While budgets are just one factor that may keep many from ever riding in the Swiss Alps, video training aid creator Virtual Active makes a digital version possible to anyone with a trainer.
The company provide high-definition videos that transport you and your trainer from the living room to exotic riding locals across the globe.
Virtual active now looks to a new frontier— in the form of a mobile app—which allows users take the experience of digitally running the Grand Canyon or riding in the French Alps to the gym on their phones.
The company’s new iOS app tracks the workout intensity through a sensor built into the mobile Apple device, and essentially matches the progress on screen with an athlete’s effort. This is something a few companies are doing with software and laptop PCs, but the Virtual Active: BitGym Edition is the first to bring it to the mobile platform.
The company’s founder tells BikeRadar he thinks this in turn could keep people going back to the gym through the winter months. “Cycling indoors sucks,” said Alex Gourley, CEO of BitGym. “You’re burning calories to accomplish what feels like nothing to your brain—that’s why it always fights you on it. Virtual Active gives you some beautiful scenery to watch but more importantly it creates a connection between your real world exercise and virtual progress. As a result you pedal faster while feeling less pain. For people who don't have a spin bike you can use an iPad or iPhone mount on an indoor trainer.”
Add a gym's spin bike to Virtual Active's mobile app and you're ready for an escape
While Gourley admits that seeing the images on a big HDTV in the living room probably does a better job of creating that feeling of being there, the new app version is portable and ironically could be a blessing for those who travel a lot—but who travel for business and not cycling adventures. “Virtual Active is also great for business travelers who only have their iPad/iPod and want to experience the feeling of an outdoor ride from the confines of their hotel gym,” said Grourley.
And who wouldn’t want to be taken away from the hotel gym after a long business meeting?