I think this has been blogged about before, but there’s a big trend afoot amongst geeks to use the game Dance Dance Revolution — where you bounce around on a dance pad — as a form of exercise. Now there’s even a web site devoted to people using it thusly, called Get Up Move. Check out the testimonial from Matt Keene, a 6’5” guy who shed enormous amounts of poundage:

I lost about 140-150lbs with the help of DDR and a weight bench. But before I found DDR I tried walking and a weight bench and I only lost 20lbs, then after DDR it melted off in under a year. So the main factor of my weight loss is the intensive cardio workout that is DDR. I played about 4-5 times a week with about… 18 songs a day. I now play like everyday.

I don’t exercise, other than walking a lot in my everyday life. And one reason the gym holds no allure for me is that it’s deadly boring. Sports — since they’re games — would be a terrific motivating force for me, but it’s hard to participate in team sports in Manhattan becuase green space is at a premium. So the idea of having a physical, game sport that can be played in your living room is insanely brilliant.

(Thanks to Slashdot for this one!)