By Patrick Baron
BLOOMINGTON – A new room in the Bloomington YMCA is aimed toward getting kids to work out while playing video games.
It’s called Exergaming and it combines video games and exercise into one activity. The games available in the Exergaming Zone include: an EyePlay Exergame Surface, an interactive game displayed on the floor; a station for iDance, a game designed similar to the popular game Dance Dance Revolution; an Xbox Kinnect, a game system that responds to physical movements; and a traversing wall, a rock climbing wall that extends horizontally as opposed to vertically. YMCA Associate Executive Director Joe Rodgers explained the room was created to get kids off the couch and onto the floor.
“Rather than being the sedentary video game where you sit and you play and use your hands and eye coordination, we’re trying to get kids moving in everything that they’re doing,” said Rodgers. “All while staying current with the graphics that they enjoy, all the sights and sounds associated with it. So Exergaming tries to bring all those elements into play.”
Rodgers acknowledged the different interests children have and hopes the Exergaming Zone can serve as a median – appealing to kids who like to play video games and to kids who enjoy getting a workout.
“Finding ways for kids to be more active is really what produced the concept of Exergaming,” said Rodgers. “Trying to get kids to be more active on their level with the things they enjoy doing.”
However, the Exergaming Zone doesn’t just allow kids to get a work out, but parents as well. Rodgers explained the difficulty some parents have getting to the gym while watching the kids, but the Exergaming Zone is meant to alleviate some of that difficulty.
“It’s really hard for a 7, 8, 10, 12-year-old kid go to the gym with mom and dad. This kind of helps relieve some of that stress of mom and dad knowing they want to go to the gym to exercise and do a workout,” said Rodgers.
The Exergaming Zone is open from Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Patrick Baron can be reached at [email protected].
