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Green Microgym in Portland, Oregon has introduced a new way of burning away those extra pounds while saving the planet.
Too good to be true?
Well apparently, it is the first fitness center in the US that will use human power combined with solar energy to produce renewable energy. To help them in their global cause, all you have to do is to sign up for $30 a month, jump into their eco-bicycles and pedal away.
Adam Boesel, owner and founder, envisions Green Microgym to be a gym "that produces as much energy as it uses." In an interview with Sierra Club Radio, Adam says the goal of the gym is to "[achieve] a net zero energy usage [carbon] footprint."
The idea is similar to a gym in Hongkong, California Fitness where cardio machines were installed to light up the facility. Adam believes people will go to his gym because they will feel good about it. "[People will say] I am not creating tons of electricity here and I am doing something," Adam said.
For starters, the Green Microgym already lays claim to producing 40 percent of its own electricity from solar panels and equipment-generating electricity. Their specially customized treadmills use less energy than their normal counterparts.
Adam also developed Human dynamo, a machine that consists of four bikes which can charge up batteries up to 350 watts. Because they are connected to a wind-generator motor which produces electricity, clients can play the gym's music system simply by cycling. In other words, the more sweat you produce, the more electricity you harness.
Adam's next project for the gym is to be able to harness enough energy to power the lights. As of end of September this year, Adam has already installed more solar panels to stretch Green Microgym's capability.
Green Microgym has already captured the attention of the media. It has already been featured in CNN, ABCNews, Sierra Radio and msnbc.com. Which is why we ask the question: Is this just media hype?
In different interviews, Adam recognized the fact that not at all gyms will go green because of financial reasons, he said, "the fact is people do go to the gym" and his target market are the young environmentally-conscious who "are doing their part to help the Earth."
One of Boesel's hired trainers, Marci Anderson, echoed the same philosophy.
In an interview with Portland Tribune, Marci said, "What's great is that at every level, people coming here and learning about this already have something clicking in their mind about, 'Hey, I want to help the planet, and I want to help myself.'"