Before the pandemic, the gym was always a part of my weekly routine. So last year, when the world rushed to stock up on toilet paper during the first COVID-19 lockdown, I struggled to create some semblance of a home gym. I wasn’t alone. Gym rats fleeing sweaty bellies are experiencing a nationwide shortage of yoga mats, dumbbells, exercise bands and other workout gear, with prices rising to match.
I had a hard time affording almost 5x the cost of a monthly gym membership just to buy a decent set of dumbbells. So I checked out Peloton (essentially a streaming spin class) Hydrow (a new take on the tried-and-true rowing machine) and Tonal (a Go-Go gadget wall gym), but they all shared the same flaws. It was expensive, dedicated equipment. Needless to say, most are on back order and shipping times have been extended.
What I didn’t realize at first was that I already had everything I needed. The same VR hardware you’ve been buying to stave off boredom over the past year has opened you up to a whole new and addictive way to exercise.
Here’s what I learned along the way and what you should look for if you’re looking to build your own VR fitness setup.
Guilt-free game
As a lifelong gamer, I turned to VR as a way to deal with my newfound time at home during the start of the pandemic. After spending nearly 100 hours wandering through Valve’s laboratory and completely done Half-Life: AlyxI remember my mother scolding me to go outside to play when I was little, and I felt a little guilty.
Staring at a screen all day wasn’t the best for me and I knew it. The shame didn’t really help me quit my hobby, but as I lifted the claymore with both hands above my head, Blade and Sorcery Before I hit the fully plated article, I realized I was actually sweating. In fact, I was burning more calories and working my opponent’s ribs at the techno bowling alley. the thrill of fighting Rather than doing a carefully designed interval workout.
VR has a way of breaking up the monotony of working out at home.
So I looked further. There are a surprising number of simple games that will get your heart pumping. If you don’t want to spend your entire workout in VR, there are plenty of games that provide aerobic-based supplements to your home workouts. Sprint vector, until you fall and pistol whip It’s a great option that focuses on gameplay but also unintentionally makes you sweat.
VR offers a way to break up the monotony of home workouts, whether you’re doing squats on an alien planet, sprinting through Neo Tokyo, or knocking your opponent to the ground after a grueling four-minute match in the ring as thousands of fans cheer. There’s something special about diving into a new world every time you need to break a sweat, and I’ve come to love the lack of predictability I once cherished about my daily gym routine.
Find the Best VR Fitness Hardware
Even after I got used to VR workouts, I still felt frustrated tripping over wires, punching walls, and sweating inside my expensive HTC Vive Pro. Due to my intense physical use, my headset broke and had to be repaired more than once. Although I loved the Vive for all things gaming, I decided to buy some VR gear specifically for fitness.
Of course, Instagram read my thoughts and quickly started serving up ads for the Oculus Quest 2. At first I despised Quest for its reliance on Facebook, but after reading it for a few hours I made an impulse purchase and hid the evidence from my wife.
After playing with the Quest’s UI for a few hours, changing my home location to my spaceship, and setting up my preferences, I was shocked by how good the Quest looked and felt compared to the Vive Pro. The device felt almost premium and the display looked just as good. The only part that felt cheap was the strap on the back of the headset. I quickly upgraded this to the Oculus designed Elite Strap for $49.
I purchased it again the thrill of fighting I wanted to experience this wirelessly. To me it looked just as good as the Vive, except for a bunch of clunky-looking stadium fans. There are no cosmetic changes, delays or removed features. If you plan to use the Quest 2’s standalone OS to exclude AAA games, I don’t think there will be much difference between the headset qualities.
Find the best VR fitness app
I was standing in my living room browsing the Oculus store when I stumbled upon it. Although the $19 monthly subscription put me off, I was happy to discover a premium fitness app that could offer more than the games I was using. The smartwatch also comes with apps and social networks to track your progress and heart rate.
From the first workout, I knew this was far better than any fitness game I’ve ever played. As a player, you are guided by a real coach through a 3D experience on everything from warm-ups, posture, stretching techniques, breathing and more. The game itself is similar to a hybrid. beat saber and Box VRThis is where you take two futuristic baseball bats and hit a sphere in that direction.
In addition to the music-driven upper body workout, you’re constantly doing squats or directional lunges to pass through a Tron-style 3D triangle that materializes through a portal and launches towards you. You can choose your workout by coach, intensity, music genre or duration.
I admit it. Based on my previous VR workout experience, I thought I could jump right into the Hard difficulty level. I was wrong. good night, halo legends erroneous. The first few workouts I got to the point where I had to pause and wipe the sweat off my Oculus. Thankfully, supernatural Includes a free rubber headset insert to make it more hygienic.
Are you unmotivated? Experience VR Fitness
Everyone has different fitness goals, whether it’s losing weight, gaining muscle mass, or looking better in a swimsuit. After spending hundreds of hours gathering what works best for me, I can confidently say that a VR fitness routine can help you achieve one of these goals.
It may not completely replace the gym in your life, but it will definitely help you maintain your endurance, keep your core toned, and prevent your body fat percentage from increasing after the holidays. Some people may think VR is a perfect 1:1 replacement, but I found the balance of VR with minimal home gym equipment to be the best option for me.
The experience is novel enough to still feel like science fiction.
Even now, months after starting this journey, I still feel excited every time I turn on my headset. The experience is novel enough to still feel like science fiction. If you have a gaming background, you may have to push yourself harder in VR than you would in the gym. The game mechanics deep in your subconscious will be activated in a way that treats this like a fantasy rather than a chore.
Can you afford VR fitness?
Strangely enough, VR seems expensive. As a gym substitute, it’s a screaming deal. The Oculus Quest 2 is currently on sale for $299 at Wall Street’s Most Underrated Video Game Retailer. Add a Supernatural annual subscription for $228 and you’ll get a year of fitness access for less than $500.
Compare that to Peloton, which starts at $1,895 for the bike and $39 per month, Hydrow, which costs $1,995 per month and $38 per month, and Tonal, which has a $250 installation fee and $49 per month. Of course, you can’t do cycling, rowing, or resistance training in VR, but you can make up for it by buying a bike, boat, or some free weights with the money you have left over.