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My First 80 Days of VR for Exercise

nathanlippi.com

261–270 of 275 posts

Re: My First 80 Days of VR for Exercise

#261

A few subjective observations that may be totally wrong when applied to others despite their normative tone: * VR makes me sweaty… because it induces minor vertigo. * Anything which requires intense, complete focus to do right is never boring. Exercise, both strength and cardio, requires this level of focus. * Exercise is essential to physical and mental well-being, especially as you age. The difference between havin…

I struggle with nausea, so I stick mainly to stationary games. I've found that I can handle rail/linear movement as long as I have a fan blowing at my face.

Re: My First 80 Days of VR for Exercise

#262
post #259

I'm 38. Never had a workout or fitness routine in my entire life except for a few brief and unsustained periods of working with a trainer, but quit. Last May I bought a Quest 2 specifically to try Supernatural, a mix of Beatsabre with a Pelaton-style experience with pre-recorded song-driven sessions. I did one 5 song session (20 mins or so) and for the first time in my life I was dripping with sweat and thought to my…

I’d like to try Supernatural but it’s US only sadly.

Obvs not supported officially but I have used it outside of the US with a VPN.

Re: My First 80 Days of VR for Exercise

#263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel the same way! Also notable: I don’t really play video games at all other than this one. I get bored too quickly with most games! This model of short workouts built around playlists really unlocked a lot of things for me, I think.

Do you have to pay for additional songs?

Nope full catalog is all included in the subscription, new workouts added every day.

Re: My First 80 Days of VR for Exercise

#264
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not the Vive? They've made huge progress in the last few years.

That's true, I just forgot about them. From what I've seen, the Vive occupies a midpoint in price and quality between the Oculus products and the Index. EDIT: I hadn't actually seen much of the Vive Pro 2, it looks... comparable to the Index? Both price and feature-wise?

Not really a midpoint, but more on a similar level to Index. Generally, people like Index more than the Vive Pros on most points (display, audio, controllers, etc.) except for the wireless capability, and some niche features like eye tracking on the Vive Pro Eye. If you want a wireless high-end headset, Vive is the only game in town (Index is wired-only) so you have to get a Vive. It'll end up being more expensive than Index because the wireless adapter is $350. Since the Vive Pros and Index share the same tracking system, people do mix and match equipment other than the headset though. Many people will buy a Vive Pro headset and use Index controllers with them, since they're better. Index users will buy Vive trackers for full-body tracking because nothing equivalent exists for the Index.

Re: My First 80 Days of VR for Exercise

#265

Geez, go outside for a run. Get some fresh air, smell the rain, say hi to the neighbors, watch houses being built, get chased by a dog, check the Little Library for something interesting, swallow a bug, see if anyone has a cool car in their garage.

Running can be a monotonous grind if you do it on a schedule. That’s assuming you live in a place with decent enough weather that lets you keep to that schedule year round.

It can be a monotonous grind, but it isn't for me. The difference is I "preload" my head with a problem I want to solve, and then solve it while running. It's very productive time.

Re: My First 80 Days of VR for Exercise

#266
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I do run regularly, you gotta admit it is probably the most boring sport from them all.

Nah, weightlifting is the most boring. Running for me means I'm working in my head on my projects. It's the most productive part of my work day.

I don't get either of you, at all. I greatly enjoy both.

I am not a serious runner, just ~20mi/week for health, but being outside, getting into that zone, the mental space for work/etc. as you mention (though math gets difficult with pace), or just listening to audiobooks as I watch the scenery change, it's great.

Weight training, on the other hand, is very technical. Mesocycles planned months out, tweaked as targets are crushed or missed, every set recorded with rates of perceived exertion, everything on timers, the constant strategizing over which variation of which accessory exercise might help with a particular sticking point and add a few lbs to a main lift in the long run. It's intoxicating.

I feel like people who find these things boring sat in a race car in a parking lot and decided race cars were boring.

Re: My First 80 Days of VR for Exercise

#267
post #120

VR exercise is a remarkably poor allocation of time (if your interest is physical fitness, efficiently). It also leaves out the most important adaptation of all: strength. Effective training (not exercising) requires a progression model. That is, on some time frame you must exceed your performance at the end of that time frame when compared to the beginning of the time frame. This must be done in some measurable way-…

I highly disagree with the gist of your comment.

First, I'll mention that I generally agree that most people are not fit, that most people should get fitter, and that includes getting stronger. I'll also agree that getting stronger has tremendous real-world benefits, especially as you get older.

That said, you're pushing that message way too far and discounting cardio completely.

I think the main reason to get fit, for most people, is one of:

1. They want to live longer.

2. They want to have a healthier/better life.

3. They want to look better.

4. They enjoy it.

Different people have different goals, which are all valid. But you deciding that strength is the most important component of fitness is not true, for someone who doesn't share your goals.

For living longer, cardiovascular health is more important than strength, as is having lower body fat. That's the generally accepted view today - if you think otherwise, what evidence do you have for that?

For being healthier, after a certain amount of strength, I'm pretty sure that cardiovascular fitness is also more important, though admittedly I'm a bit less sure about that point.

For wanting to look better, this very much depends on the person. For most people, losing weight is the easiest thing to do to improve their appearance, though building muscle is probably the second most important thing. (I'm excluding makeup/fashion/etc which are completely different).

For enjoyment, well, that's completely dependent on the person. I personally love strength training and dislike many forms of cardio, but that's me.

Re: My First 80 Days of VR for Exercise

#269
post #82
post #13

Shameless plug: if you are into VR fitness but you think the existing solutions are missing multiplayer options, my brother and I are building Space Punch [1] which is a multiplayer fitness app. It is currently released in early access on Sidequest, and it’s functional. We are working out Monday to Friday 4:30pm UTC. If you have a Quest and want to work out together as group, then drop into our Discord sever. I’ll pe…

Perhaps because I'm an introvert, but never quite understood the motivation for social exercise in VR. Half the advantage of it is that I can work out on my own time, in private without being coupled to fixed schedules or other people's expectations.

My fitness center is located next to a McDrive. Seeing that is enough to motivate me. Don't want to be fat.

Re: My First 80 Days of VR for Exercise

#270
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I loved Thrill of the Fight. I sweat like a pig on it. Too bad I get obsessed with fast knockout punches and my shoulders hurt like hell after a couple of days. I also learnt the hardway you cannot outrun a bad diet. I would routinely burn 600+ callories in Thrill of the Fight only to get extremely hungry after and eat double what I've burnt. For me weight training is better than cardio because I don't get the same h…

Recommendations on shooting/hunting sims?

Gaim compact, but it's really pricey(I'm just playng the Demo, still trying to justify the price) or if you're ok with shotgun shooting flying things --skeet/trap/sporting/pigeon/pheasant then Clay Hunt VR -- it's an incredible value for money. If you're looking at land-hunting, take note that Gaim compact is geared towards european style driven hunting.

Pavlov Vr is free, I only used the firing range (which is much better than Contractors).

I also did play quite a bit of Contractors but right now I just play the Ninja mode, hunting bots with bow&arrow.

I also got Onwards, but given that it's very realistic (you die very fast if shot), it's too slow pace for my liking.

Space Pirates is also really nice, but it's not a simulator.

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