I scheduled a visit to the gym today, my first in a couple of years. I organized it with a partner to force me to go, and this morning that proved necessary — I had a little breakdown before setting out on my way.

It turns out that I’m afraid of the gym.

Some rough googling indicates that only about 12% of people go to the gym regularly. My hand-wavey argument is it’s generally clear that if there’s an obesity problem then there’s probably an exercise problem, and going to the gym represents some component of that exercise problem (this assumes that the gym is a component of a healthy lifestyle for the sake of the argument).

There are two ways of thinking about this situation. First, most common, easiest, is to blame the people who don’t exercise. Humans have an almost-infinite capacity for blame and acceptance thereof, so this is really common. I run into this all the time: “Well, you just have to bite the bullet and do it.”

Maybe people should be forced to wear little uniforms and do hard labor, but maybe 88% of the population is too big a segment to sneer at. Maybe going to the gym actually, qualitatively, sux. Maybe the difficulty of gym-based exercise is a systemic design flaw. Don Norman would say that when a system fails it is never the fault of the user, but rather the designer.

Most of us used to enjoy physical activity — recess was always outside, and often included running around. Some of us might have played imagination games, some might have played hockey games, but both involved running around hitting things with sticks. Somewhere along the line our society changed exercise from play, which is awesome, into a chore, which sux.

I did some thinking and I have three basic interactivity design problems with gym-based exercise, all intertwined:

1. You are punished for not going with poor health. Worse, if you go for a while and then stop, you lose your progress and have to start over. The reward ramp is broken.
2. You are punished for going with sore muscles. You can push through this, but if the fun of a “game” isn’t front-loaded people will spend their time elsewhere. Worse, it takes a long time to get any tangible, or visible benefits. The difficulty ramp is broken.
3. You are punished for experimental play by the bad ergonomics of the equipment. If you’re not well-versed in correct usage it is possible to injure yourself — badly and permanently — with the equipment provided. The educational ramp is broken.

Every design failure is a business opportunity, and we need an epic win wrt fitness — or at least I’d like one — so here is a short design brief for a gym-based exercise game:

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Gymtastic! (working title)

A game where users score social bumps from gym workouts.

1. Fix the reward ramp by providing users with badges and points which do not decay with time. Reward people who have started exercising again with a “hibernation” multiplier (see gameplay examples, below).
2. Fix the difficulty ramp by providing users with points and badges proportional to their relative accomplishment: Moving from 5 lbs to 10 lbs on the bench is worth 100,000 pts whereas going from 200 lbs to 300 lbs is worth 50,000 pts (percent change times 1,000). This allows everyone to compete, and get up-to-speed quickly, while continuing to reward committed players.
3. Fix the educational ramp by providing points and badges towards activities which are ergonomic and well-specified. A skippable tutorial mode would illustrate activities.

As the user scores points they update their iPhone, or similar, which levels them up and badges them out socially via, eg, Facebook or Twitter: “Jack earned 100,000 pts erging today and was awarded the quarter-lake badge! He is now a level 10 rower.”

“Jack and Jill earned a million points each today (buddy system multiplier, combo multiplier [stair climbing three days running]) and have upgraded their Mountaineering badge from K2 to Everest!”

“Your lifting group has now moved Mars! Interplanetary Shifting badge unlocked!”

Adrienne showed me this machinima video satirizing CrossFit:

The video has some non-sequiturs but definitely hits some pressure points from what I know of CrossFit. It also pokes fun at reading-People-on-the-elliptical gym bunnies.

I don’t do CrossFit, my workout routine is Starting Strength, which is basically beginner powerlifting. I find this video about back squats and milk funnier:

This cleverly-illustrated NY Magazine article makes a good case that shoes suck. I’m fascinated by Vibram FiveFingers:

From what I’ve read online their killer app is running; kayakers looking for something weirder than foam clogs also like them. I don’t run nor kayak, so I’ve been looking for other excuses to buy a pair:

I currently wear Vans to lift weights. Regular athletic shoes are not good for lifting because they’re spongy and don’t provide a stable base. Some people lift in bare feet, although the experts say weightlifting shoes are better. The exercise cult of CrossFit often requires a combination of running and weightlifting: Ryley tells me that some cultists wear FiveFingers as a crossover shoe.

I’m into lightweight backpacking and part of that philosophy is that supportive boots are more harm than help with a light backpack. I currently hike in Chaco sandals with socks to protect my toes and they still get plenty banged-up. If they ever wear out, I could replace them with Keen toe-protecting sandals or FiveFingers?