Reality Check
The Future of Physical Fitness
Pants feeling a little bit snug? You're not alone. According to a recent Harris poll, three out of four Americans above the age of 25 are carrying a couple extra pounds. Thankfully, a battery of scientists, personal trainers, and engineers are watching your weight even if you're not. Exercise machine manufacturers, taking a cue from the likes of Nintendo, are turning treadmills into videogames. And gymwide intranets promise to regiment and track your workout routines. Wired asked several exercise experts how the future of physical fitness is shaping up.
| Fitness-Machine Connectivity | Safe and Effective Muscle-Building Pill | Multiuser Exercise Videogames Catch On | America Gets into Shape
| Benjamin | 1999 | unlikely | 1999 | 2000
| Giannelli | 2000 | 2007 | 2002 | 2002
| More | 1990 | 2030 | 1989 | 2040
| Scalisi | 2010 | 2020 | 2020 | 2050
| Bottom Line | 2001 | 2022 | 2003 | 2023
Fitness-Machine Connectivity In a dusty corner of most fitness centers lies a file box filled with empty cards, originally created to detail each member's personalized workout regimen and physical development. Couldn't a central computer and an array of connected machines keep better tabs on you? Several companies, our experts point out, have built high tech fitness stations and smartcards that track your progress, but they haven't caught on yet. Benjamin expects that insurance companies – focused on "discounted individual policies and subsidies to companies for records of fit people" – will drive this trend. The next step is for the systems to recognize users, adjust the seat position accordingly, select the correct weight, and coach individuals through each set. "This is where Orwell meets Schwarzenegger," Scalisi says, only half joking.
Safe and Effective Muscle-Building Pill Muscles in a pill? Don't give up those curls and squats just yet. Safety is the key term here, which puts anabolic-androgenic steroids out of the running. Giannelli says that a nontoxic muscle-growth pill is far from reality, considering that "we don't even have a safe sugar alternative today." Scalisi and More agree that something can be said for supplements like creatine monohydrates, which increase the internal volume of muscles by binding water molecules to their cells. "But the results are temporary," Scalisi warns. Perhaps more imminent than muscle-building pills are advanced "prosthetic muscle-mass augmentation implants," says More. Addressing the question succinctly, Benjamin opines, "What makes muscles? Using them."
Multiuser Exercise Videogames Catch On As anyone who has spent 45 minutes climbing the stairs to nowhere can tell you, exercise machines are boring. What will top today's state-of-the-art gym technology, which typically consists of a TV installed in front of a treadmill? Try fierce competition in the form of multiuser exercise videogames. Benjamin believes that games more complex than networked rowing machines – say, the four-player soccer-like pastime that his company has introduced – will draw the crowds. Doubtful, say other experts. "Participating in a competitive sport while investing in one's own fitness program detracts from goal-setting," More says. Even if your goal is more, um, social, don't bet on scoring in the heat of a multiuser fitness game. "Most people go to health clubs today just to work out," Giannelli says, with a straight face.
America Gets into Shape Purchasing a gym membership is only half the battle, and the US seems to be losing the war. But three factors will help get the United States into shape in the future. The first is the incorporation of designer foods into our diets. "They can satisfy our cravings for sweets and fatty foods, while providing virtually no calories," Scalisi says. "We will have our cake and eat it too." His other two dream technologies are metabolic regulators and virtual reality home gym equipment, which Benjamin agrees is the key to raising heart rates. "People will think getting fit and having fun are synonymous," he says. Giannelli, however, is more skeptical. "In the age of two-income families where time is our most precious commodity, I guess we haven't prioritized fitness very high on the list," he says.
Mike Benjamin president of Tectrix Fitness Equipment
Ray Giannelli vice president of research and development at Cybex
Natasha Vita More bodybuilding guru and founder of Transhumanist Art and Extropic Art movement
Vincent Scalisi editor of Muscle & Fitness magazine
