Many of us have an exercise deficiency and don’t get enough exercise and movement to counter our poor lifestyle habits. To make a living, we work a 40 plus hour work week, sit at a desk for hours, or have to stand for long periods of time with our legs locked to a bend. The day winds down, we head home, and finally get a moment to land on the couch, tired from all that standing or sitting.
What do we do once we get comfy on the couch? Watch TV, click through hundreds of channels, and sit down for one episode of our favorite show. For 73% of Americans, one show turns into two, and then another, and heads straight into a full-fledged marathon binge-watching session. Then, it’s time to turn out the light and head to sleep.
Wait, where was the activity in between waking, working, and coming home? If there wasn’t any, you’re an adult that isn’t getting a healthy dose of daily exercise. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that “Less than 5% of adults participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each day” with “only one in three adults receiv[ing] the recommended amount of physical activity each week.”
If this sounds like you –you’re not making progress towards health and you’re slowly poisoning yourself.
What’s exercise deficiency?
BodyBuilding.com has a great article about exercise deficiency that discusses the perpetual lack of daily exercise and its effects on kids. The fitness experts say, “With inactivity leading to type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary disease, strokes, and obesity, keeping kids active can be a matter of life and death.” The same warning goes for sedentary parents and adults in general if you’re not getting 30 minutes to an hour of exercise every day.
Are we headed for an early grave with all this binge-watching and lack of self-motivation to pry ourselves off the couch? With “78 million U.S. adults and about 12.5 million (16.9%) children and adolescents” qualifying as obese and 15 million people dying prematurely every year from a lack of exercise, it sure looks like it could be ending up that way…unless we make changes!
What health problems can occur when we’re exercise deficient?
-
- Venous Thromboembolism: sitting for hours at a time, Netflix and chillin’ your way through the weekend for hours (yes, hours) without breaks, walking around, and getting at least 30 minutes to an hour of exercise a day can put even the healthiest adults at risk of a deadly blood clot in their arm, leg, or groin. A shocking takeaway – “Participants who were physically active and watched their weight didn’t lower their risk of VTE. In fact, they raised it from 1.71 to 1.8 times the risk.” And that’s just from sitting for a few hours.
-
- Cardiovascular disease: not getting 30 minutes to an hour of blood pumping, fat torching exercise can cut your life short with a heart attack or a stroke. No matter if you’re skinny fat or obese, the lack of circulation to the heart, brain, veins, and other parts of the body can build up over time and cause fat to clog up these typically unblocked areas. Getting up, taking a break, strolling around the neighborhood, running, or even playing a physically active game in VR will help improve the fitness of your heart and circulatory system. Get off your butt and tell the grim reaper he can go back home — you’ve got this!
-
- Diabetes: eating fatty foods and fast food with tons of sugar, chugging sodas, beer, wine, juice, and just having a terrible grasp on nutrition and eating clean and a lack of exercise can give you a one-way ticket to Type 2 Diabetes. Your poor pancreas is trying to do its best and you keep on throwing globs of sugar at it until it stops working altogether. High glucose levels will hurt not only the pancreas, but it’ll also wreck “your eyes, kidneys, nerves or heart” too, according to the American Diabetes Association. Exercising will lower your risk of getting diabetes; but if you do have it, it’ll help manage it and help you lose a few pounds too and keep your body healthier.
Can VR help me exercise and be less sedentary?
Yes, it sure can!
If you don’t want to step on the scale, see those numbers balloon out, and don’t want the health issues that come with a widening waistline or sitting as a hobby, playing VR is a great way to stop the cycle of laziness and exercise deficiency! Virtual Reality is so good for fitness and sculpting bodies Zumba instructors like Karen Cusimano use it to stay in shape and fit gamers like Robert Long are playing Beat Saber and dropping 138 pounds!
Other ways VR helps with fitness.
Using VR for fitness and weight loss isn’t the only benefit, it can help build hand-eye coordination, strengthens friendships, and keeps players and fans engaged and committed to exercise by participating in and training for esports league competition with Virtual Athletics League and VR League. There are so many different games that are great for fitness that anyone can begin an exercise routine with a VR headset.
Wrap Up
Without enough exercise, our bodies and minds will suffer. To be blunt, our loved ones will suffer the true consequence of our daily laziness if we spend the rest of our days unhealthy, unmotivated and resigned to an early death. Taking charge of your health and life is no one else’s job but yours, so make some power moves and get fit with VR.
