Photo credit: WSJ

This VR workout is designed to give you one of the most intense workouts possible in VR, and as such there are a few considerations to observe:

  1. Be familiar with each of the games. Anytime you’re playing a game for the first game there is a learning curve, and learning a game means not going at full intensity. Ensure that you’re proficient enough in each game that there will be the minimum amount of time spent on getting your bearings. Also, some of the game modes presented here need to be unlocked before they can be accessed.
  2. You don’t need to do the full workout. The full workout I’m presenting should take you about an hour to complete, but let’s face facts; an hour of exercising at extreme intensity is quite advanced. Depending on your ability, you would be just as well served to do the warm-up and cool-down portions and just one or two of either the Speed, Power, or Stamina portions, or by doing all three and cutting the duration down to half.
  3. Rest if you need to. Properly resting between bouts of exercise is perhaps even more important than the exercise itself. If you’re too exhausted to fully exert yourself, then there isn’t much point. Add to that the potential for injury is greater when you’re fatigued past the point of exhaustion.

5 Min (Warm-Up): GoalKeepVR

As warmups go, this is still pretty intense. I suggest medium difficulty and then “Endurance” mode, which is about 5 minutes. For the best fitness benefit, don’t simply block the soccer balls like normal, but slap them like they’re helium-filled balloons.

20 Min (Speed): Bitslap

Let’s come out of the gate cranking things up to 11. Best to do Bitslap while you’re fresh because speed and accuracy are essential. We’re going for 8 Rounds of Bitslap. First, make sure the brightness is set to low in the settings. After that, you’ll go with “normal” difficulty, and trust me that normal difficulty is extremely physically demanding. Each “round” lasts approximately 2 minutes and will alternate about 20 seconds of high-intensity bitslapping with 10 seconds of rest.  After the first round is over, waste no time in jumping back into the next round. Once you’ve completed 2 rounds, rest for a minute before doing two more rounds in quick succession again. Wash, rinse, repeat. It should go something like this:

Round 1
2:00 (20 Sec. work/ 10 sec. Rest x 4)
No Rest
Round 2
2:00 (20 Sec. work/ 10 sec. Rest x 4)
Rest 1 Minute
Round 3
2:00 (20 Sec. work/ 10 sec. Rest x 4)
No Rest
Round 4
2:00 (20 Sec. work/ 10 sec. Rest x 4)
Rest 1 Minute
Round 5
2:00 (20 Sec. work/ 10 sec. Rest x 4)
No Rest
Round 6
2:00 (20 Sec. work/ 10 sec. Rest x 4)
Rest 1 Minute
Round 7
2:00 (20 Sec. work/ 10 sec. Rest x 4)
No Rest
Round 8
2:00 (20 Sec. work/ 10 sec. Rest x 4)

Rest 1-2 Minutes – while you load up Sword Master VR

15 Min (Power): Sword Master VR

Sword Master is a little controversial because your opponents are damaged the same whether you “waggle” your sword or wield it like it weighs ten pounds. Obviously, you should be doing the latter, which will require a little imagination on your part. Dual wielding blades is the best for maximum intensity. Swing your swords using wide arcs and execute plunging thrusts with the tip of the blade on their vulnerable, exposed areas. Lunging while extending the front leg by using a slight kicking motion and propelling the body forward with the back leg is especially effective, both as an offensive maneuver and for upping the physical intensity. Also, be dodging, parrying, and defending on all sides. We’ll be doing survival mode for your workout which won’t stop sending enemies at you until you fall. Novice difficulty is also the best choice since we want to keep you in the game as long as possible (just don’t be fighting like a novice).

10 Min (Stamina): The Thrill of the Fight

Zombie mode! The Thrill of the Fight’s zombie mode is great because your undead opponent doesn’t ever relent, they will keep coming at you no matter what and by even taking a moment’s rest means that you’re zombie food. Your only defense is to keep attacking until they go down or the round ends. This will certainly test your stamina, especially on the heels of the other games.

10 Min (Cooldown): Racket:NX

Racket:NX will provide a much-needed opportunity to catch your breath while you loosen up from the high-intensity VR Fitness hellscape that just concluded. Literally, you’ve just done battle with demon knights and zombies. If 10 minutes of Racket:NX isn’t enough of a cooldown, go for a walk and be sure to stretch out all of your aching muscles. An ice bath wouldn’t hurt either. 😉

If this wasn’t the most intense VR workout you’ve ever had, be sure to let us know in the comments! We’re always looking to set the virtual bar just a little bit higher.