please... (Score:5, Interesting)
You don't have to go to the gym and work out - you could do a sports activity or even just jog down to the shops and back to get some milk - but it'll be ten times better for you than twiddling your already overdeveloped thumbs.
Oh, and while you're at it, replace every other can of Coke/Mountain Dew/whatever with a glass of water. Your body will thank you for it.
Re:Please... (Score:3, Interesting)
Check it out:
The ultimate training accessory [branfordbike.com]
This way, I get my needed cycling in during the rain, and I can play too.
-WS
Re:Please... (Score:5, Insightful)
Or stairclimbers into some sort of bizarre-o Mega-Man game.
I feel the patent office calling my name...
[j/k]
This is silly (Score:5, Interesting)
As Butt Head once put it so well, "If I wanted to read, I'd go to school."
And if I wanted to exercise, I'd go outdoors.
Yes, but then again no... (Score:2)
In a driving game, to pick the simplest example, the looseness of the wheel could be correlated to the slipperiness of the road surface, much as it is in the Real Life (tm) system.
Controllers with no resistance at all
If you want a workout (Score:5, Funny)
Why buy? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:If you want a workout (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:If you want a workout (Score:3, Interesting)
Yeah, that game is great, although it doesn't record your movement fast enough all the time.. and you kinda gotta slow down a bit and match the pace of the game. On that note, though, Ever seen the Eye Toy for PS2 [eyetoy.com]? My girlfriend's Aunt showed us that thing, it's effin' great, it's got it's own disc o' games that comes with it, not
Soon.. (Score:2, Insightful)
At the beach, no longer will we have to feel the humilation of the muscle-headed jerks kicking sand into our faces when we are chatting up the bikini -clad hotties! We'll be doing the kicking.
Rather, we would be, but we have to get past the next track in Project Gotham Racing 2, back up our clan in Socom II, and hit level 65 in Everquest.
Aha! (Score:2, Funny)
I feel a mastercard commercial coming on. (Score:2)
Average age of a video game buyer:
29 years
Number of years of wasted education trying to come up with a good excuse to play games all day long instead of work:
Kernal Panic!
We're hanging here....
Okay, well then, you try. :P (Score:2)
Go ahead, fix my pathetic joke.
Make my day...punk.
Sweat (Score:3, Funny)
Clever, but... (Score:2)
I'm a tall guy. Even if I was skinny, I'd be 200 lbs. That's a LOT of weight to move quickly, without hurting myself...
Two problems I can see... (Score:2)
Problem the first: the tensile strength of any joystick/analog stick required is going to be much higher than in the regular el-cheapo controllers.
Problem the second: overdeveloped thumbs and puny everything-else. :P
Aerobics (Score:2)
As a poster above said, DDR will work a lot better at getting us all in shape.
Not really (Score:5, Insightful)
The traditional way of doing aerobics (low impact long duration) only burns fat for the duration of the session but it doesn't do anything for after you have exercised. It has been shown in lots of peer-reviewed studies that high-intensity interval training (mix of sprints and lower intensity running/cycling etc) is superior for fat burning because after a workout session, your body continues to burn fat, whereas you do not achieve this during a low impact low intensity workout.
One thing to think about - look at sprinters and look at marathon runners. Sprinters are lean and mean. They train for explosive power. Marathon runners on the other hand, while skinny, are rather flabby...
Re:Not really (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, there's a genetic difference between sprinters & distance runners, which is why very, very few people successfully crossover between the two sports. And the difference in appearance betweens sprinters & marathoners is the difference between someone who can focus on "bulking up" muscles
Wish I'd had one as a youth (Score:2)
Old Idea (Score:2)
Woo Hoo (Score:3, Funny)
Seriously -- rememeber the Chris Farley Skit: "My God, these Hideously Oversized and Freakishly Strong Children Will Surely Rise Up And Destroy Us?"
Possibly, if the thing didn't cost so much... (Score:2)
Mudcycle (Score:3, Interesting)
better games available (Score:2)
What's the point? (Score:2, Interesting)
Seriously, I know this chick that disconnected the power steering cable from her car so she can work out her arms while she's driving. It works - her arm muscles are spectacular, but I guess safety issues be damned.
bad trademarks (Score:2)
I hope they don't try to sue my friends [slashdot.org]
Doesn't that defeat the purpose? (Score:2)
isometric training != fitness/strength (Score:2, Interesting)
Ok, how much of you.. (Score:2)
"/Dread"
The fundamental problem with this (Score:2, Interesting)
Excuse the exercise, or a way to participate? (Score:3, Informative)
This sounds to me like another item to add to the hundreds we use that cause carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive stress disorders. Now, instead of just mildly turning the joystick over and over again, there is resistance that will add to the strain. This doesn't see like its at healthy as it first appears. Exercise indeed, but what I believe these sports medicine professionals are missing is the fact that unlike lifting weights or other people who exercise for health reasons, gamers do not typically stop playing after a short one-hour workout. (Good, healthy workouts are usually about that long) Gamers sometimes sit in front of those games for hours and hours; having repetitive moments with muscular tension could actually harm the muscles instead of build them up. It would seem that this is a great idea for the health nut looking for an interesting way to lose weight as these people would play for an hour and stop, but this is not a particularly great excuse for gamers to exercise. The company should stick with the idea of putting these in gyms, but perhaps skip the idea of a marketing this to a hardcore, overweight RPGer.
However, I think that if used in moderation, I suppose this is an excuse (note: I said excuse, and its not a particularly great one) to exercise. But perhaps they should look at marketing this, instead of as a piece of exercise equipment, as a way to physically enjoy the games. Anyone remember when Nintendo made the the large floor pad so that you could really run and control the track game? It was great not because of the exercise but because one got to really participate in the game. Maybe applying this to VR, anyone?
In the end, however, one thing holds true:
This device makes a perfect symbolic comment on our culture.
While everyone is saying "go outside" (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't like gyms. They're expensive, and between going there, getting my exercise, and coming back, they take up too much of my time. Oh yeah, they're REALLY boring, which means I won't go.
I hate jogging. It sucks, especially in the winter. It's boring, and it's not safe in my area (thugz & moron drivers).
I ~love~ swimming,
Kill your Playstation? (Score:2, Insightful)
The fact that they are developing this for, what would be my guess, a substitute to "real exercise" makes me wonder: Have we gone too far?
Will people 10 years from now be saying:
Kill your Playstation!
Kill your Computer! Kill your Internet Connection!
I tried this thing at CES (Score:5, Informative)
Completely Useless (Score:2)
Maybe if their was some sort of all in one excersize machine controller, like a bowflex or something like that, that can connect to a PC or another game console. That would be a
Must Move! (Score:3, Interesting)
I do three types of exercise:
Free Weights
Machine (Nautilus)
Aerobic
Now I'm not saying isometric is bad for you, just that I've never seen anyone build muscle with or or get good cardio vascular from it. It can provide toning when used in conjunction with other exercise types.
I personally think people will be bored with isometric exercise, because you don't feel any movement (granted here you have game feedback). But motion is what really gets you the next immersion level. I used to do computerized rowing machine, and I really enjoyed chasing my computer opponent in the other boat.
Isometric won't condition you for real athletic performance in the real world. The same reason I use a mix of machine and free weights. The free weights train your body for how to lift against real mass in the real world, and though you may not realize it, you will be be adapted to say helping your significant other move the couch around the room a dozen times until its "Fung Shui"
I suppose its possible to get the heart rate up for cardio with isometric, but it seems unlikely for most. Again, motion is the key to health. Get moving until you work up a moderate sweat and maintain for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to really get cardio benefits.
I like the idea of linking computer games and workouts, I have a friend that is hooked on Dance-Dance-Revolution and it works well for him. I just don't think this cheap-o scheme of isometric will catch on, or more importantly really give the advertised benefits.
York has a new fitness game for geeks... (Score:5, Funny)
I want Prop Cycle! (Score:3, Interesting)
This is not a good idea (Score:5, Insightful)
don't gamer's already have that motion down? (Score:3, Funny)
A PC version would be better... (Score:3, Interesting)
Now on the other hand... I've always been surprised that no one had implemented a stationary-bike kind of setup for a PC workstation (that I've seen anyways - feel free to add links). It wouldn't even been that hard; off the top of my head, you could hook the mouse wheel to a sensor on the bike wheel, so you had to pedal to scroll while browsing. Backwards and forwards. Imagine you'd burn a few calories that way...
Anyways, the invention is a compelling idea, but they should have bundled specific games with it... a MechWarrior kind of thing would be neat...
whatever... (Score:3, Interesting)
Funk dat!
And people wonder why I refuse to invest in stocks...
Damn! I thought of this. (Score:3, Funny)
Another right handed exercise.. (Score:3, Funny)
Ok, you get a strong right hand, right arm, right everyting..
There are other exercises you can do to achieve the same result :-D
We should stick to Dance Revolution, at least the side effect is that you can pretend to have a fit.
Re:Now all we have to do.... (Score:2)