Teens Exercise, Learn PE at Video Game Gym
Here’s an AP article by Rachel Konrad about a gym called Overtime in Mountain View, California that focuses on teen-aged clientele. To get them in the door, the gym offers a video arcade with the latest in kinesthetic video games. The key quote:
Investors and employees - including founder Patrick Ferrell, who launched GamePro Magazine and helped establish the video game conference E3 - say high-tech toys lure some teens. But they say the gym also offers nutritional counseling and academic tutoring that encourage lifelong health.
Ximena Urrutia-Rojas over at UNT also gets a nice quote, emphasizing that good health needs a whole family approach.
Sarah Barlow over at Saint Louis University gets the final quote:
“Even for adults, the treadmill and stationary bike don’t sustain interest over time,” Barlow said. “I like the idea of taking video games, which are so successful at engaging kids, and modifying them to get kids engaged in physical activity - now that’s fun.”
August 12, 2007 at 11:50 am
Well done, great blog and great posts!!!
January 12, 2008 at 1:12 am
[...] stay tuned for an aligned piece on using media to GET physical, as we test out the active gaming teen gym craze popping up all over (yes, Karen, ‘energy rocks!’
and assess viable [...]
January 31, 2008 at 4:28 am
[...] familiar with Amy Jussel’s excellent Shaping Youth blog, because she linked to a post of mine on exergaming a while back. Recently, Jussel shook some corporate trees by taking Target to task for some [...]
February 4, 2008 at 6:29 pm
The Wii is a very good form of exercise.
Obviously nowhere near as good for you as actual REAL exercise, but good all the same.
May 14, 2008 at 6:24 am
great the gym offers a video arcade with the latest in kinesthetic video games.