The San Jose Mercury News
is reporting that video game exercise equipment manufacturer Powergrid Fitness has signed a deal to have the company's Kilowatt video game workout system featured at various Gold's Gyms across the country. The Kilowatt is already available in other gyms and YMCA facilities.
The Kilowatt is a form of exergaming system that works in conjunction with the original Xbox, as well as the PlayStation 2 and GameCube. The machine uses a unique apparatus to measure how hard a player pushes and pulls on the game controller. It also allows a player to use his or her entire body to control a game, instead of just their hands. Two microprocessors translate the force into actual movement in the game, meaning as more force is applied, the faster the on-screen character goes.
Instead of specialized exercise games or software, the Kilowatt system uses mass market games that are already available. According to Powergrid Fitness, the machine currently works with
“hundreds” of titles, such as
Gran Tourismo 3 (PS2),
Need For Speed: Underground (PS2, Xbox),
Blood Wake (Xbox),
007: Everything or Nothing (PS2, Xbox, GameCube), and
Metroid Prime (GameCube).
According to information detailed on the Powergrid Fitness, the machine is based on a unique technology called Isocore, which is “the culmination of a multi-million dollar, three year research and development effort completed by a team of exercise physiologists, materials scientists, electronics engineers, industrial designers, and video gamers.” In addition, the company indicated that by using the machine, a person can burn 350 calories and hour and raise their metabolic rate by five times by using the device.
