Virtual reality gym brings all the benefits of a strenuous workout

A new device called Icaros pairs with a VR headset to give physical activity a digital edge

Need a spot of exercise but can't face the gym? Love gaming but not the couch? Icaros could be the answer. Devised by German design company Hyve, the contraption is paired with a VR headset to bring physical activity to a virtual experience.

"You are balancing your centre of mass," explains senior innovation designer Johannes Scholl, who came up with the idea for his industrial design diploma thesis in 2012. "When you are doing a steep decline, for example, it really goes into your shoulders, into your chest muscles. When you do left and right turns it is pretty exhausting to your abs and to your lower back muscles."

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