+1,595 There is so much wasted energy lost in gyms. Let's hook up electric generators to the stationary bikes and step machines. Then people could not only lose weight, but also create energy. It wouldn't be much energy, but if there were enough people attending it could at least cover the energy needs of running the gym itself, amirite?

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Think about what you're suggesting: 1. Grow food using fossil fuels. 2. Have people eat enough of this food that they have energy to go to the gym. 3. Convert energy used in exercise into electrical energy. It makes more sense to just have people eat less food and convert the fossil fuels directly into electricity.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

People aren't going to eat less food though. I'm thinking in small scale terms from the point of view of a fitness center owner. The amount of electrical energy you could get from a generator attached to an exercise bike is very small, but with enough bikes and enough people, this could possibly power the whole fitness center.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

you forgot to mention the benefit of the people staying fit WHILE enjoying the food? What you described was lack of food AND less fit.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

People could get paid to workout should they produce enough electricity, like people running 8 miles 5 days a week? You keep saying that it would be miniscule, but I think you're underestimating how much 40 miles weekly on the circumfrince of a turbine with like 100 people doing this could produce, and this just being running...

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I'm a total dork and just did the math. In the scenario above, with 4000 miles weekly, that could produce the same power of a 2 foot diameter turbine spinning at 1000 rpm constantly for a week!

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Layman's terms?

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I think they should do this in prisons with individual giant hamster wheels connected to generators..

by Anonymous 14 years ago

That's an idea!

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I think so :) it would give inmates something constructive to do, whilst providing enough energy maybe for prisons to even become self-sufficient!

by Anonymous 14 years ago

That's a frickin brilliant idea! Someone please pitch that idea to Congress!

by Anonymous 14 years ago

This is a brilliant idea overall!

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Update: They already have these types of gyms. There's one in Portland, Oregon, and several in California.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

The gym I go to has cardio machines that power themselves if used at a certain level, and once you pass that level it saves it in a battery for when people are going slower.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

In my gym, there's a device stuck on the bicycles in which you plug your earphones to hear the audio of the televisions. You power you own device, so if you stop pedalling, the audio goes out. This both encourages people to actually excercise and not go to watch T.V. plus, you save energy.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

My gym has that! Except, it's for the radio. If you stop doing your work out, it stops the music. It's annoying to keep doing but it makes me keep going.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

that's awesome!

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I suspect if that were actually cost efficient, gyms would do it.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Or how about we run up and down the stairs...

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I think you're missing the point.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Forgot about the creating energy part. But there are a lot of ways to exercise without needing expensive equipment.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I agree. I'd much rather go for a jog outside than on a boring old treadmill.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

this would still be great for people who might not agree. Rich people, psh.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

This is brilliant! Or, if they had some for desk jobs/at home. People could just bike while they type or something. Eventually, people just do it subconsciously and, in time, it'll pay for itself and more.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I have a good idea. We have people wear their wooliest clothes, then have them roll down a carpeted slope. The people could discharge the static electricity generated into a battery of sorts. Fun, and crazy!

by Anonymous 14 years ago

or... they could just bring back Seinfeld and Friends and use the POWER OF LAUGHTER... just... just saying.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Lol, that made me think of the ending of Monsters Inc.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

You knows it ;)

by Anonymous 14 years ago

y

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Just a question, wouldn't that be extremely expensive and cost more money than it saves?

by Anonymous 14 years ago

In the long run it would pay for itself. Like solar panels... they're expensive right now, but over time, they will pay for themselves because you will cut back on your energy bills.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Also, some companies buy the extra electricity. My mom said she'd buy solar panels but they don't buy electricity back where I live so it'd take a looong time for them to pay for themselves.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Ha, my physics teacher was talking about powering his TV and washing macine with his exercise bike today, while we were studying the purpose of magnets in electric motors. Apparently, he bought an old, used exercise bike for that very purpose.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

And then when it is New Years, there will be enough energy to power the city of New York but then after 2 weeks, theres gonna be a black out.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Wrong. The energy made up event was made by propaganda the gyms wouldn't even let that happen. All that would do is the obese people would burn of calories but electricity is electrons not calories so you are wrong.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I think you are half way through middle school science and you do not think you understand how a generator works

by Anonymous 14 years ago

...That makes absolutely no sense. I don't know precisely how it all works, but my understanding is this: Energy can be converted into other forms of energy. Moving, like cycling a bike, makes kinetic energy. That can be converted into electricity (somehow, I'm not sure exactly how), because electricity is also energy. So you'd just be turning one form of energy into another, which happens all the time. One example of that is if you rub your hands together (that's movement, kinetic energy) they get warm (heat energy). I don't know if all that is precisely right, but I'd say I'm much less far off than you... :P

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Well clearyl you DONT know how it all works because that is wrong.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Okay, where's your proof that your version is correct?

by Anonymous 14 years ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy To quote from that, "Any form of energy may be transformed into another form." http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blelectric1.htm That says that turbines can be used to create electricity, which means that kinetic energy *can* be converted to electric energy, and that the post is correct. ('Cause turbines spin, and so you could make a small one using exercise bikes) http://www.wired.com/cars/energy/magazine/15-11/st_power http://www.nmsea.org/Curriculum/Primer/how_is_energy_converted.htm http://www.nmsea.org/Curriculum/Primer/forms_of_energy.htm So yeah, there's *my* sources. :P

by Anonymous 14 years ago

That's a GREAT idea!

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I'll volunteer. I need to get in better shape to chase down those StaminUp-addicted bastards that run around with Tank.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

All you got to do is watch the DirecTV commercials. Where the guy is lifting weights and the rich guy is getting all the benefits. Simple as that.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Watching get-rich-quick schemes has nothing to do with this post.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I just love people's nicknames on this website. Haha

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I've been wanting to change mine, but everybody already knows me as NotSoDangerous.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

You should have a pedophile picture because of how awesome your name is

by Anonymous 14 years ago

There are obviously some issues with this type of technology, however. Someone could easily use this for evil. They'd have their fry cook round up and capture every last jellyfish in some fields, kill them through a cruel and gruesome process, and then literally squeeze the jelly out of 'em, with this all being powered by a cheap crustacean riding a bike. Very complex yet possible. Y'know, just a thought.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

You know, I've thought this for years, lol.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

It amazes me how many ways we can save our planet, we just need the drive to do it.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

"...of running the gym..." Dude, if that pun was intended, nice y

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I like the post except for one thing: "create energy" ono

by Anonymous 14 years ago

- Law of conservation of energy

by Anonymous 14 years ago

How else would you describe it, though? :/ "Create electricity"? "Convert energy"?

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Convert is the best term.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

The Pohl Rec Center at The Univeristy of North Texas uses exactly what you described. It's really cool. When I work out, I create energy:)

by Anonymous 14 years ago

The university of central florida has this in the gym, it's pretty cool

by Anonymous 14 years ago

It's nice to know that this is more common than I thought, but a little disappointing that I didn't patented it when I first thought of it.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Talking about your follow-up. look up nano generators.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Unless of course you could care less about "going green" and shit like that. I could care less about saving energy and all that retarded stuff.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I would do it to save money. Like you, I don't care that much about the environment.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Good to know I'm not the only one.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

You have got to be kidding about hiring people to exercise to generate electricity. You'd be able to get higher efficiency from the direct burning of food

by Anonymous 14 years ago

This post has inspired me :)

by Anonymous 14 years ago

You could totally write an amazing essay for college applications or something on this...I wish I thought of it now :P

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I may just do that. I have to write a ten page argument for my English class.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I'm sure there are a lot of sides to this (I'm not really reading all the comments) and maybe I'm just dumb, but you're kinda really smart!

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I wonder what idiots voted this post down.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

People who don't want to multitask.

by Anonymous 14 years ago

Law of conservation of energy ftw!

by Anonymous 14 years ago

I love this idea.

by Anonymous 6 years ago