Now This is Sweat Energy!

What if I told you that you could generate usable electricity just by working out on an elliptical machine? You could, but you'd have to be working out at a club that has ellipticals and treadmills retrofitted with the ReRev system. ReRev is short for Renewable Energy Revolution and it's a way to help the environment while helping your body.

When you work out you create kinetic energy. The energy you've create doesn't get used and that's a shame. All energy has the potential to power things and energy you create is no different. This little explanation from the ReRev website explains the process the best.

Climb aboard an elliptical machine or a treadmill, start moving and pretty soon you are creating energy. Kinetic energy is energy of motion and this motion gets converted to DC (Direct Current) that is sent to the ReRev system.

The ReRev system takes the DC and converts it to AC (Alternating Current). AC is the form of energy most homes and businesses use.

Once converted, the AC is sent to a power grid and can be used to power anything in the health club where you're working out. How cool is that?

But how much power can you generate? According to the ReRev website, an elliptical machine that is used regularly at a gym will generate one killowatt-hour of electricity every two days. That's enough energy to power one laptop for 24 hours or a vacuum for 45 minutes. Working out for just 30 minutes will generate enough energy to power a laptop for 1 hour. Just think of all the energy that could be generated by an entire health club!

There are over 180 machines around the country using the ReRev system, primarily in university health clubs. There aren't any close to us but I'm sure they're on their way. It cost about $300 to retrofit each machine and at some universities this cost is paid for by the students via funds earmarked for renewable energy programs. Displays on each machine show every watt hour generated by a workout so instead of watching the time or miles pass you by, you can actually watch energy being generated.

The system was developed by 23 year old University of Florida graduate Hudson Harr who got the idea for ReRev while working out. He's in talks with major US gyms and it's just a matter of time before people everywhere are generating energy the ReRev way. ReRev is only one of a handful of renewable energy businesses this entrepreneur is involved in and he's wasting no time in getting the renewable energy message to the masses.

Just think of all the kinetic energy you've been wasting. You could be powering your computers, cell phone chargers, ipods, and more. I know Mom has wasted and is wasting a lot of energy and if she could get her hands on one of these machines I think she'd work out more. If I know Mom, she would probably even put me on the treadmill and hang Popeyes in front of me to get me walking and generating energy. Keep your paws crossed that this doesn't happen because as much as I love Popeyes, I love napping more than exercising. Energy or no energy, I need my sleep or I won't have any energy.