Yes, the very same force that is turning us into pudgy couch potatoes is also being harnessed to make us get off our asses. There's something ironic about relying on machines to make you stop relying on machines, but your cholesterol levels will appreciate it nonetheless. Here are five creative gadgets and apps you can use to get in shape, assuming the hell of proper diet and exercise sounds too unbearable for you.

Technology has made us lazier, as you probably noticed the last time the escalator broke at the mall and you lost your breath walking up those 14 steps without robotic assistance. But don't worry; before our muscles atrophy forever and we collectively become a race of Stay Puft Marshmallow Hominids, there's a promising new way of combating laziness. It's called ... "technology."

5 Atari Fit: Work Out, Level Up, And Unlock Retro Games

Atari

Fitness and old-school video games usually go together like risky surgical procedures and Jell-O shots. We're reasonably sure we'd all be at least 20 pounds lighter if Atari didn't exist. Perhaps to help undo the damage it has done to humanity's waistline, the company has now developed an app for mobile devices called Atari Fit, which intends to "gamify" your workout routine (or give you a workout routine in the first place, then "gamify" it). Basically, it's like any other fitness app, only nerdier: As you exercise, it keeps track of your successes as if you were playing an RPG, complete with experience points and levels. You can also keep track of how other people are doing in a "multiplayer" sort of way, though if there isn't an option for a teenage voice to shout racial slurs at you every time you mess up, we don't see the point.

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But the best part is that if you stick to the program and meet certain goals, Atari Fit will grant you access to classic games like Super Breakout and Centipede.

Atari

If you don't work out for too long, it forces you to play ET: The Game instead.

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OK, maybe this app isn't offering anything to gamers that they couldn't download in five seconds from some freeware site, but at least it's a tangible goal to work towards. Plus, the fact that Atari Fit boasts the ability to link up with other fitware you might already own will serve as motivation for the peripheral completionists out there who still feel no regret for having purchased a Nintendo Power Glove. We're not sure all the kinks have been ironed out yet, as rewarding physical activity with the opportunity to flop your ass onto a couch to play video games seems somewhat counterproductive in the long run, but surely they have the situation well in hand.