How I use video games to lose weight and feel good

I am ashamed to admit that I have tried almost every way to lose weight.

I put my palate on the canal, trying a bunch of fatty foods that were self-inflicted. I've kept schedules unrelated to the gym and off-the-shelf apps. Despite my best efforts to stick with affiliate programs, I have finally found the best success in an unusual way: video games.

In the Dance Dance Revolution program in homes and at home, I spent many hours burning flaming arrows. The combination of music, community and faux dancing was unpleasant. The combination has helped me hit all my fitness goals. I felt and looked good.

But when the queens started to become popular, and I got older and busy, I stopped being enthusiastic. I tried to look for other ways to stay fit, like weightlifting, rock climbing, and yoga apps on my phone, but I would never be able to keep up with them. So in recent weeks, I've decided to go back to how busy I used to be: playing video games.

I have been checking out many games and platforms that have helped me deliver daily. My goal has been to find the games that the body wants, but not so much that playing them sounds “practical.” Between Oculus Quest, Nintendo switchch and Xbox One, I now have a library that I have to look forward to when it's time to work.

If you want games to help you get up and keep going, here are some recommendations based on what I'm currently playing, how they encourage me to be more active, and why you should try.

Oculus demand

I am not alone in finding out how fun it is to use virtual reality to get your key to the seat. I love the VR-filled environment, because it makes it easier to focus on one thing at a time, rather than how easily I'm distracted in the gym. Having the sound, music and gameplay together to get my attention is a great way to keep me busy. I put my headset on, focusing so hard I can't see myself sweating until I stop to get a dose of water.

There are many choices for VR headsets, but I was immediately drawn to Oculus Demand. Since it does not need to be shipped to a PC, I was able to enjoy more freedom of movement while playing one of my favorite games, Beat Saber.

In the past, I've said how Beat Saber is one of the best games of the last 10 years because it all takes less than three minutes to show how powerful VR gaming is. The title covers some interesting music tracks – from future bass to, more recently, Green Day – and kills me in colored blocks like disco Jedi.

As the songs are being played, blocks marked with directions come to me, and I have to switch to them when I listen to music. The result can feel like a delicate mix of excitement, adventure, and gear. Gameplay such as dancellay and precision are so frustrating, they don't sound like gaining performance.

Beat Saber Don't feel like the upper body workout when the game is close to its difficulty. To make my experience more interesting, I only play on the use of Hard instead. In that mode, the songs are not too complex to be played, allowing me to dance around and incorporate a lot of my body into the game.

You should try it Beat Saber if:

• Music naturally makes you get up and go
• You want something with different levels of complexity to grow with
• Loves the idea of ​​buying new music packs to keep the experience fresh

If I want to challenge myself in VR, I upload BoxVR, more of a physical fitness app useful than a game. Share the same with the Dance Dance Revolution, though instead of going through the arrows to the beat, I set records to use for the first time in the song's playlist.

Each set of tasks gives me the disposal of jabs, hooks, and edges that are a series of colored orbs that fly to me in a music-based pattern. There are also bending, circumcision and squats exercises that are put in place to help the workout target the whole body. Every so often, I am even asked to modify my movements to better balance the experience. The plot is a lot stronger than the traditional rhythm game, but sometimes I like that.

I can set the length of time I want to participate, too BoxVR provides a list of training programs that have not yet been held based on how long you want to apply. Each process is designed for different trainers and offers unique sounds you can drive. I can even follow fitness stats as a measure of calories burned within a game, which is useful if I forget to include my fitness tracker.

I never had a fist before playing BoxVR, and after my first session, I got a pretty good respect for how far it would go. However, because of how challenging it is, I will not be able to do sessions for more than 30 minutes as my sweat gets sweaty. Or with my VR Cover, which does a better job of moisturizing than the default cover, I still cut the times to half an hour.

Check BoxVR if:

• You want experiences that are like a fitness class
• You want to sweat
• You want something that follows your physical fitness work

Other Oculus Games Seeking

While Beat Saber and BoxVR is it my go-to workout game, there are two topics I would like to change if I want to play something more game-oriented and less like a dedicated exercise.

I used to come up all the time, and I was enjoying how The climb it undermines the feeling of something more unusual. It does a good job of mimicking the crashing experience, a kind of rock climbing where you measure walls without the help of ropes. Real massage is a challenge and, when done right, is a full body workout. The climbSimplified gameplay provides the same experience, without being overwhelming.

Since kutaka has no way to follow in my footsteps, I spend my time focusing on where to put my hands while climbing the sport. It doesn’t duplicate this task completely, but I have found that it can still present the same slow, thoughtful and fun challenge of rock climbing without all the effort (or fear of falling).

When I want to put things up, I'm joking Firearm. It's a rhythm-based shooter, and playing it sounds like it's blowing your way through a music video. Each section is on a rail and takes you through the available areas where the enemy goes and tries to take the gun at you.

This disco hayride through the shooting gallery gives you a better score if you beat your enemies to a hit. It is always a good design that makes me dance and shoot in its heavy electronic sound like John Wick at a nightclub. There is also a lot of diving, coding, and – of course its name – gunfire to increase the amount of effort you put into it.

Ring Fit Adventure

One of the most fun fitness games to try was that it was Nintendo Ring Fit Adventure. When I first saw it, it seemed like it was something that would hide the loneliness of working in a compelling RPG way.

Years ago, I tried a previous article on Nintendo's performance, Wii Fit, but the game's future rating board ended up collecting more dust than I had hoped. While I hurried to fetch it Wii Fit on its release date, I quickly grew confused with it. It felt more like a home gym class than something tricky and fun, as I would expect from Nintendo.

The company's latest solid game also includes a fun addition to sweat as well, but in this case, it fits its way with a RPG-like package that clicks with me. In Ring Fit Adventure, I take on the role of a worthy warrior who travels throughout the world who specializes in working when I need to stop an ok dragon. To win it, I have to chase squats, chest pressures, yoga moves, and more. It sounds like a traditional workout, but there is so much going on that it ends up being more fun than it seems to be written.

To track my performance, I use different switchch controllers as well Ring Fit AdventureKey Add-on, Ring-Con. By installing one of my system Joy-Cons ruby ​​ring controls – and the other with a leg cord tied to my left thigh – I can control the whole game and track my movements.

The flexible Ring-Con body is designed to be torn down and pulled to teach resistance. It looks dull, but it produces an incredible amount of resistance. The Joy-Con attached to your thigh tracks other cardio-focused activities like running in the area with squats, even if you are walking up and down the planks. In short, both Joy-Cons can track a myriad of different activities that cripple expectations.

As I travel through the game world, which can take weeks or months to complete, I use my Joy-Con tracks to defeat enemies and eliminate minigames. Ring Fit Adventure it is set to encourage me to use the whole range of motion when I play, by turning each moment into a positive world of exercise. Most sessions take about half an hour to complete, and the game always asks me if I would like to play longer or want to call it out for the day. It's also encouraging before and after workouts, which no other game I have played has done.

While Ring Fit Adventure the most important thing I've played lately, they don't sound like work. Going back to it everyday is like returning to an RPG. There is a main quest that I am willing to learn more about, special requirements that provide rewards, and hours of game to play. It just so happens that enjoying my time also requires a little sweat on my end.

You can enjoy Ring Fit Adventure if:

• He loves the idea of ​​gamization to help build a fitness routine
• He is interested in building a little muscle instead of Cardio only
• You want an experience that will not be felt every time you play

Vele Dance 2020 on Xbox One

Dancing has always been one of the most reliable ways I have done physical work. But now my faux dance days in the Dance Dance Revolution and nightclubs are behind me. Instead, I learn to dance again Just Dance 2020 on Xbox One with Kinect.

The Just Dance series has been around since 2009, and while trying to play it on Wii and PlayStation 4, holding onto the Wiimote or Mov controller while dancing always seemed weird to me. It was when I started playing it on Xbox One with Kinect last year when I finally fell in love with the series.

Using a Kinect camera, Just Dance 2020 you track my movements accordingly. It checks to make sure I do the right choreography for each of its songs. I follow in the footsteps that I see them dancing on screen, and do my best to match them well. As I watch real dancers, not digital avatars, it's very easy to imitate their movements. I remember how I doubled their performance, and Just Dance pulls out a mark on my scale and introduces me to all the other players around the world.

It's been years since I've shown my dance moves, though Just Dance 2020 it stimulates the memory of the many muscles I built over the years. I love that the time spent playing Just Dance and working out sweat can be extended to the actual dance floor if I'm more inclined.

Just Dance 2020 good if:

• You want to make a sweat while you learn to dance
• He likes to compete indirectly with others
• You want to take the skills you learned from the game into the real world

What is best for you?

I'm not an expert on physical fitness, but I do have one piece of advice that will help you make the right choice: Do whatever you can to stick to it.

What you do to stay active is not as important as how often you work. Getting up and walking should be a good practice to get involved with. If you are striving to find the process that works for you, try more until you find one that you can always do.

If the idea of ​​performance feels like a chore, approach performance at a lower level. I am exploring the options that I enjoy and can't wait to play at the end of a long work day. I look forward to working out sweating and sports, which is a complaint away from how I felt when I got up at 6am to go to the gym.

These games, even in tandem, may not be enough to have a consistent workout program and healthy diet. However, in the meantime, I'm having fun and rediscovering how fun it is to work.