Virtual reality fitness device Icaros is heading for the gym floor at YMCA’s Minneapolis club in the US, with 28 more locations set to follow.

Members will be able to use the VR headset from January, with YMCA personal trainers incorporating 15 to 20-minute Icaros sessions as part of fitness programmes, offering three games: Flight, Deep and Gravity.

As featured in the October edition of Health Club Management, Icaros is a gamification device coupled with a movement-sensing device that users lie on. Gaming options can be adjusted for different abilities, from strenuous activites to relaxing yoga-style sessions.

Research into the usage of the device shows 30 per cent more energy expenditure and two times more muscle activity than the elbow plank with placed knees.

As well as gyms, the equipment is also used in the medical field – orthopaedic surgeon Dr Phil Heaton has added Icaros to his gym to help people get fit before their operations.

Another expert who has witnessed the growing VR trend in Europe and Asia is Bojana Knezevic, co-founder of Holodia, which owns software platform Holofit. She told Health Club Management: “Virtual reality is set to transform many industries and fitness is one of them.”

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