- 24/01/2017
- Category: Commentaries
We all know that exercising is good for our health and lifestyle. However, many people still struggle to exercise routinely.[i] It may be that they find exercising and regular gyms to be boring, that they are not within a driving distance to gyms, or that the environment they live in is not suitable for working out. As a possible solution, Virtual Reality technology could play an important role in increasing people’s involvement towards physical exercises and consequently improve their lifestyle. We discuss how Virtual Reality has a huge potential to promote a healthier lifestyle for its users in this article.
Virtual Reality is incorporated in fitness exercises through the combination of video games played in VR headsets and exercise equipments. The most popular VR fitness equipments are stationary exercise bikes and the newly-designed Icaros, a full-body tilting device to train almost the whole body, along with improving reaction and balance. For exercise bikes such as the VirZoom and Goji Play, the user pedals a bike that is specially-designed to include motion sensors with connectivity to the VR headset. They ride through different environments, with several games offering thrilling scenarios like riding a Pegasus in mid-air, driving a Formula 1 race car, and even diving underwater—as can be simulated in Icaros.[ii][iii] Many aspects of gaming are applied in these games such as collecting coins and scoring points that can be used to challenge the user to improve their performance or compete against a friend.
Incorporating the Virtual Reality experience into exercises could encourage people to be more involved in physical exercises. The headset lets the user slip into the immersive virtual world and achieve the thrill and excitement factor in a different way than regular workouts. As the technology develops and becomes indistinguishable to reality, exercising would become more bearable for those who sees working out to be a tedious activity at first.
In a research conducted on more than a thousand participants, P. Adachi and T. Willoughby discovered that video game play supported the satisfaction of basic human needs, such as competence, autonomy, self-esteem, and relatedness.[iv] This explains why Virtual Reality fitness could motivate the people that does not enjoy regular workouts, since the incorporation of video game into physical activities provides them with new sensations. The new dimensions of sports competition can also motivate users to pedal their bikes routinely, since they will be able to challenge their peers from halfway across the globe to a race when their VR fitness device is connected to the Internet.
Although VR fitness could not replace regular exercises as a whole, this technology could assist those who have trouble in finding the pleasure and motivation to exercise. This is interesting since digital technologies have mostly been associated with unhealthy lifestyles in the past, such as prolonged sitting, eye strains, obesity, etc.
Overall, the combination of fitness equipments and Virtual Reality gaming has a huge potential to increase people’s involvement in physical exercises which would lead to healthier lifestyles. However, we can expect major adjustments on the aspect of pricing in the future, because currently, VR headsets and its supporting equipments still comes at a hefty price. To put into perspective, the VirZoom bike itself costs US$ 400, while VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift costs a staggering US$ 1,500.[v] This means that VR fitness companies would need to make their equipments a lot more affordable if it wants to help shape a larger percent of the population’s lifestyles. Fortunately, the usage of VR technology in the future still looks bright, because Virtual Reality’s combined software and hardware market size worldwide are predicted to be valued at US$ 40.4 billion in 2020 compared to US$ 3.7 billion in 2016.[vi]
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[i] Lebouef, S. (2016). Virtual reality and racecars turn boring exercise into a fierce competition. [online] Mashable. Available at: http://mashable.com/2016/02/01/virzoom/#eQ7rflFutgql [Accessed 21 Jan 2017].
[ii] Sheth, S. (2016). An exercise bike raising millions to end boring workouts. [online] CNBC. Available at: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/16/fitness-trends-exercise-bike-to-end-boring-pricey-workouts.html [Accessed 21 Jan 2017].
[iii] Davis, N. (2015). Virtual reality gym brings all the benefits of a strenuous workout. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/11/icaros-virtual-exercise-home-gym [Accessed 21 Jan 2017].
[iv] Adachi, P. and Willoughby, T. (2015). Does Playing Sports Video Games Predict Increased Involvement in Real-Life Sports Over Several Years Among Older Adolescents and Emerging Adults?. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 45(2). p. 8.
[v] Wong, R. (2016). I got sick pedaling this virtual reality fitness bike. [online] Mashable Asia. Available at: http://mashable.com/2016/02/16/virzoom-vr-bike-review/#n9S9FK1tpEqs [Accessed 21 Jan 2017].
[vi] Statista. Virtual reality software and hardware market size worldwide from 2016 to 2020 (in billion U.S. dollars). [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/528779/virtual-reality-market-size-worldwide/ [Accessed 21 Jan 2017].
