Personal Trainer on the Net
One of the best known names in exercise equipment, ICON Health and Fitness, is using technology to motivate, using a virtual personal trainer to control treadmills, exercise bikes and other equipment over the Internet. The specially designed equipment plugs into your computer….and a Web site called iFit.com iFit's Dick Sandhaus…
"This is a treadmill that's run through the Internet. You log on, you plug your computer into the treadmill and the Web site, iFit.com actually functions as a virtual personal trainer. It runs your treadmill, plays motivating music for you and you actually hear the voice of a personal trainer telling you what to do, what's coming up. It's actually going to control the speed in various step increments and the incline of this thing …"
(sound) Sandhaus says it's more than just a gimmick…
"People who have personal trainers are I think something like 70 percent more likely to achieve their fitness goals than people who simply buy a device and end up with it in the closet serving as a very bulky, expensive clothes rack."
The plan is to add scenery to the computer screen display as well.