Introduction to Virtual Reality Fitness
For the last several years, I’ve been working off the burden gained and fitness lost from a decade of grad school, post-doctoral research, job hunting, and, ultimately, launching my very own company. The gym, to place it mildly, had not been a priority. Running and weight training went a great distance towards getting me back to where I desired to be, but I had hit a plateau. Every spring and summer I’d make incremental improvements, every winter, I’d fall back into old habits. It was a sustainable situation, but not implausible.
Setting a Goal with Virtual Reality
Last summer, I set a goal for myself. While the weather was just on the mistaken side of that threshold that makes running something I’m willing to do very first thing within the morning, I’d as an alternative swap out my sneakers for an Oculus Rift, and spend an hour, 4 or five days every week, playing fitness-oriented virtual reality games, for 50 sessions. That schedule would get me through the winter and hopefully keep me more lively than I otherwise would.
The Science Behind Virtual Reality and Exercise
Unsurprisingly, the science behind Virtual Reality and exercise remains to be in its infancy. The Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise maintains a running database of VR games and their relative fitness scores. They use metabolic equivalent of task scores to evaluate how intensive each game is and them rank them in comparison with other physical activities. Beat Saber, for instance, is roughly similar to a game of tennis, while Thrill of the Fight, which I can attest lays you out flat after 20-minutes in the sport, is closer to rowing.
How Virtual Reality Games Help with Exercise
The indisputable fact that these games are lively, quite than passive, is an enormous a part of why they work well for exercise, but they don’t tell the entire story. The few studies that do exist show that not only do VR games get you moving and motivated, but that Virtual Reality also decreases the experience of exercise-related pain and alters your perception of time. In other words, figuring out in VR means it takes longer to feel sore and also you spend more time playing. Both of which show you how to workout longer at higher intensities.
Clinical Applications of Virtual Reality
There are, after all, other clinical applications for VR, including assisting in pain management, distraction patients during long and onerous procedures, and helping kids address painfully procedures. There are also studies suggesting the potential for cognitive improvements from using VR, but, again, the science is in its infancy and almost every study is incredibly preliminary.
My Virtual Reality Fitness Experience
So, how did it go? Over three months I worked out pretty intensely, initially with a brief low-intensity warm-up like Quivr or Robo Recall, followed by Beat Saber after which either Thrill of the Fight or Knockout League. Towards the tip I ended up favoring the boxing games pretty heavily, as they’re, by far, essentially the most intense workouts available in VR. That shouldn’t be a surprise. Shadow boxing has at all times been a reasonably solid workout, and VR makes it easy to push through the fatigue and go a little bit longer than normal.
Using Weighted Vest and Gloves
Some days I used a weighted vest, other days I used weighted gloves, sometimes I used each. You should watch out with weighted gloves, though, as erratic movements can do serious damage to your joints. On those days I stuck to more predictable games like Beat Saber and Knockout League.
Results of My Virtual Reality Fitness Challenge
I went into this averaging a weight of 212 lbs. I closed out the 50-day run at 196. Three months later, I’ve been averaging a gradual 198 lbs. All told, I lost 14 lbs doing exercise in virtual reality, but, more importantly, I lost weight during a season where I normally gain a number of kilos. For me, that’s an enormous win.
Conclusion
I’m pretty darn joyful with the outcomes. If I had had access to a VR system in graduate school, I almost actually wouldn’t should be burning off the amassed baggage of a thesis and post-doc (not to say launching my very own company). VR takes advantage of all of my weaknesses–specifically the benefit with which I get sucked into video games–to get me up and moving. With the brand new stand-alone Oculus Quest coming out, which is comparatively under-powered but has no cord to trip up and doesn’t require a beefy computer to run, putting a VR gym in your own home lands around the identical cost as a reasonably mediocre treadmill. Virtual Reality is in a moment of transition at once, and I feel the true surprise killer application for virtual reality goes to be within the fitness world.
