VR vs Fitness and Fat: Round 2 – The Challenge
New year, new you and all that crap right? Yes, I am back, once again unhappy with my weight and looking to do something about it. But because I have no self-discipline I need the motivation to get off my arse and actually get on with it. This is why we are back with another round of me and my fat arse taking on the world of VR fitness titles to get myself into shape. The only difference is, this time I have an Oculus Quest 2 and a significantly larger amount of apps that can be used as a workout experience.
The first time around I had a lot of success, losing 8.4 kgs and 28cm from various body parts and appendages so I have high hopes of things being successful again, so to mix it up this challenge is going to be for more than a month. This will be for 6 months. The real challenge after the last round was keeping up with it. Monotony became an issue and then, following unexpected medical problems, I gave it up altogether. That medical condition (of which I am still suffering) led to me giving up on exercise f0r quite sometime Add this to the highly depressing year of lockdowns and bad news and it is safe to say looking after myself became a distant consideration. Sure, these are all excuses, but in my defence, they are pretty good ones.
So with the long term in mind, how are we going to report on this? Well, the challenge will be much the same as last time. 30 mins of high-intensity VR activity per day for one month. I will be reporting in with stats on a weekly basis for this first month. After the first month, I will lower the exercise required to 5 times per week, giving me two rest days. I will then report in on Player 2 on a monthly basis for 6 months. I know VR can work in the short term, I have already proved that, but now I want to know if it is a viable lifestyle choice for staying fit and losing weight.
So, starting Monday I will be once again diving in. Along the way, I will have guest contributions from the Player 2 team with their thoughts about fitness and video games and I will be keeping our Instagram account active with pictures and videos of my pathetic, sweat-soaked VR workouts. This time around I have access to a much larger pool of VR apps too, so that should help to keep things interesting for all. So we will see the return of games like BoxVR and Beat Saber, but I have new titles like Synth Riders, Pistol Whip, OhShape, PowerBeats VR and Audica to mix in. Variety is the spice of life they say, so this should help me keep focus for the coming 6 months.
Now I have some roadblocks that I can already see coming. At some point I will be going into hospital for a procedure on my wrist, taking me out of action for a while. There will also be occasions where I will be without access to my VR unit, making workouts impossible. These roadblocks are just a part of life however and I feel that using VR as a fitness tool can only be judged a success if it fits in with life. I will just have to deal with these interruptions as best I can and where possible substitute a VR workout for a good long walk, a round of golf or a game of basketball with the kids. I can’t let these roadblocks become excuses.
So I ask you all to join me for this ride, this journey of using my favourite entertainment medium to improve my health. It all kicks off Monday so don’t forget to stop by.
VR vs Fitness and Fat – The Rules
- 30 minutes of high-intensity VR activity per day for 1 month
- Weekly measurements and weigh-ins
- Heart rate tracking through Fitbit
- Games to be used are BoxVR, Beat Saber, Synth Riders, Pistol Whip, OhShape, PowerBeats VR (and hopefully more)
- Diet to be kept as is (basically as healthy as possible until the weekend when I am a terrible, terrible human as far as food is concerned)
- After the initial month has been completed, reduce exercise to 5 times per week and report in monthly.
To Celebrate VR vs Fitness and Fat’s return we are giving away a double pass to Zero Latency’s new Sydney location. To find out how to win, click here:
