Virtual workout

Move over boring, mechanical workouts, Virtual Reality has hit the gym and is taking fitness lovers for a new kind of ride

Plug-in. Zone out. Get ripped. Puzzled Well, what if we told you that modern technology could inject an exciting new dimension into your boring exercise routine with all those stationary workout machines Yes, after what Wii Fit did for gamers-come-fitness enthusiasts previously unaccustomed to motion, a whole new ambitious virtual reality arena is readying to take off to the next level — world virtual reality gyms.

“The world of fitness is exploding with technology, sensors and wearables,” says tech guru Rajiv Makhni. He elaborates, “While there is no doubt that the above mentioned elements play great motivators to take your workout to the next level, sadly there is one thing that they haven’t been able to change at all — that workouts can be very boring. However, all of that is about to change in a jiffy with virtual reality moving from prototype and entertainment gaming machines to full-fledged workout equipment that transforms your mind and body to environments and places that have never been part of any gym before.

Equipment like the Expresso cycling machine, the Icaros — a creation of German design company Hyve that offers an experience of the gaming world combining VR goggles with a moving support frame designed to hold the user at either end with simulations that include ocean dives, virtual gyms and interstellar flight missions or even the Oculus Rift with a treadmill can literally make working out a game, an adventure, a virtual challenge.”The gadget guru and host of tech shows at NDTV Prime adds, “And it’s not just about creating a virtual and rich landscape; these can also trigger a better workout.

A running environment that shows you doing an uphill run or a cycling adventure on the mountains can also fool the brain into working your body better and more efficiently. This is called ‘bodytainment’ and it’s about to take workouts to a new facet. The time isn’t far when you, alone in a room with virtual reality equipment, could become better than the best-equipped gym in the world. Strap it on and move your body into a world limited by only your imagination.”

Worldwide, virtual exercise in the form of instructors and classes projected onto a screen has already penetrated some 3,000 clubs, according to IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association). Zumba, the dance party workout, has been demonstrating a 360-degree virtual reality class, delivered via a clunky headset, to industry insiders at professional trade shows.

“It seems like a big experiment, and an expensive one at that. And while it may take a while to see if pedalling in front of a projector can turn a profit, I feel that this new trend has more than its share of fitness fans,” says Vikas Jain, managing director at Anytime Fitness, India. He adds, “Our ancestors didn’t have running shoes, they didn’t use heart rate monitors and they certainly didn’t pay for gym memberships. For them, exercise was something that happened while trying to catch dinner (or avoid becoming someone else’s dinner). What if we could trick our brains into rekindling our ancestors’ thrill of the chase as we (virtually) run for our lives — all while safely pedalling on a stationary bike with a VR gadget I strongly believe that virtual reality will revolutionise the world of fitness.”

The national fitness head of SportsFit by M.S. Dhoni, Vibhor Rayaal agrees and shares, “What this technology is going to do is open up exercise to maybe a younger crowd. Gen Y consists of people who are born during a time period when they have had constant access to technology — they are the Internet and information generation and what better way to attract them than through introducing something that they could relate to from deep within ” He adds, “I definitely don’t see any disadvantage in fitness becoming futuristic because just like any other industry it needs to keep evolving. While a typical workout at the gym can feel like a mindless chore, the time we spend in VR could be something else entirely.

If a simple routine like pedalling can make us feel like we were really running through the virtual environment where there’s no time to think about distance, heart rate or calories because you’re running through the Himalayas, pursued by hungry yetis then why not Bottom-line is: we need to stay healthy, lo ok good and work off those extra holiday portions.” One of the few people who have made a head start and tried this form of virtual reality at a gym, Mallika Sharma, a sports professional and fitness maniac puts forth, “I wanted to put this VR making inroads into the fitness arena to the test, hence strapped on an Oculus-powered Samsung Gear VR while I was in Hong Kong and hopped on a stationary bike.

It wasn’t my first time in an indoor cycling class, but I had never experienced anything quite like this before. Instead of staring at a mirror or trying to avoid comparing my form to that of clearly more experienced cyclists, I was riding into a massive projector screen covered with landscapes. In true spinning style, the music was blaring and the instructors were pushing the class to the limit. Samsung’s headset was ideal and Temple Run VR was the perfect game to test the waters with, as it has you running forward in a virtual environment, without any major changes of direction (i.e., your head faces forward most of the time).

I worked out for about half an hour while playing Temple Run VR, and this was far and away the most fun I had ever had while exercising. What VR does is simply amazing and the best part is that it also makes you the least conscious you’ve ever been of your physical activity during a workout. Another fascinating part was that it seems like a competition here, of the virtual sort: cycling avatars on the screen that seem much better equipped than us for the three rigorous laps ahead. The starting line lights flash to green and everyone cranks up their resistance dial and accelerates to racing speed. Halfway through the second lap, my head had started playing tricks on me and I got a little dizzy, but it’s worth the experience. The hills, the drops and especially the turns, feel real. And for a moment, you will forget where you are.”