Re: Work Outs Will Soon Create Energy and Burn Fat

Gyms Now Producing "Healthy Clean Energy"

Tags: Alternative Energyclean energy fitness centersConservation & Recreationfitness centersGreen BusinessGreen RevolutionHealth & Nutritionhealthy clean energySustainability

November 30, 2010 by Nathanael Baker

"Healthy clean energy" may soon become a catch-phrase used around the world.  Businesses spanning multiple sectors and countries have begun to integrate exercise equipment as a means of generating electricity into their business plans.

As Time magazine reports, fitness centers and gym across North America are using energy converters on equipment such as stationary bikes and ellipticals to generate electricity for the gym.  According to Time, there are over 80 locations in North America that generate electric power from the sweat of their customers. 

Adam Boesel, the owner of Green Microgym in Portland, Oregon says an average workout produces 37.5 watt hours, which is enough to power a phone for one week.  Although this may not seem like a lot of energy, when one considers some gyms house hundreds of individuals at the same time, the figure grows exponentially.

Boesel says that his gym (a 3,000 square foot space) cannot produce enough electricity to make the facility carbon neutral, but if all his cardio machines are used at the same time, more than 10 times the amount of energy needed to run the gym at any one moment can be produced.

The idea of capturing the wasted energy generated from a spinning bike wheel or moving elliptical foot pads was first introduced in a fitness center in Hong Kong in 2007.  It has taken some time for the idea to cross the ocean and catch hold in America, though.  But, as Mike Curnyn, co-founder of the Green Revolution, a company that wires stationary bikes into batteries that store energy, explains, "We have seen a significant increase in interest in the past six months, which is a good sign that fitness centers are ready to invest in green technologies."  Adam Boesel can attest to this.  Green Microgym has become so popular that he is franchising it.

Fitness centers are ready to make the switch and so are gym-goers, many of whom take serious pride in the fact their workout generates clean power.  Gyms, however, are not the only businesses incorporating innovative energy producing schemes into their business plan.  Some bars are now offering pitchers of beer in exchange for generating power from a stationary bike.  And hotels have jumped into the game as well.

As Boesel says, someday businesses like these will not be seen as "green," but rather, as the norm.

About the Author

Nathanael Baker is the Managing Editor of EnergyBoom. He has been immersed in the areas of renewable energy and climate change for two years. Before joining EnergyBoom, Nathanael was the Director of Research for the DeSmog Blog. In this role his services included providing research to the New York Times and The Economist. A resident of Vancouver, BC, Nathanael has previously written and performed research for the British Columbia Provincial Government. Nathanael holds a B.A. in History from the University of Victoria.

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