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I'm a HUGE fan of interactive fitness because it is entirely based on Fun First and Fitness second. Funnily enough, not everyone enjoys 'conventional' fitness activities, in fact most of us don't, so we need something special, unique to help motivate us at school or at the gym. I thought I'd write a little bit about how exergaming can be used in schools to reignite peoples interest in fitness and sport. Please feel free to comment back as I'm sure there will be some who completely disagree with my comments, and that's fine, I'd really like to know what you think!

Physical Education used to be so cool when I was in school, . Our lessons were all based on sport and it seemed like every week we tried a different sport, everything from canoeing to lacrosse. I wasn't a huge fan of PE as the weather conditions where I lived were extreme, both very cold and wet and too hot. I always preferred indoor sports but our PE facilities were mostly based on outdoor sports which totally sucked during Winter!

Today, at least in Australia, PE has taken a very low priority with the resources being directed back into academic subjects. PE has become underfunded and underutilized with many schools having no PE structure at all.
What we are trying to do in Australia is introduce a new, 21st century solution for PE that utilizes a cross between technology-gaming-fitness, Exergaming. Our spearhead for that project is based on rhythm-dance Exergaming. This solution works equally well in professional gyms as the system is such great fun that people forget about the fitness component and can just enjoy the gaming experience.

This type of exergaming solution also gets everyone involved at any age or ability and you can be competitive or self-competitive just trying to beat your own previous score.

For schools this can make entry into 'real' sports much more attractive but it can also be a lifelong solution in itself. This video is from Pulse Fitness in the UK who are specialists in installing exergaming solutions in schools. Great vid