Get Ready For The Virtual Reality Gym
We all know that it’s best for our health for our bodies to be active. That if we’re in decent shape, we should aim to remain that way and if we need a little work, we should put in that extra bit of effort. But no matter where we fall on the physical fitness spectrum however, we probably almost all can agree that the gym is, for the most part, an awful place to spend time. Even those of us who love the gym have to at least admit that it isn’t much fun.
But some savvy gym owners are using new technology to make the gym no different than a virtual reality arcade. For years video game designers, from Dance Dance Revolution to the Wii, have attempted to build experiences that could combine physical activity with video games, but most attempts have had limited success. That however seems to be changing with virtual reality.
While gyms have been using video for years to entertain their patrons, virtual reality is starting to take the place of televisions. Whether it be screens or headsets designed to allow for someone on an exercise bike or rowing machine to feel like they’re not stuck in a dreary gym, the tiny wall mounted flatscreen stuck on CNN may soon be a thing of the past. And although giving someone the sense of riding a bike through the Champs-Elysee may make them feel like they’re wearing a yellow jacket, the truth is they’re still in a gym wearing an old t-shirt. But where you may be able to fool someone wearing a headset they’re not in a gym, it’s easier for someone both seeing and moving in VR to believe that they are doing something entirely different than an old-school workout. And this is where The Icaros fits in.
A full body experience already set up in over 200 gyms, The Icaros is a full body system, a VR flight simulator meets meets exercise machine that is almost akin to lying on gyroscope. When combined with a headset, it allows the user the sensation of either a flying simulator, diving underwater, driving a motorcyle or parachuting, all while getting an incredible core workout.
Now let’s say that yeah, The Icaros sounds cool, but you still hate gyms. All the clanking and the people watching you exercise is still too much for you. Well, you could workout at home and while that’s hard at least there are some new VR options out there should you decide to skip the trip out to the gym and try to keep fit in the comfort of your own home. There’s a full body version of the mobile game Fruit Ninja out there now, allowing you to swing a virtual sword at flying fruit that’s bound to make you break a sweat, but if you’re stuck at home but want to feel like you’re out on the town, for my money, the soon to be released VR experience Drunkn Bar Fight may just be down your alley.
Like its name indicates, it’s a first person fighting game where you’ve got to physically fight your way through an entire dive bar. It’s a game where you can not only get a work out physically, but you may be able to work out a few other demons as well, all without the danger of a receiving a scratch, let alone a broken nose. This game not only builds up a sweat, but it puts the virtual in virtual reality which is a good thing because as we all know, physical fitness should be about your health and not about any physical damage, whether that’s on you or someone else.