As the hobby generally doesn’t allow for much movement other than with one’s hands, I am curious how fitness and health factor into everybody’s lives.
Working within IT as well, I try to walk as much as I can each day in order to not become too sedentary, and I got really into Pokémon Go when it first released as it made walking around “fun” in a way.
Nowadays, I’m not using any game to accomplish my health needs and playing a rhythm game like Dance Dance Revolution makes my knees ache just thinking of it. I guess I’m not as young as I used to be.
The weather has been so hot, it’s been hard to take walks but it’s now finally starting to cool down (low 90’s) so I want to make a greater effort in getting my steps in. I’ve been looking into places to explore locally to help keep it fun.
I never really got on with Pokemon Go, mostly because the inventory of captured Pokemon is too disorganized and chaotic for me. It also launched when I was living in a desert where it was too hot outside for my phone to function. The concept is really great though. It reminded me of the Wii U Fit walking challenges where you’d “walk” up Mt. Fuji or the neighborhoods of Tokyo by tracking your step count on the pedometer.
I wish I had that option but the town I live in doesn’t believe pedestrians exist because there’s no bike lanes and the occassional random sidewalk that lasts a block. Anyone who walks is forced to walk in the bushes or directly on the street/highway. I nearly hit someone that way driving home from work. It’s really scary.
But I do live directly next door to the recreation center and it has a huge walking circle around it. I literally have no excuse. I just have to do it.
Funnily enough, I was living in a desert when it launched as well, and I was only able to find a handful of monsters but it was still a nice distraction and way to incentivize moving around once I came back home.
Currently, I have to travel anywhere from 5 minutes to 15 to get to a park of my choice with decent walking paths. Just moving around is a godsend currently.
You would be shocked how great you can feel, even walking a few miles a day. Considering the average American walks less than 1 mile daily, it makes a big difference.
I am currently using a Pedometer app that is pretty accurate and allows for tweaking if need be with Achievements built in. You have to love gamification.
What’s the name of the app? I’d love to try it out since I don’t have a smart watch. I’ve been wanting to get an Apple Watch for just that reason, especially since you can challenge friends to try to beat their exercise scores.
I am handicapped so running away from zombies with a walking helper is not much fun I guess, but since it is the season for scary stuff, maybe these are fun to try out:
I would love to hear from someone how these “play” and if it makes sense.
I need to walk more now that my foot has healed from the surgery and it is not so hot outside anymore. I’m looking for an app that will motivate me to set small goals, but I haven’t decided on one yet. If anyone has an idea for a good Android app, I would really appreciate it.
I haven’t tried this one, but I remember having one on my iPod Touch back in 2008 (lol, so long ago now it seems), that would use GPS to simulate swarms of zombies (dots on the map) that you would need to avoid going from one point to the next. I can still recall running across the quad with my friends doing this. Pretty fun.
Also, the Pedometer app I mentioned does allow for incremental goal shifting depending on your fitness level. Very accessible.
Just looking on the store, shows that they have something similar by the same company, Pedometer & Step Counter .
@Prin This one is available on iPhone as well so I can give it a try. Thank you! The low cost ad free option is really nice too.
@Nelemania I love the walking missions in this one but the other gameplay aspects don’t interest me as much. It looks a little too hands-on for me as I very rarely play anything on my phone.
Health and fitness is crucial for me. If I’m not healthy, I don’t feel good, and I’m not productive at all (including enjoying video games). I go to a martial arts gym everyday, which has become my social interaction too. It’s fun, challenging, and I’m learning something everyday. Then I can play video games at night before going to bed and not feel bad about anything. Taking care of myself has become a priority for the last couple of years, and I do not regret it at all.
I’ve been really thinking on this and want to try to make a Walking Challenge for the forum that anyone can drop in or out so there’s no sense of FOMO or failure if you miss the challenge or don’t complete it. I was thinking of coming up with different types of tasks you can complete by walking, such photography, listening to podcasts/OSTs, exploring a local park, etc.
I am not into going to the gym as much as you are but when I do, it definitely makes me feel less bad about being a bit lazy.
I try to gamify it if I can to entice myself to stick with it more. For instance, I just finished two virtual walk/ run challenges courtesy of The Conqueror Challenge and I found it to be a nice way to keep track of my distance, while keeping it interesting at the same time.
Any kind of movement is good. The important thing is that you enjoy it and stick with it. And it doesn’t have to be a gruesome 1-2 hours routine at the gym. 30 minutes for at least 3 days a week helps tremendously. Then you can build up from there. Even if you can take 15 minutes everyday and do something is a win.
I try to work out in various ways as often as I can.
When I was younger I used to lift a lot of weights. After 12 years of doing that I suddenly became extremely sick of it and I started running instead.
I have tried periods of using games as a workout, and especially VR games have been a lot of fun. Les Mills Bodycombat, BoxVR, Beat Saber, Pistol Whip, Sprint Vector and similar have all been played in bursts, but I grow tired of them.
These days I run marathons, play basketball, go hiking and do a lot of gardening and spare time construction work to keep fit. And even then I feel like I don’t do enough, so I try to keep a healthy diet as well, with no sugars and as little as possible processed food.
