How VirZOOM VR Bikes Began
VirZOOM founders Eric Janszen and Eric Malafeew joined forces in 2015 to create a virtual reality compatible exercise bike that was developed for use in the home. They succeeded in this endeavor with the VZ Bike, but they wanted to bring the health benefits of it to the public in a broader and more impactful way — in a gym setting.
Where They’re Going
In order to make their way into gyms, Janszen and Malafeew have formed a partnership with trusted exercise equipment providers like Life Fitness, Nautilus, and the tech giant Samsung, as showed at the tech in business conference Mobile World Congress Americas this week. These high quality and high priced exercise bike manufacturers are pairing up with VirZoom, making more bikes found in gyms compatible with their system. While Samsung is likely responsible for improving the gear, visual elements, and open source gaming content.
VR Gear and the VZ Bike
Cycling or spinning in one place while staring at the back of a person’s head was and still is, a popular way to exercise. Cycling has been so popularized that there are entire gyms devoted to just stationary cycling. VirZOOM VZ stationary bikes are bringing cycling into the future by adding the freedom and movement of mobile VR gear and the use of a controller into the mix.
The VZ Bike and its controller can be used with a PC, PlayStation 4 console, and even an Android smartphone. The VR headsets they run best with are the Samsung Gear VR, Google Daydream, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and PlayStation VR. It is because VirZOOM is highly compatible with a variety of platforms and VR gear, that they’ll be successful in reaching more gyms and helping more people reach their fitness goals.
Exercise More, Worry Less
The VZ workout bike and controller system is tantalizing to gamers looking for a workout because of their familiarity with a handheld controller (for console players) or a keyboard and mouse (for PC gamers). But what about everyone else? It turns out, the VZ Bike Controller is easy to use, even for those who’ve never played a video game before. The easy four button control and trigger system are found on the handlebars of the bike for easy pressing and zero fumbling as you’re pedaling.
A VZ Bike is great for keeping you informed about how your body is doing during exercise, as well as the distance and speed you were pedaling. Stay in the fat burning, cardio, or resistance stage of your workout and monitoring your success in your My VirZOOM account or by pairing it with your Fitbit or Strava app. Whether you’re just warming up, reaching your target heart rate, or in cool down mode, the heart sensing monitor is positioned at the controllers so you’re not stopping to check these vitals.
Play as You Cycle
Gyms like Black Box VR are incorporating VirZOOM bikes in their gym experience. Thoughtful and goal-oriented VR gyms like Black Box understand that every person that uses their gym, regardless of skill level and ability, will want and need a different workout. They know that variety is what makes gyms unique, and innovation is what keeps the industry and exercisers moving.
Like a rideable and visual jukebox for the gym, the VZ Bike has a huge catalog of virtual reality games that won’t bore avid gamers, will challenge experienced exercisers with a cycling workout they’ve never experienced before and will provide beginning or returning exercisers a fun and motivating workout. Pair your Pandora account with the headset gear or use the PlayStation Music app on the PS4 while you exercise to your favorite playlists and workout jams.
VirZOOM comes equipped with their own exercise games on the VirZOOM Arcade. You can pretend you’re a cowboy lassoing bad guys, kayak through a pond searching for gems, cycle your way through a landscape, or fly a pegasus, to name a few adventures.
VirZOOM SDK makes the biking platform compatible with other programs so developers can create their own games and submit them to the company. How cool is that? Now anyone with the know how or willingness to learn to create VR games and programs that can help other people exercise and have fun at the same time.
Keep Moving to Advance
Stay motivated to reach your goals by including your friends or by making new ones in the virtual gym. Make an avatar that looks like you as you compete with other people around the world in multiplayer games. See how hard you worked to get yourself at the top of the virtual My VirZOOM scoreboard. Break through plateaus by reaching for those Steam VR achievement icons.
The innovative design of the VirZOOM VZ Bike really benefits those that exercise with the gift of motivation. When you pedal in real life, it moves you in the virtual world. If you pedal fast, the same will move at the same speed. If you don’t move at all, you’ll remain where you are. Ah, just as in life and in fitness those truths still hold true. If you don’t exercise and get moving, you’ll stay the same weight and have the same body you’ve had.
Whether you want to change how strong you are, how far you can push yourself, or to lose weight, your goal is the same — to exercise and have fun doing it.