Imagine taking a bike ride along the route of the Tour de France in the middle of winter in Wisconsin. Picture taking a Zumba class without having to worry what all those pros are thinking about you when you switch lines. Just close your eyes and think about taking a one-on-one yoga class from a yogi in India without ever having to leave your own home.
Soon, virtual reality technology will make that possible for anyone.
Anytime Fitness, a national gym chain, already provides automated kiosks at some locations to screen virtual reality spin and yoga classes. Shannon Fable, Anytime Fitness’s corporate director of programming, calls it “an electronic way to deliver reliable, affordable group fitness for free.” They also offer virtual personal training classes, which have proven to be very popular.
But that’s just the beginning. Soon, virtual reality will be available on a personal, affordable basis.
Zumba Fitness is currently developing a headset that offers a 360 degree virtual reality class. While the headset is still rather clunky and comes at a pricey $200, the technology will only get better.
Alberto Perlman, CEO of Zumba Fitness, is optimistic. “We envision as the headsets get lighter and the technology gets better, you’ll be able to be a in a Zumba class at home,” he said in a recent press release. “The average person will go into a store, buy a piece of elastic casing, put it on their phone, and download the class.”
Tech experts are confident that virtual reality technology will only get better from here, and that soon it will be used widely and affordably on a personal scale. This could mean that personal fitness is in for an overhaul, one that allows you to uniquely personalize your workout experience.
Would you use a virtual reality headset for your workout?
Photo Copyright © 2008 Taro Taylor/Flickr
