Get Buff While Geeking Out

Two different devices intended to slow the nerd obesity epidemic just came to our attention. PoconoPCDoctor writes about the Geek-A-Cycle, which is a workstation with built-on exercise bike that you have to pedal to run the computer. And several readers pointed out the FP Gamerunner (mirror), reviewed here: think treadmill meets Quake 4. Again, you have to keep moving to stay in the game.

Comments

Reminds me of...

[AKAImBatman]

...the Atari Puffer. That was not a saleable idea either.

I Ride A Bicycle 20 Miles Each Way To/From Work

[mrs clear plastic]

I am solving this problem the cheap way.

I ditched my car and now get around on a bicycle.

My commute is 20 miles each way to and from work. That includes goeing up and down an 800 foot hill (Council Crest, in Portland, Oregon).

I am losing my weight fast.

I am saving about $400 per month in car related costs now that I got rid of the car.

People tell me it can't be done, but it' no problem for me so far.

And I don't need some new fangled cycle/workstation or treadmill/workstation. And I don't need to spend $$$ for waiting to use unwashed health club equipment.

Peace

Re:I Ride A Bicycle 20 Miles Each Way To/From Work

[PoconoPCDoctor]

I had mod points to give on your post, but you're at the max! Totally agree with your approach. I used to commute from Brooklyn to mid-town Manhattan in the mid 1970's. Man what a workout! The view of New York Harbor while riding over the Brooklyn Bridge was spectacular. Round-trip was about the same as yours - 20 miles. I got to work a little sweaty at times, but used to shower at work when it was really hot. My resting pulse at the time was about 45.

Not getting hit by NY taxi drivers, buses, and delivery trucks also added that gaming element to the daily trip.

Re:I Ride A Bicycle 20 Miles Each Way To/From Work

[mrs clear plastic]

This is where a good mountain bike comes in to play. I know of people who commute in the snow with a mountain bike with big knobbly tires.

Also, there are those who have taken some small nails and created spiked tires for snow and ice riding. 1/4 or 1/8th in long nails or tacks, poked from inside to outside the tire (and backed with a Mr. Tuffy's to protect the tube from the heads) could do the job.

And by the way, my ride is 20 miles each way. That's 40 miles total for the day.

I do this ride two to three days per week. The other days I will take the bus (which has bicycle accomodations) part of the way. I do, however, try to do the 800 foot hill daily for both the morning commute in and the afternoon commute out; this being the most important for excercize. If I have time, there is an additional 250 foot scenic hill climb to the summit, which is at a total of 1050 feet elevation.

Truly,

Obesity and skepticism

[rumblin'rabbit]

My BMI (body-mass index) is 29.3. That's just on the border between overweight and obese. And yet no one seems to consider me overweight. I take a size 34 waste, my belly doesn't overhang my belt, I can easily run 5 miles at a decent pace, and I keep up to obviously fit people when circuit training. My doctor has never once told me I should lose weight.

The problem, of course, is that the BMI doesn't compensate for muscle or stature. Now everyone knows the BMI is only a rough guide, and that there are better ways to measure obesity. But if it's the main instrument for claiming an "obesity epidemic" then we have to know how rough.

If the BMI doesn't work for me, how many others does it not work for?

Doop!

[loteck]

What's funny is that not only did I post this back in '03 but that I also misspelled pedal in the story body and it didn't get picked up by the editor then either.

Slashdot is like buddhism for stories. All stories are headed for reincarnation until they reach Nerdvana.

Re:Clean energy, hamster style?

[phoenix321]

My question exactly. My notebook draws around 35W when idle and 40-45W when loaded, including the battery recharging. This site http://www.windstreampower.com/humanpower/hpgtech. html is claiming for 125W of continuous pedaling power of the average human - and they even sell the equipment needed. But only in 120V US-voltage, which is not quite right for my European 220V appliances. Hmpf. But nonetheless, one hour of pedalling would yield enough power for two hours of computing - which would ne rather nice to have in not grid-connected cabins to be able to watch some dvds in the evening. Not bad...

Very important to cool legs while riding cycle.

[Ungrounded Lightning]

If you're going to use a stationary bike for exercise, I strongly recommend a small fan blowing against your legs - especially the uppor portions, and that you wear shorts. Cooling the leg muscles greatly increases your power and endurance - far more than the power cost of the fan if you happen to be pedal-generating.

That's why stationary exercise bicycles sometimes have a blower, and why (absent the blower) riding an actual bicycle outdoors burns FAR more calories than riding a stationary bicycle indoors.

It's also why humans have essentially bare legs, with only enough hair for lubrication, in the first place, and why nothing is worn under kilts (which protect legs from sharp vegitation without impeding cooling): We cool better and can thus jog after most large fur-covered four-leggers until they collapse from overheating into a panting, pre-tenderized, almost self-cooked banquet.

Re:Very important to cool legs while riding cycle.

[Ungrounded Lightning]

Hm.. It wasn't me legs that were pouring sweat, its my head mostly, but a bit from upper-body and arms. The pattern of drops on the floor after 45 minutes was concentrated below my chin.

That's because your body is mostly trying to keep your brain cool.

But the amount of mechanical power you can get out of your muscles is limited by your ability to keep their operating temperature within spec. Dumping some of the heat from their surface lets them run at a (far) higher power level than if their cooling was entirely dependent on using the blood to carry the heat to some other heat sink.

Re:Expense, Intrusion & Innovation

[IdolizingStewie]

OK, I can understand wanting a direct neural interface while running. I love it, myself, although I have been distressingly lax since I got to college and no longer have a team to train with, but I know many people hate it. Why would you want one while hiking, though? The whole point of hiking is nature. You might as well be on a stairstepper in the gym otherwise. At least there you could watch the news or something.

In reference to your question, however, I find the best times are when I can, and I've only managed this briefly, clear my mind of everything and just be. I've been bored running, but there's a difference and it's really relaxing sometimes to just not think about anything, important or mundane. On another note, I do some of my best thinking on long runs when I've got problems in my life. I find it's the best way to clear my mind short of beating the shit out of someone, and that's generally frowned upon in polite society (outside of a martial arts studio). It even beats chocolate as a pick-me-up (although I might be the only girl in the world to admit anything beats chocolate as a pick-me-up).

Feels different to some people.

[Kadin2048]

I'm with you. I've tried to figure out the same thing, and as far as I can tell, the "masochistic endorphin high" is the reason runners seem do do it. Most people aren't sightseeing when they go running (more often than not you run a route, so you've seen it before, and how much do you really see when you're zoned out and have the "thousand yard stare" going?), so that's not really it, like it could be for hiking or walking. There's really very little to enjoy about it, except for the feeling of exertion itself. If you don't take pleasure in the exertion, you're probably not going to enjoy running.

I have a suspicion that there is a difference in brain chemistry that makes some people enjoy the endorphin high more than others, because many runners honestly seem to really enjoy it, and not in an "I really like pain" way, but that they are actually deriving a form of physical pleasure from the exertion which outweighs the pain. Conversely, many (IMO, most) other people find the "high" to be more than outweighed by the physical discomfort necessary to obtain it.

I do a mild run a few times a week (and I used to do a lot more when I was in the military) but I've never once enjoyed it. I go running because it's good exercise and because I don't want to turn into Jabba the Hutt in my new desk job; if it weren't for the health and vanity/appearance benefits, no way would I put myself through that. (It's also cheap and requires very little equipment compared to other exercise modes.) Aside from the exercise, I could simulate the experience of running as I perceive it fairly well by having someone beat me repeatedly with a stick, and save a lot of time and wear on my joints.

If you could invent a pill that would allow normal people to enjoy the experience of running in the same way that some distance runners I've spoken to seem to enjoy it, I suspect that you're be a very rich person.