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Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

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Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#71

Post by ryanelkins »

feral wrote: post #19

Right. What he's describing is just like team rowing, or tug-o-war or a sport like american football, rugby, basketball, etc. We've had this technology for thousands of years.

One nice thing about this idea is it lets people jump in and participate when they have time and not be beholden to a schedule or have to rely on a team. It's sort of like an FPS where if you have 15 minutes to kill, you can log in, get some headshots, and log out. It's a team thing but the players can come and go without too much of a structure around it.

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#72

Post by StavrosK »

johnwatson11218 wrote: post #70

I just want to add that at home I have a treadmill with a flat panel tv,dvd player, and xbox 360 hooked up right in front of it. That is the only way I can do 40+ minutes of cardio. It turns out that for me the multiplayer games like Call of Duty 4 are the most engaging. I can get so wrapped up in those kinds of games that I forget that I am working out. It helps that often I am "running" in the game at the same rate…

Don't your arms get tired from being held up in front of you for so long?

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#73

Post by johnwatson11218 »

StavrosK wrote: post #72
johnwatson11218 wrote: post #70

I just want to add that at home I have a treadmill with a flat panel tv,dvd player, and xbox 360 hooked up right in front of it. That is the only way I can do 40+ minutes of cardio. It turns out that for me the multiplayer games like Call of Duty 4 are the most engaging. I can get so wrapped up in those kinds of games that I forget that I am working out. It helps that often I am "running" in the game at the same rate…

Don't your arms get tired from being held up in front of you for so long?

I use a wireless controller for the xbox, so I just hold it up in front of me. It hasn't been an issue, my legs get tired first.

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#74

Post by ryan_au »

This doesn't seem to be a particularly well thought out prediction in terms of weight machines.

First of all, it would be dangerous. Say I'm on a leg press machine and my contribution is some function of the weight I move and the number of reps I do per unit of time. If I wanted to win the game, I'd be trying to bang out as many reps as possible as fast as possible. Now say I've loaded on 200kg (440lbs) and I start trying to do this. Say I'm on a Smith Machine and I'm squatting as fast as I can. Say I'm on a bicep curl machine and I start trying to rep too fast. These examples would expose a person to the potential for a whole range of nasty injuries. Now imagine the kind of litigation implications that would arise if the gym members started looking for someone to blame for their injuries. In fact, these types of games (when applied to weight training) look like a perfect candidate for a class action lawsuit.

The games that Scott is suggesting seem to indicate that they would encourage poor exercise form. I challenge anyone to find a significant body of sports science literature indicating that the faster one completes their reps (set), the better it is for them.

The only way these games could be good for a person would be if they somehow encouraged good form. Even if they did, the games would have to encourage good workouts, e.g. appropriate exercises, appropriate rest between sets, an appropriate number of sets, and appropriate number of reps and an appropriate amount of weight. Even if this requirement was satisfied, the workout and all relevant parameters would have to be tailored to the individual.

In summary, Scott's suggestion, if applied to any sort of weight training machine, could be one of the worst things to happen to weight training since the Nautilus circuit.

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#75

Post by brc »

feral wrote: post #19

Right. What he's describing is just like team rowing, or tug-o-war or a sport like american football, rugby, basketball, etc. We've had this technology for thousands of years.

I'm with you - it's a perverse situation where you're intentionally designing an abstraction layer between yourself and individual or team sports. There's a neat-o factor in this, but one more suited for a fairground attraction rather than a template for day-to-day exercise.

It's just easier to circumvent the technology and go to the gym with a friend, or to join a rowing team, etc, etc. I wonder daily why I run past people inside on their running machines, when running outside is free and immensely more enjoyable.

I do sometimes worry that people are trying to abstract away too much of their life and live in solo-yet-connected worlds. Gyms are already a shortcut to getting real movement and activity in your day, but to substitute interaction along with your physical movement feels completely like an optimization step in the wrong direction, like freeze drying food for longer storage, when just going to the shop for fresh food is quite easy for most people, and a far superior solution.

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#76

Post by StavrosK »

johnwatson11218 wrote: post #73
StavrosK wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't your arms get tired from being held up in front of you for so long?

I use a wireless controller for the xbox, so I just hold it up in front of me. It hasn't been an issue, my legs get tired first.

Hmm, depending on how fast you run, yeah... It's a good idea, but I can see Gorilla Arm becoming a problem. I'm thinking of buying a recumbent exercise bike to replace my desk chair with, though.

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#77

Post by tripplez »

There is a similar thing called Nike Plus. It's a community web site with a database of the running data of runners/joggers using Nike+ sensors in their shoes (or Nike+ GPS App for iPhone).

And yes, I find it funny to be able to compare my running times, pace, total running distance, etc. to the people around the world, it's like a RPG game doing real things....

Of course, there are drawbacks. For instance, if the sensor isn't properly calibrated the results can be inaccurate. Not the case with the pure GPS tracking app, of course...

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#78

Post by brianmwang »

Poiesis wrote: post #17

No, no--what's coming first is farmville/foursquare style workouts and tracking. "Poiesis is King of the elliptical trainer!" "Achievement unlocked: 200 pound club" "New badge: Power Hour" "Most consecutive workout days: Poesis (42)" Add an iPhone app maybe for cardio workout tracking that's harder to cheat. This would be totally awesome. Maybe stick a leaderboard up on one of the big screens. Only problem is that it…

My partner and I have been working on something that's very similar to this description for some time now. Earliest feedback has been quite interesting and we're hoping to get a beta out in the wild sometime this year. Those interested in beta testing should let me know :)
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