RSS Feeds
Games
Treadmills Used to Play WoW (Result: Usain Bolt Couldn't Cut It as a Blood Elf)
Posted by John Herrman at 11:00 AM on August 26, 2008
Most avid World of Warcraft players don't wonder too much about what it would be like to truly run as often and as far as their avatars, because a.) that sounds hard and b.) they're too busy wondering would it would be like to run at all. Nonetheless, some crafty young WoWers managed to hook up a couple of treadmills and joysticks to their computers in such a way as to simulate actually running across Azeroth. Even when some handicaps were programmed into the system, the (sort of) reality was clear: WoW characters are FAST.
We've long known that Nike+ has been 
This Wii Sqweeze demo by InterAction Labs supposedly does for your upper body what Wii Fit does for the lower body of the 10 people who actually managed to find one. The thing is essentially two squeezable grips (exactly like the kind you can get at sports stores now) that correspond to claws and bows and other activities on screen. It's not a real Wii game now, but just a PC demo running off a Wiimote tied via USB to a Wii. Could it be a real Wii game? Sure, but unless it's got Nintendo's name and advertising attached to it, we don't think it's going to do that well. [
As you can tell by our headshots, the only way most of the editors here at Giz would exercise is if you stuck a TV onto gym equipment. Good news! That's exactly what Prospot did with their Fusion HG6. The base unit costs US$4699 and looks quite sturdy and useful on its own, but coupled with the on-board media centre features it's the rich nerd's only hope to getting in shape—other than sticking a regular home gym in the same room as a regular TV that is. [
Good news, chubbies! Science has got your back. Researchers at the Salk Institute have found two drugs that trick the muscles in mice into thinking they've been working out like crazy, even when said mice have been playing World of Warcraft and eating Funyuns for 8 straight hours.
I don't know how much of a workout you are going to get with some rinky-dink 1 pound weights, but I like the idea behind this 
This extremely fancy treadmill puts in a whole lot of effort to make you feel like you're running outside when you, in actuality, aren't. While it'd be easy to cynically joke about how people hate the sun so much that they're devising ways to pretend to run outside, this is clearly designed for physical therapy in hospitals. But really, what makes me interested in it is the potential to put something completely different up on that screen. Like a video game.
It turns out the wet t-shirt-wearing girls riding those mechanical bulls at the local bar were actually exercising. No lie, as you can see with this Five Axis Core Muscle Trainer, ripped from the everlasting kitsch-ridden pages of Hammacher Schlemmer. The saddle tilts left and right, up and down, and throws in a few twists for good measure. All the while the motions target your "core muscles," which are worked as your body attempts to regain equilibrium. The whole idea of a rocking, jocking mechanical exercise bull for the home actually sounds kind of exciting, until you realise this piece of equipment was designed with the senior bull rider in mind. And yes, those are stirrups.
Oscar Pistorius, double-amputee with carbon-fibre "cheetah" blades failed to qualify for the Olympics. He just missed the needed time in the 400 meter of 45.55 seconds, though it should be noted he posted a new personal best of 46.25. [
OK, now this looks fun. The "Liber Toit" is a design for what's essentially a gigantic jungle gym for adults that spans across the roofs of multiple buildings in a city. You can get from building to building via wall climbs, slides, tubes and any number of other insanely-fun looking methods. It's a way to get places while also getting exercise! For the love of everything holy can we please make this happen somewhere? Preferably starting on top of my building? Please?
