Written by Daniel Vardjas
My entire life I’ve struggled with weight loss. Despite being a super active kid with soccer, scouting, football, and enough shenanigans to drive my parents crazy; I have never been able to lose weight steadily. That changed last month when I decided to try and burn off those COVID calories and the extra weight I’d gained while still doing something I loved: gaming. This is where VR steps into the equation.
Since my birthday in March, I have been fortunate and privileged enough to be the proud owner of an Oculus Quest 2, a VR Headset gifted to me by my parents. I have been playing VR on a near daily basis since then, and in the past month I realized that this is the most active I’ve been in months.
Before I came to college, I worked at the largest warehouse in Canada as an Amazon Quality Control Supervisor. That meant I had to walk a full kilometer from one end of the warehouse to the other, something I did at least five times a day. Since I left that job (and thanks to COVID), I’ve become a borderline agoraphobic recluse.
Playing VR has allowed me to be up and moving almost every day, while sating my need for the constant interaction that my diagnosed ADHD demands. One of the best parts of having VR is that I don’t dread workouts anymore. I’m excited to listen to my D&D podcast and see how many waves of screaming gladiators I can take down, or how well I can dodge slow-mo bullets while shooting to the rhythm of an EDM synth beat.
There are so many amazing games out there that are designed to get you moving with proper workouts built into the game. But personally, I love games that get the blood pumping like ‘After The Fall’, ‘Pistol Whip’, or ‘Beat Saber’ (all games I HIGHLY recommend for any VR beginner).
The issue that always comes up when discussing VR is the price, as traditional VR headsets cost anywhere from $500-1500 dollars. While it’s still an expensive purchase, it’s not that far out of reach as the Oculus Quest 2 costs less than a PS5.
If you’re like me where the thought of going to a gym sends cold sweats down your spine, I highly recommend you try and treat yourself this summer and workout the way all nerds dream they could; by slaying orcs in Virtual Reality.
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