Powergrid kiloWatt Whips Gamers into Shape
Powergrid Fitness is striving to whip couch potatoes into shape amidst the backdrop of a growing obesity epidemic in the United States. As pundits point their fingers, the electronic gaming industry is often criticized for aiding and abetting this trend by enabling inactive lifestyles, while simultaneously cashing on the popular demand for video games.
Instead of advising its customers to shun gaming, Powergrid developed the kiloWatt game controller - transforming a usually passive activity into an aggressive isometric workout.
The kiloWatt works by replacing thumb controls with a single shoulder height joystick. As users exert themselves, a microprocessor driven system of sensors detects the level of microscopic flex taking place in a special resistance rod. In short, the more flex, the harder the workout. Resistance levels can be changed according to personal preference.
The company also claims a performance advantage over traditional hand-held controllers. By measuring force in lieu of motion, Powergrid asserts that its product is more responsive by design. Muscles respond by being challenged by an immoveable object in what is referred to as static contraction training, otherwise known as isometrics.
Powergrid has coined the phrase "intensity gaming" to describe its take on making fitness fun - or at least more palatable. The muscles most intensely emphasized for conditioning are: pectorals, latissimus dorsi, abdominals, lower back, and quadriceps.
"With isometrics, unlike with lifting weights, you won't see anything move, but your muscles will let you know they are working," said Dr. Dan Drury, a Fellow and President of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
The kiloWatt controller itself weighs in at hefty $695 USD, and is available for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows based PCs. The average retail price of a conventional Xbox game controller is currently $30 USD.