Kinetic Exercise Games

Kinetic exercise games are designed to incorporate physical movement and activity during play to increase fitness. They often simulate games like tennis or golf by making the player mimic actions, for example, swinging a controller instead of a racket or club. Popular examples of kinetic exercise games include electronic systems like the Xbox Kinect and Wii, and non-electronic versions like the Playout exercise card game.

  1. What They Do

    • Some kinetic games, such as the Wii’s Active Life Explorer, require physical activity to control and further the action of the game. Others, such as Xbox Nike+Kinect Training, simply ask you to follow commands while the system monitors your movement. These types of games are performed in front a television. Other games can go with you anywhere, for example, the Playout card game or Google Glass’ Race Yourself, which uses augmented reality to turn running and cycling into games where you can race against yourself, your friends or zombies.

    Types of Exercise

    • These games offer a wide range of exercises, from low-intensity walking in the Wii game Walk It Out to high-intensity aerobics in Just Dance 2014. Kinetic exercise games primarily rely on a player’s body weight to do things such as pushups and squats, running in place, jumping around the room and swinging the arms and legs. These games, which require little if any exercise equipment, build cardiovascular and muscular endurance. However, they are not as beneficial for strength training.

    In Comparison

    • So how do these games stack up against what Michigan State University’s Wei Peng calls 'real-life exercise'? For one thing, several studies found that exercise games provide only light-to-moderate levels of intensity, which is not enough to meet daily recommended levels of activity. One study published in a 2012 issue of Pediatrics looked at children who owned active exercise video games and children who owned inactive video games and found that there was no significant difference in their levels of daily activity or motivation to exercise. In general, it looks like kinetic exercise games are a poor replacement for more vigorous workouts.

    Worth the Investment?

    • Active exercise games offer a style of cooperative and competitive exercise that is otherwise difficult for some to access. These games are not a complete fix for sedentary lifestyles, but they can be integrated into your weekly fitness routine. Exercise games may be particularly useful as warm-ups and cool-downs before and after more vigorous exercise, or they may used as part of active recovery on days you don't workout. Ultimately, anything that gets you or your family on their feet, moving and having fun is a good thing, and kinetic exercise games may be a good first step on the road to fitness.