A few years ago, Health Enhancement Systems released an online fitness program called “Get Fit on Route 66,” where participants could take a virtual tour of the Mother Road while meeting their fitness goals.
The “Route 66” program has been the popular for the Midland, Mich., firm, with clients including AARP, corporations, universities, hospitals and even the military.
A few weeks ago, a redesigned version of “Get Fit on Route 66” was released. Amie Barrett was kind enough to show me the program’s capabilities during an online demonstration.
The gist is you “drive” Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif., by exercising. Working out for one minute equals one mile of driving, although that can be adjusted to the client. The program recommends 30 minutes of exercise — whether it be running, bicycling, walking, etc. — per session. Such an regimen will virtually take you 2,400 miles to the Pacific Ocean within 12 weeks or so.
The program allows you to choose a vintage vehicle to “drive” the Mother Road. Options can be seen in the screen shot above. (Sweet-looking pickups, by the way.)
In your exercise journey, when you reach one of the real-life towns on the route, a factoid pops up giving information and history of the city (see screen shot above). The online map shows your progress and includes an odometer to show how many “miles” you’ve covered. It also offers 250 health recipes from EatingWell magazine.
The program also includes an online dashboard that provides city information, mileage, and upcoming towns (see screen shot above).
I’m sure that program creator Dean Witherspoon, who is president and owner of Health Enhancement Systems, sought to best find a way to motivate people to exercise. But if the improved “Get Fit on Route 66” also has the ancillary effect of boosting interest in the Mother Road, all the better.
More about the program can be found here.