'Gamercize' Cardio at Our Desk

Gustoman writes "A new device that hit the market this week may not be able to help you put in fewer hours in the office, but it can help you get a good cardio workout while you're troubleshooting that laptop or reviewing that spreadsheet. Gamercize, a British company, this week launched the GZ PC-Sport & Power Steppe, which is designed to fit underneath a standard-sized desk so someone can sit at their computer or talk on the telephone while using the stepper. Gamercize officials note that the machine is not just a small version of a StairMaster machine that you'd find at the gym. The machine can be hooked up to a keyboard or mouse through a USB port. The user can set it up so they can use the stepper whenever they want, or they can prevent their keyboard or mouse from working unless they're exercising. There are five settings on the under-desk step machine. The lowest setting lets workers simply exercise their legs at an easy pace whenever they want. At the top level, the work out is much harder and the user must exercise to keep his or her keyboard or mouse working. At the lowest setting, a user could burn 100 to 200 calories an hour. At the top level, it is possible to burn as many as 500 calories an hour. (That's like burning off the equivalent of an entire milk shake.)"

Comments

Come on . . .

[PeeAitchPee]

. . . is it *really* that hard to get to the gym or outside to exercise? Sometimes a break away from your desk is a good thing. Stuff like this just preserves the sweatshop mentality already too prevalent in many IT shops. Just my .02.

Noise and Smell?

[AkumaReloaded]

I was just wondering how it would effect the work place, if everybody was doing this. Wouldn't it cause a major sweat and thus a terrible smell? I am also worried about the noise level, from the machine, but also as a previous poster commented, the puff puff from human beings.

Re:Ok,

[antifoidulus]

Or, you know, being hit by cars who couldn't care less about walkers or cyclists.

Exactly, I submitted this as a slashdot story a while ago, but some random diatribe about the RIAA was more important I guess. But anyway, Americans are 8x as likely(pdf warning and beefy academic paper warning, though there are graphs) to die per bicycle trip than their European counterparts.

First and foremost, Americans seem to have this opinion that if you aren't driving then you are defective and your life isn't worth their inconvenience anyhow.

Secondly is the SUV. It needs to be banned tomorrow. Those things pose more of a risk to the safety and well being of the United States than any terrorist has, ever.

Alternatives

[Ed Avis]

Some exercise professionals recommend that instead of sitting on a chair at work, you sit on a Swiss ball. Then your core muscles have to work moderately hard to keep you stable. I haven't tried it but it's said to be fairly tiring to do it all day long.

If you prefer to just burn some energy, there's always the desk treadmill.