Energy-Recycling Eco Gyms

People go to the gym to expend energy and burn off calories, but Sacramento Eco Fitness is a local California facility that isn't letting all that human power disappear into the ether. The gym employs energy-harnessing workout equipment from Seattle-based equipment manufacturer SportsArt, turning the effort expended by cyclists and runners into completely sustainable electricity that powers the gym during off-peak hours.

Sacramento Eco Fitness makes use of two machines in SportsArt's sustainable ECO-POWR lineup: the G510 Indoor Cycle and the G690 VERDE, which is the world's first energy-producing treadmill. Both the stationary bikes and the treadmills are capable of capturing 200 Watts per hour using human power alone, drastically reducing the gym's environmental impact. In fact, according to Jose Avina, the owner of Sacramento Eco Fitness, the facility's "electric bill went from $680 to $30 per month".

In the future, Sacramento Eco Fitness hopes to not only power the gym itself entirely through this sustainable energy but also neighboring businesses — and indeed the city as a whole.