Shelley the Robot is here to pump (clap) you up!
I have seen the future, and it is automated exercise nagging.
Researchers at Stanford University just released results of a San Francisco-area program called Community Health Advice by Telephone, or CHAT. Individuals were divided into three groups: People who were called by trained health educators; people who received computer calls; and those who heard from nobody. After a year of daily reminders, both of the called groups were exceeding 150 minutes of exercise/week. (If the computer rang you up, you'd average 157 minutes/minute while if an actual non-cyborg called, you'd typically log 178 minutes. The no-call group averaged only 118 minutes.)
I think this is a great idea, actually. Just the other day, Northwestern called me to remind me of a doctor's appointment...well, the Northwestern hospital automatron called.
"You. Have. An. Appointment. On. Monday. December 10. At. 9:15. A.M.," she told me in short, breathless spurts (my robot was a she. That's just how I roll.) "Do. You. Want. To. Keep. This. Appointment? If. Yes. Press. 'One'." I dramatically pulled the phone from my ear, pointed my finger and stabbed the "1" button. Immediately I felt, somehow, more secure - like I had just totally sealed the deal on my appointment and nobody- NOBODY - would get my time slot now.
The interactive nature of my call may have something to do with the success of the workout phone reminders. For example, when exercisers picked up the phone, they were asked to press a certain number to confirm they had reached their goals in the previous week (running X miles or walking Y minutes a day). This probably served as positive reinforcement...you get a call and physically confirm that yes, you kicked butt that week. And it makes you want to do more.
Personally, I'd love to get phone or email reminders to go shvitz it up at the gym - although now that I work out early in the morning (still loving it, thankyouverymuch), that would have to be one early bird of a robot to call me before the sun comes up. But I could still benefit from a call telling me to "Do. Ten. Pushups. Right. Now." I swear, so long as I wasn't in a Nordstroms or Starbucks, I'd drop and eek out as many as possible!
Would you want a phone call telling you to get hustling? Do you think it would inspire you to start moving or could you see yourself becoming annoyed and quickly screening all calls coming from 1-800-WORKOUT? Hmm...maybe Weighting Game can start expanding her services....
Comments
Hmmm...I think I already have that nagging voice in my head. Except mine sounds like an old Jewish man named Saul who says "What, you're still in bed? Get up, already! Oy, my back!"
