Workouts for body & mind | Connect18

While indoor bike rides through pre-recorded video landscapes are nothing new, Connect18 has added a twist: immersion learning. Not only is this a fabulous example of multitasking, but combining exercise and education makes them both more enjoyable. Connect18 Group Tours offers the opportunity for a team of riders on stationary bikes to learn Spanish, for instance, while cycling through rural Mexico. Or to virtually tour the California Wine Country while learning about the region’s whites and reds. Certified instructors help motivate and encourage interaction among the group, and the scenery goes by more quickly or slowly based on the instructor’s pace. While Connect18 has yet to expand its reach beyond San Francisco and surrounding areas, the potential market for this revolutionary fitness and learning concept stretches across the map. And the potential to expand on this idea may be even greater. Not only is the variety of subject matter for courses nearly limitless, but workouts could be adapted to all manner of fitness equipment, including treadmills, rowing machines, stair climbers, elliptical trainers and cross-country ski simulators. An obvious enhancement (and business opportunity) would be individual DVD tours that could be done in front of home television screens. A focus on learning and skills is something trendwatching.com has identified as a major trend, grounded in a shift in consumer values: “In economies that increasingly depend on creative thinking and acting, well-known status symbols tied to owning and consuming goods and services will find worthy competition from status skills.” Contact: John Ford, john@connect18.com Spotted by: Helene Goupil