VR Health and Exercise Apps

[iolaus]

I saw an older thread that segued quickly into "What are some good VR exercise apps?" The only things that got mentioned were Beat Saber, Les Mills Body Combat, and Blade and Sorcery. I added Supernatural to the list, but that's about it for that thread. There's bound to be others, so post up, and try to give a little description of the game and its benefits.

Beat Saber
Les Mills Body Combat
Blade and Sorcery
Supernatural
Pistol Whip

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What really caught my attention was a subscription model app - Supernatural - that IIRC, is $10 a month. I use Beat Saber (arms and shoulders, some ducking and dodging) and Pistol Whip (lots of ducking and dodging) as a warm-up for Supernatural.

I'm sure many people have heard of or played Beat Saber, but for the others, it's standing in place with, for want of a better term, "lightsabers" in your hands. there are blocks coming down a corridor in your virtual environment, and you have to slice through them in the prescribed direction while trying to maintain or increase your life bar. Accuracy and length of travel both contribute to your score, and if you miss enough, you "die." This is all done in time with a music track, and there is lots of music - some included with purchase, and some as add-on packs.

Pistol Whip is another popular game. It's a rail shooter where you have targets who are shooting back at you. The incoming bullets need to be dodged. There are variations and challenges, as well as an arcade mode, so lots of options. The challenges change the requirements, target responses, and available weapons - two-handed vs one-gun, six-shot revolvers, unlimited ammo, even a "just your fists while dodging bullets" scenario. It's a decent workout just on its own!

Supernatural is similar to Beat Saber - hitting balloons with bats instead of slicing blocks with swords - and it has a very wide selection of music and genres, but it's specifically designed as exercise; it even has an option to link in a heart BPM monitor and show you your stats after each round. It includes knee strikes, squats, and lunges to each side built in - though you can disable those - and a variety of "coaches" talking you through and cheering you on. They also have, in addition to that, a separate "boxing" option. There's a seperate phone app with which you can track your stats, and an online community if you're social enough to participate.

 

[Fruitloops]

Any VR Game is exercise aslong as you're standing, all you need care about is to keep being entertained, Supernatural is a pretty meh game imo.

 

[iolaus]

Any VR Game is exercise aslong as you're standing, all you need care about is to keep being entertained, Supernatural is a pretty meh game imo.

Well, to be fair, it's not a "game" designed for entertainment; it's specifically designed to be a cardio workout. If you approach it like you would a morning stretch and run, it's fine.

You can do a half-assed lightweight workout, or you can really put some effort into it; you'll get out of it what you put into it. In the beginning, my legs and glutes were quickly cramping with fatigue, and were stiff and sore a day or two later. By the time I'm done with, say, 30 or 45 minutes of expert level rounds, my shirt is soaked with sweat and I'm beat.