Whether you trek the globe on business, or just hit the gym the truth is that there are times when you’d likely reather be somewhere else, and now the Virtual Active: BitGym Edition fitness app for iOS can take you there. Available now the app takes a user’s workout intensity into account and responds accordingly, providing a first person perspective of locals ranging from the Swiss Alps to Venice to the Grand Canyon. The app is free to try, and costs $7.99 to buy.
The twist here is that it is available for mobile devices, so rather than being immersed in a large HDTV experience, users can take it to the gym and use on an exercise bike. Thus for those who travel the world, but not for biking adventures, can still feel like they’re riding in the Alps. Video after the jump
This week Netpulse, Inc, a provider of personalized interactive media for fitness centers and active lifestyle consumers, announced that it has acquired San Francisco-based Virtual Active. As a part of the acquisition, the entire Virtual Active team will be joining Netpulse, also based in San Francisco, to develop engaging exercise media experiences for active people.
This will see Netpulse expand its platform, which provides consumers worldwide with engaging content and data regarding their fitness experience, outside health clubs via mobile devices and home fitness products. Additionally, Netpulse has partnerships with seven of the leading commercial fitness equipment manufacturers, accounting for over 73 percent of global fitness equipment sales to health clubs. Continue reading Netpulse Nets Virtual Active
The run up to the holiday season means that you’d have to be a hardy soul to want to head out doors and run. If winter chills are too much for you there is another option. Johnson Health Tech North America offers a passport to the world of virtual running. This week the company introduced a new breed of consumer treadmills that are equipped with the Passport media player featuring Virtual Active technology, and these deliver high-definition scenery to enhance the workout experience.
These include real destination footage with matching ambient sounds, and display workout data onscreen. The Passport media player further offers wireless connectivity between the treadmill and onscreen visuals that allows for the information onscreen to match speed and elevation.
“The Passport media player lets you begin your workout in your living room and finish in the Italian countryside,” said Andrew Kolman, senior product manager – console technology at Johnson Health Tech North America. “You escape the confines of your regular workout routine, while enjoying a truly dynamic experience.”
The technology is now being introduced to the consumer market and is available this month on the AFG 7.1 AT treadmill and the LIVESTRONG LSPRO2 treadmill. Each machine comes equipped with two programs – the American Southwest and Northern Italy. Individual trails include the Las Vegas Strip, Grand Canyon, Venetian cityscape, Italian countryside and more. Additional programs are also available for purchase online.
Travel is not fun, and as we make our way to the Interbike and Health + Fitness Expo we can you that getting there isn’t half the fun. But there is a great big world to see, and unfortunately most of us will never be able to visit all of it. But the Passport media player is the next best thing to working out in a distant land – and without the crowded seats or security lines along the way.
Available only to Johnson Health Tech Passport, featuring Virtual Active technology, offers the a rich high-definition experience with real destination footage and matching ambient sounds. This exclusive technology, which to date has only been available at gyms around the world on Matrix line of equipment, is now being brought to the consumer market on the AFG 7.1 AT treadmill.
Since its founding in 2005, the 10-person, San Francisco-based company has been busy sending camera crews around the world to capture the most realistic, breathtaking footage available on an exercise machine.Users can connect to their own home entertainment system and get taken away during their workout. Sure beats watching the news during a workout – with all that’s going on that might not be good for your heart!
There are so wonderful places to ride a bike, but the problem is that it is really not all that easy or affordable to take a bicycle on a globetrotting trip. The next best thing might be to virtually ride the world. That’s where Virtual Active comes in. The company, which has a partnership with IndoorCycling Group (ICG) has announced the release of MyRide Version 3.0, which promises to be the next-generation media console for indoor cycles. It utilizes content from Virtual Active via a 17-inch touchscreen high-definition display.
This includes more than 60 hours of entirely of entirely new media content, with more than one million different workouts and plenty of variety to keep users riding through the winter and other bad weather. Locations include the Rockies, the Swiss Alps and even the Mojave desert, and each is available for a variety of workouts that include warm-ups, intense spinning and cool downs. The coached content is also available in English, German and Spanish. Continue reading Cycle the World Virtually
Whether you trek the globe on business, or just hit the gym the truth is that there are times when you’d likely reather be somewhere else, and now the Virtual Active: BitGym Edition fitness app for iOS can take you there. Available now the app takes a user’s workout intensity into account and responds accordingly, providing a first person perspective of locals ranging from the Swiss Alps to Venice to the Grand Canyon. The app is free to try, and costs $7.99 to buy.
