{"id":384928,"date":"2021-07-21T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T07:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/formnutrition.com\/us\/?p=384928"},"modified":"2021-07-28T06:30:31","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T10:30:31","slug":"vr-fitness-is-this-the-future-of-working-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/formnutrition.com\/us\/inform\/vr-fitness-is-this-the-future-of-working-out\/","title":{"rendered":"VR Fitness: Is This The Future Of Working Out?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regardless of any restrictions on group exercise, my fitness studio<\/a> is open whenever I want to work out. I can vibe off the lighting, the music, the sense of a place that\u2019s not my house, my upbeat if slightly repetitive instructor. And I can look to the sides and see my classmates. Well, just their heads and hands. But it\u2019s nice to know they\u2019re sort of there.<\/p>\n

For the past month, I\u2019ve been working out using an Oculus Quest virtual reality headset<\/a> (from \u00a3299) and an app called FitXR<\/a> (\u00a37.99 a month). As a rule, I don\u2019t really like fitness tech, which is awkward because I often have to write about it for work. I particularly don\u2019t like somehow finding the time and energy between professional and personal obligations to work out only to discover my running app needs updating or my headphones are flat. For me, exercise is an opportunity to unplug, to reconnect with my body. Fitness tech can hinder as much as help and, fundamentally, it\u2019s unnecessary.<\/p>\n

I was pleasantly surprised by the hassle-freedom of the standalone Oculus Quest then. And I was utterly dumbstruck by the totality of immersion. A few times my wife passes by the door of our bedroom where I\u2019m working out, but I have no idea she\u2019s there, because I\u2019m not. I\u2019m in a studio, punching the translucent targets flying towards me like a combo of Guitar Hero and Wii Fit: blue for left hand, yellow for right. When I manage to hit the circles with a well timed straight, a hook or an uppercut respectively, the targets explode satisfyingly. If my aim is off, they pop disappointingly. And if I miss completely they just fly through me, because they\u2019re not really there, and neither am I.<\/p>\n

Nor are the long, variously angled barriers, but I reflexively duck and weave anyway. Above the assorted flying things are my score in \u201cFitXr points\u201d, my current streak (successfully hitting and not getting hit) and my level (which progresses from one to a max of 10 over the length of the class).<\/p>\n

In the corners of my eyes, the heads and hands of my classmates, the scoreboard that flashes when I move up or down the rankings and the power meter all encourage me to go for it. I cathartically beat the crap out of thin air.<\/p>\n

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