Tuesday, September 10, 2024
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Eco-friendly gyms are gaining ground from the United States with the premise of transforming our daily activity into a sustainable energy source.
By Dalia Alonso
When we think of renewable energies, large white mills or solar panels quickly come to mind. Many do not know that this type of energy can be obtained from a widely extended everyday habit: going to the gym.
The eco-friendly gym is an initiative that began to develop in 2007, when Adam Boesel, founder of The Green Microgym, installed a skate wheel in a power generator and attached it to a spinning bike. His pedaling generated enough energy to power a DVD player in which he watched An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's documentary about global warming. He then realized that doing sports and generating electricity were two actions that could go hand in hand and, shortly after, he created the first eco-friendly gym in the world. Since then, this idea has continued to grow, especially in countries such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.
The premise is simple: the usual gym equipment (treadmills, stationary bikes...) incorporate elements in their design that convert human movement into kinetic energy. The equipment only consumes energy when turned on; once they start running, they power themselves, making them fully sustainable.
Sustainable gym equipment can be sold directly with these characteristics, and more and more companies, such as Technogym and SportsArt, offer them in their catalog. But the home version is also possible: The Green Microgym, Boesel’s company, sells the DIY kit on its website for those who want to try this type of exercise at home and use the energy to charge small appliances.
According to SportsArt data, an hour of training on an eco-friendly stationary bicycle or treadmill can generate up to 220 watts. To give us an idea of the impact of this power source, between 5 and 15 watts are needed to charge a smartphone, and 25 watts to charge a laptop.
The kinetic energy produced by movement on the bicycle or treadmill is transformed into electricity through a generator. This is used as a boost for the equipment from the very start, making self-sufficiency possible. If more electricity is produced than the machine needs, the excess energy can be used to power other equipment, and even for the light and air conditioning of the gym, making it a process that significantly reduces the carbon footprint of both the equipment and the building.
If a single treadmill or bicycle can be self-sufficient and provide energy to charge a cell phone, how far could an entire gym go, where there are dozens of treadmills and other machines running for hours? Renewable energy production and emission offsetting for the gym's building is significant in the short, medium, and long term.
In addition, there is a motivational component for users of the eco-friendly gym: seeing the result of their exercise transformed into something useful, like electricity, encourages the customer to continue working for their physical and mental health and also to contribute their bit for climate action.
In Spain, this practice has been gradually introduced and is already a reality in gyms such as the one in the Valencian municipality of Quart de Poblet. This establishment offers extra motivation by reducing gym membership fees based on the amount of energy each person generates during their activities. The activity is complemented by an iPhone and Android app that tracks the energy produced and how it helps the environment. But the eco-friendly gym in Quart de Poblet will undoubtedly be the first of many. Doing things better is possible, and little by little, we'll make sure our routine not only doesn't harm the environment but also contributes to its protection.
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