When Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, arguably the “father of gymnastics” and the inventor of the horizontal and parallel bars, opened his first gym (orTurnplatz) in 1811, he decided to locate it outdoors in Berlin.
At the time – and for thousands of years beforehand – physical exercise was primarily an open-air activity. Only in the 20th century did the gym begin to be relegated indoors, due to the increased regimentation of physical activity and the need to compare results with peers.
But could today’s digital technologies, which enable us to measure our physical exercise in everyday life, challenge the models of the last century? Could cities again be transformed into open-air gyms?
Tech takes training back outdoors
As newly invented appendices to our bodies, personal electronics help us to measure everything in our lives, including body activity. Through connected shoes, bracelets or belts, the Internet of Things has been morphing into an “Internet of Bodies” for the past several years.
The Nike+iPod tracker dates back to 2006. The first FitBit was released one year later.
Today, every smartphone can measure how we move in the city – whether we cycle, run or walk – and detect every step we take. Even the most intimate aspects of our lives – as shown by BangFit, the slightly ridiculous concept from the website Pornhub that combines sexual activity and fitness – can be monitored to calculate calories burnt.
In such a context, one might argue that the need for indoor fitness might become less relevant. We can accurately monitor physical activity everywhere and share collected data with others.
Let’s look, for instance, at cycling: using Strava every street segment in the city can be turned into a virtual racing circuit. Our own Copenhagen Wheel (now manufactured by the MIT startup Superpedestrian) can be retrofitted to any bike, allowing individual torque to be measured on a sub-second frequency. As a result, the performance of both the wheel’s motor and the rider can be assessed in real time.
All the data are stored online, so the Wheel can leverage artificial intelligence to provide information about paths, speed and calories burnt. Basically, it acts as an informed personal trainer.
Furthermore, this information can be shared and pooled with others. This illuminates how citizens are using public infrastructure, opening up opportunities for municipal improvement.
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Source: The Conversation