Now that it’s heating up in the northern hemisphere, it’s the perfect time to show off that summer body you’ve been working on. Or it’s the time when you’re kicking yourself because you dropped your resolution—and your results—earlier in the year.
Luckily, a gaming PC and a VR headset (with haptic controllers) are fantastic workout tools. In this article, you will get a complete workout regimen in VR. To get the best results, you must follow this regimen every day. But you will see results. And you’ll have so much fun that you won’t want to stop. Why? Because you’ll be playing games the whole time. You will be punching, dodging, ducking, squatting, and raising your heart rate. Granted, your mileage may vary depending on your dietary habits, metabolism, and existing fitness level.
Let’s also establish what I mean by “summer body”. I’m not promising that you’ll get buff beyond your wildest dreams. While that might be an incidental bonus, I’m here to help you use VR to get to a point where, at the very least, taking your shirt off at a beach is more exciting than scary. Are you ready? Let’s go:
What You’ll Need to Build a Summer Body in VR
Besides the gaming PC and VR headset, you’ll want to budget for a VR cover and the cost of the apps included in my regimen. The VR cover is a removable cloth garment that slips on and off your headset’s faceplate. With a VR cover, you can get sweaty without the extra hassle of mucking up your headset. It’s also machine washable, so you can wash it whenever you’d like.
Make sure that your play space is at least 2×2 meters. The more space, the better. And the three apps you’ll need are The Thrill of the Fight!, BOXVR, and SUPERHOT VR.
Monday
The pumping rhythm of BOXVR should inspire you to challenge yourself harder than you’re used to. If you’re out of shape and you’re getting winded, then you should work your way up without straining your muscles. Today, you are going to work your core, legs and upper body with BOXVR.
In the Workout menu, there is an entire section labeled “Beginner”. It’s full of training exercises that are perfect for (new) VR fitness junkies like you. Each Monday you will use BOXVR’s training modules for at least 60 minutes, non-stop. I like to mix things up with the ‘Haymaker’ and ‘Squat City’ modules, as they both give me a sizeable challenge each time I play them.
Tuesday
When you first start this regimen, BOXVR will leave your body in shambles for the next several days. This is normal. Tuesday is all about the LISS workout, otherwise known as “low-intensity steady state“. LISS is anything that you can do consistently, that doesn’t burn too much of your energy at once. For example, going for a walk is a fine example of everyday LISS. But unlike during a walk, you’re going to use the power of VR to work your entire body.
Here’s your workout for today: Spend an hour playing SUPERHOT VR.
After yesterday, your legs are going to hurt. And you don’t want to strain them because you’ll need them tomorrow. But the best part of SUPERHOT VR is that you can slow time by reducing movement, so feel free to bend and stretch while you play.
Wednesday
This is your big day. Today, you’re back in full force with The Thrill of the Fight. Like the other days, your workout completion time is one hour.
As you can see, I’m going with a pattern. HIIT, LISS, HIIT. Before you begin, you want to assess your personal needs. TOTF is no joke, and it can leave you in pain if you’re unprepared. Warm up with five to ten minutes of SUPERHOT VR, and then spend the rest of the session in TOTF.
At first, you might struggle to keep your arms up long enough to down your sparring partner. But with time, you’ll have the endurance to blow through each opponent. If you lose too much steam too quickly in TOTF, or you keep getting dominated by the computer, feel free to throw the towel early and finish the workout in SUPERHOT.
When you’re first starting, your legs will still burn from Monday. Remember that you absolutely do not want to strain them if they’re in pain.
Thursday
Today, you’re going to do another full hour of BOXVR. You should be able to handle this. That is, assuming you didn’t wreck your body with yesterday’s TOTF session. Remember to pace yourself, and don’t be afraid to do simpler workouts in BOXVR while you build endurance.
Friday
You’re here for a summer body, right? Then you want to start conquering The Thrill of the Fight as soon as you can. Today, I’m challenging you to do the complete hour in TOTF without switching to any other game.
Saturday and Sunday
I’m not sorry about this part—you don’t get weekends off. Do a mixup of SUPERHOT VR, BOXVR, and TOTF at your own discretion. But do at least a half hour of BOXVR or TOTF. I use SUPERHOT as a warmup game before leaping into one of the other two.
With summer coming up, your summer body (or lack thereof) can be an embarrassing pain point. But it doesn’t have to be. VR fitness apps let you indulge in PC gaming while losing weight and getting into shape. Once you have your headset and VR-ready GPU, the one-time cost of a few apps and a cloth cover is negligible. Especially in comparison to the recurring cost of a gym membership.
In VR, you can build an entire workout regimen and earn that coveted summer body from home. Remember that you want to mix LISS and HIIT together. And that some days will belong to SUPERHOT, while others will belong to TOTF or BOXVR. But once you start getting into shape, one hour of VR workout can burn 400 to 900 calories.
How is your summer body coming along? Let us know in the comments.
