Super Eco

Photo credit: SashaW, flickr

High-tech fitness isn't very sustainable. Treadmills, exercise bikes, brightly lit gyms with their air-conditioners blasting ... Surely someone's come up with a greener alternative? In fact, someone has—lots of someones. Eco-savvy companies and fitness fanatics alike are rigging up gear that's energizing their businesses and workouts with sweat equity, turning manpower into renewable energy.

Remember the guy I've mentioned in a fitness article here before who walked off 90 pounds on a treadmill while playing video games? A little ingenuity, and this dedicated dieter managed to have his game and play it, too. His setup wasn't that complicated—and eco-savvy types are catching on, creating treadmills and other exercise equipment that power themselves, mp3 players and portable fans, and even contribute to powering gyms themselves.

• HOGGAN's "human-powered" treadmill needs no power to run.
• The Human Dynamo harnesses your arm and leg energy to create power.
• The Green Microgym (Portland, Oregon) employs green tech to reduce its carbon emissions by 60%, employing everything from energy-producing cardio equipment to sustainable touches such as compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs) and a no-bottled-water policy.
• The whole family can get into the act at this green gym in Maine, where the focus is on sustainability, energy efficiency and family.
• ReRev retrofits exercise equipment to create alternative energy.
• The Green Revolution helps you make your local health club more eco-friendly.

Just how green is your gym, anyway? Ultimately, it's much more sustainable to simply step outside and walk the dog, take a jog or play a game. Still, we know there are plenty of reasons why that's not always possible. Here are our tips for losing the chubs, not the rubs.