Virtual Reality (VR) seems to be all the hype these days. Everywhere you look people are talking about the latest VR headset, which company is going to be the first to develop the metaverse and all of the other possibilities that come along with it.
One thing that not a lot of companies are talking about yet, at least in the mainstream, is the ability to workout and exercise in VR.
Virtual reality offers a unique way to experience exercise classes as well as various forms of workouts. It allows for you to do yoga in a desert in Africa, climb Mt. Everest, or even ride your bike through areas that you would never have imagined. Working out in virtual reality is a great way to switch up your workouts and experience things like you would never have imagined.
If you’re not a person that typically works out or exercises on a regular basis, you may even find that playing some of the more popular games in VR can give you that same amount of exercise that jogging outside or lifting light weights might give you.
Traditional Workout Apps in Virtual Reality
Workout and exercise apps in VR have become more popular since companies have released more affordable virtual reality headsets. Meta (Oculus) has one of the best, most affordable, VR headsets you can buy that does not require a computer in order to function. This means that there are no wires and no additional external equipment needed to jump into the world of virtual reality.
With a price point of between $400-500 USD, you’ll get a comfortable, quality, headset that will get you started in VR in just minutes.
The Meta Quest ecosystem has a variety of different workout apps tailored specifically to exercise and working out. There are apps that allow for you to experience virtual trainers, boxing sessions, biking, meditation and more.
If you’ve never experienced virtual reality or used one of these at-home headsets before, you may be surprised at just how good of a workout you can get.
Since you’re utilizing your entire body to move around and experience the app, the amount of physical exertion generated while engaging in these apps is just as much as you would get from a workout class in real life. You’ll be doing the same moves, listening to the same instructions, and overall working out just as hard as you would in real life.
In addition to fitness specific apps, you may be surprised to realize that just using these VR headsets for gaming can also be quite the workout.
Virtual Reality Games and Exercise
It may seem like the only way to get a good exercise while using a virtual reality headset would be from the workout apps or programs, but that’s not true.
Anyone who has used VR for extended periods of time will tell you that just playing more traditional games, while in standing mode, can give you quite the workout as well.
Games like Beat Saber, Rec Room, and even Horizon Worlds can give you just as good of a workout as the apps specifically designed for exercise.
These games are designed to get your body moving while keeping you immersed in the game. Some of them are rhythm games that make you keep to the beat of music, while others are just worlds compiled of various mini-games and activities that you can do for free.
In reality, virtual reality is a great way to get your body moving if you’re looking for an alternative to going to the gym or working out outside of the home.
Why Use Virtual Reality Instead of Reality Based Workouts?
Not everyone is comfortable going to a gym or working out outside of their home. With virtual reality you can bring the gym to your house and experience trainers and exercise as if you were halfway across the world.
Sure, you can always subscribe to something like Apple Fitness, or one of the other in-home fitness programs, but none of those give you that out-of-home experience that you get with virtual reality. And as we stated above, the VR headsets can be used for much more than just exercise.
Virtual reality is the next step in technology and as more and more people adopt these headsets and more companies release better and better versions, you’re going to see a lot more people experiencing life around the world from the comfort of their own living room.
So if you’re wondering if working out in VR is the same as working out in real life, of course it’s not exactly the same, but the calories you can burn and the energy you can expel are going to be similar no matter how you’re experiencing it.
Keeping your body moving and your heart rate up are one of the keys to keeping your body healthy and doing that in VR can be a lot more fun than just walking on a treadmill at your local gym.