The Squat Pole

Play games and train those leg muscles!

Exergames are video games designed to promote physical activity and encourage an active lifestyle. The squat bar is a sensor that encourages the player to move and be physically active while playing the exergame.

The pole has a sensor that detects whether you are doing a squat or standing up. A few games like Schnappi (catch fish and squat to dodge the bombs and Pong (squat to move your paddle) work with it.
Note: these games only work if you connect the squat pole to your computer. You have to squat!

Because the squat pole works with a VL53L0X sensor, it works very stable (no false detections like when an IR sensor or - even worse - an ultrasonic sensor). The sensor works via the I2C bus of an Arduino, so it's super easy to make.

Make that thing and start playing!

I made full build instructions at Instructables.com.



The benefits of doing squats are:

• Strengthen Leg Muscles: Squats strengthen the muscles in the legs, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. This leads to better stability, mobility and coordination.
• Improves core strength: Squats are a compound exercise that strengthens your core, including the abs and lower back muscles. This improves your posture and prevents back pain.
• Increases flexibility: Squats help increase the flexibility of the hips, knees and ankles. This improves mobility and reduces the risk of injury.
• Increases metabolism: Squats are a strength training exercise that increases muscle mass, which increases your metabolism. A higher metabolic rate burns more calories and reduces body fat.
• Improve bone density: Since squats are a weight-bearing exercise, doing squats regularly can help increase bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis .