How to train at home like the best in CrossFit?
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(CNN) -
Some discover their preferred method of exercise very early and have the self-discipline to stick with it for decades.
The rest of us, well, we got a little bored.
Among the many challenges brought on by the pandemic, some far more urgent than others, is the inability to bring our exercise routines to life.
Gyms and exercise studios are closed or it's risky to go.
Team sports are far from ideal due to the pandemic.
Classes on Zoom and classes via YouTube are better than nothing, but the one-sidedness of the interaction makes it very easy to take it to 50% or less.
Exercising outside is less and less attractive as temperatures drop and the sun sets before you've had a chance to digest your lunch.
If you also find it difficult to motivate yourself these days, you might consider fitness video games.
Even if you are not an amateur gamer.
And even if you never exercise.
Reduce back pain with these 5-minute home exercises
The benefits of exercising during quarantine 3:32
Why exercise with video games
Exercise video games require you to use your entire body to participate in the game, rather than just using your fingers.
They have grown in sophistication and variety over the past decades and are designed to give you an added incentive to exercise.
Some do this by gamifying the session and others by monitoring movement and tracking progress.
Texting friends instead of taking another round?
The game will know.
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"Fitness games give us immediate payoff for doing something worthwhile in the long run," said Renee Gittins, executive director of the International Association of Game Developers, who has been a consultant on the development of fitness video games. .
"Unfortunately, humans are not good at processing long-term benefits, so immediate positive feedback can be a great way to encourage habit building."
Important note:
If you feel pain when performing any movement while playing a fitness video game, stop immediately.
Check with your doctor before starting any new exercise program.
Wide variety of video games for exercise
There is something for almost everyone when it comes to
fitness
games
.
Some
fitness
games
are like exercise videos or personal trainer sessions, but with an additional interactive twist.
Fitness Boxing on Nintendo Switch guides users through a challenging and personalized boxing workout.
There are also Zumba games for a variety of systems, which make use of controllers or motion sensors to track movements and progress.
Visitors play Arms on the Nintendo Switch console during its German premiere in Offenbach, Germany, 13 January 2017.
Other
fitness
video games
offer a more imaginative setting for exercising.
Arms, which is available on the Nintendo Switch, is a fighting game in which users choose from a variety of custom, extendable arms and attempt to knock out opponents in different scenarios.
Common Sense gives you the go-ahead for kids 10 and up.
Beat Saber, which is a virtual reality game available on PlayStation 4 and other devices, allows users to cut blocks that represent musical beats in a neon universe.
Ring Fit Adventure, a Nintendo Switch game that comes with a physical ring, is an action game, in which users roam a large, brightly colored, virtual world and defeat enemies.
It offers one of the most challenging workouts.
A visitor plays the Ring Fit Adventure game at the Nintendo booth during the Third China International Import Expo, on November 6, in Shanghai.
Dance Dance Revolution is one of the oldest fitness video games, dating back to the late 1990s and requiring a floor pad to track movement.
The latest versions can be played on a PC;
the older ones are compatible with Xbox and PlayStation.
Just Dance is a simpler and more kid-friendly dance game, Gittins said.
Dance games are particularly good for increasing your heart rate, which can benefit your body and mind.
Those with a virtual reality system have a wide range of deeply realized fictional worlds to choose from, like Sprint Vector, which mixes extreme sports with an intergalactic game show.
Those without systems can try mobile-friendly games like Pokémon Go and Harry Potter Wizards Unite, both of which require users to move outdoors and are also good for kids.
The Harry Potter Wizards Unite app can encourage children and parents to move outdoors.
Tip: For those who have a system and would rather try a game before buying one, there is a decent chance your local library has one that you can borrow.
The appeal of video games
For many, the ease of these workouts at home is the big draw.
Hweimei Tsou, a 31-year-old self-identified gamer and manager of Digital Communications in the San Francisco Bay Area, had never found herself in a training rhythm before Fitness Boxing.
She appreciates how easy
fitness
games are
to integrate into her schedule and that she can get a specific, personalized workout tailored to her sense of competition.
She finds it funny too.
San Francisco resident Hweimei Tsou works out at home with Ring Fit Adventure on Nintendo Switch. Here she does knee raises.
"Right when you start the game, it tells you how many calories you've burned this week," said Tsou.
"Play helps you find your sweet spot (in terms of exercise intensity), and then it keeps you moving by pushing you to your limit."
Fitness video games are also appealing to those who are not comfortable exercising in front of others.
Duane Montague, a 51-year-old Account Director in Chino Hills, California, lost 30 pounds through Xbox Fitness, which is now discontinued.
It's something the creative guy who describes himself doesn't think would have happened in the gym.
"The idea of going to the gym, or running on a treadmill or lifting weights ... that's not me," Montague said.
Through the videos and sensors, he was able to slowly build up his strength and endurance, and make sure he was doing the movements correctly.
Eventually, her
fitness
confidence increased
and she went to the gym;
the game became his supplementary training.
Another advantage of
fitness
games
is that one can virtually compete or exercise alongside a friend or family member elsewhere, as long as both parties have the game and an internet connection.
Games like Just Dance, Arms, and Beat Saber have multiplayer capabilities.
How
fitness
games are made
Making
fitness
games
tends to be an elaborate process, involving a combination of game designers, sports scientists and test audiences, and it can take years, Gittins said.
Often the goal is to do something that appeals to a wide audience, and not just gamers.
'Game development is an extremely iterative process.
It can be very difficult to define fun, ”he said.
"They want to make you forget that you are exercising."
An attendee plays Beat Saber, a PlayStation virtual reality game, at the Consumer Electronics Show International on January 7, 2019, in Las Vegas.
There are developers who emphasize the fun and fantastic side of the game, and others focus more on the exercise experience.
Some do both.
"Nintendo, for example, often works with fitness professionals to make sure they encourage proper movement and the work of various muscle groups," he said.
As with all workouts, it is a good idea to start slowly.
How to Get the Most Out of
Fitness
Games
Julien Tripette, a researcher in Sports and Physical Activity Sciences at Japan's National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, said that users of these games should be aware of the limitations of games if they become their main source of exercise. .
Tripette and her colleagues have investigated the effectiveness of active video games and found that they do not necessarily lead to sustained improvement in fitness.
"Laboratory studies on active video games are promising," he said, explaining that some games require as much effort as their offline counterparts.
"But real-life studies are more contentious," Tripette said.
The problem, he said, is often that games lose their appeal after a while and are not replaced with another form of exercise.
Or they weren't demanding enough in the first place.
There are active video games that are effective for toning muscles or improving balance, but they fail to increase heart rate and therefore do not improve cardiovascular health.
Tripette said research supports that active video games are better than nothing for most people, particularly those of us confined to home during this pandemic winter, although they are somewhat less safe with children.
Playing active video games did not encourage more general movement or improve fitness in children, according to a 2012 study.
That said, this research took place long before advances in shelter-in-place graphics, systems and conditions.
Today's children and their parents may see different results.
Considering the high levels of claustrophobic restlessness so many people anticipate over the next few months, there has never been a better time to experiment with
fitness
video games
.
Like Montague, who got into physical activity with the help of a video game, perhaps you too can use this as a starting point for a more complicated exercise routine.
You may even want to invest in a simple heart rate tracker alongside your new game.
Securing results can be as simple as wondering if you are sweating during the game.
Does your heart beat faster (check that monitor!) And do you return to the game regularly?
If the answer is yes to all of the above, these games could simply be the virtual jolt of fitness the whole family needs to establish a fun, pandemic-safe exercise habit.
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Elissa Strauss is a regular contributor to CNN, where she writes about the politics and culture of parenting.
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