Need a gym or general fitness atmosphere by loathe going to the actual gym? Hate feeling like you’re working out when you’re working out? More interested in anything when it has to do with technology? The answer might be to use a virtual reality set at home for your fitness.
Virtual headset have hit mainstream in a big way, and consumers can finally get their hands on this technology for all their gaming and entertainment needs. Using virtual reality for fitness is a nice combination of gaming and entertainment that helps those that are easily bored break out of the monotony of traditional workouts and fitness routines.
Whether you’re looking for more excitement for your workouts, something to distract you from the demanding physicality, or a way to pass the time faster, virtual reality workouts are becoming a more accessible option. As with any fitness option, though, virtual workouts have pros and cons.
Pros of Virtual Workouts
Making a workout feel like anything but a workout is not a new concept – people have been trying to hack fitness forever – but adding the virtual reality aspect to workouts is a new concept. Here are some of the pros using this technology as part of your workout plan:
- Make Fitness a Game. Using weights that you can strap on for an added workout, you can simply immerse yourself in a virtual reality game and forget that you’re even working out. As long as you go at it for a while and keep your heart rate up, you’re doing as good for your body as if you went for run.
- Control What You See and Hear. If you work out at the gym, you have no control over your environment. Sure, there are usually TVs available, but you don’t get to choose what to watch, and six TVs on different stations is distracting in all the wrong way. If you use a virtual reality headset and Netflix, you can watch video that keeps up with your workout. The video will follow your head movement so you’ll never miss the details.
- Control Where You Work Out. Whether you want to be in the same room with your family or secluded from them, using virtual reality to work out will give you control over your location. Switch rooms, take it outside – no matter where you are, you can still focus on what the headset shows you.
Cons of Virtual Workouts
Virtual workouts aren’t all convenience and glamour, though. Here are a few things that are big enough cons that I’m probably going to wait to jump on this trend.
- Sweating. Sweating is a natural part of working out, and I can hardly stand wearing headphones – let alone a headset that covers most of my face. The fact that I could get sweat in my eyes makes virtual workouts a hard no for me right now. Some headsets are working on better designs – more cushion, removable and washable, waterproof – and bandanas are always the poor man’s option to control sweat.
- Bulk. The last thing I need during my workout is additional bulk. Working out can be uncomfortable already, and adding a bulky headset that you have to keep in place and adjust can be a deal breaker.
- Cables. Cables everywhere just mean more things for me and my family to trip over.
Prices. Virtual workouts cost more than an annual gym membership. You have to have the headset, the smart phone, and other expensive equipment to really do it right.
