4 ms·

VR exercise was a bit of a revelation for me. Used to run 8km per day but lockdown convinced me to try exercise at home using VR and I fell in love with it. Apa

by zmmmmm 5y ago

VR exercise was a bit of a revelation for me. Used to run 8km per day but lockdown convinced me to try exercise at home using VR and I fell in love with it. Apart from being fun (you're literally playing computer games), I got a much better workout, exercising parts of my body that running didn't touch. I actually started bulking up in my upper arms for the first time in my life. Really surprised me and sold me that this could be one of the real "killer apps" for VR if enough people knew about it.

wingerlang 5y ago
> I actually started bulking up in my upper arms for the first time in my life. Correct me if I am wrong, but there is no way VR will bulk up your arms in a way that a simple dumbbell won't do better in 5-15 minutes per day, right? > exercising parts of my body that running didn't touch Similarly, running will exercise parts of your body that VR won't touch right?
- Lewton 5y ago
  > there is no way VR will bulk up your arms in a way that a simple dumbbell won't do better in 5-15 minutes per day, right? Right, targeted exercise will bulk you up more > running will exercise parts of your body that VR won't touch right? What? No Which muscles do you think you use while running that you don’t use jumping around in vr?
- littlecranky67 5y ago
  > no way VR will bulk up your arms in a way that a simple dumbbell won't do better in 5-15 minutes per day True, but you underestimate the most important thing when working out: consistency - doing it regularly over long periods of time. VR/AR trainings will take off in the future, as the "gamification" (read: instant gratification) will help motivate people to stick with a workout routine and achieve that consistency.
  - wingerlang 5y ago
    I don't think I underestimate it, just in case someone is coming here and thinking that VR is a good way to bulk up their arms, I'm just saying that it won't compare to even the minimum of using dumbbells.
    - Broken_Hippo 5y ago
      I'm just saying that it won't compare to even the minimum of using dumbbells. Using dumbbells is the main thing here: It doesn't matter if dumbbells do better if it simply isn't an activity you keep up long term. Daily VR is going to be more meaningful and develop more muscle over time than sporadic dumbbell use. And lets be honest, realistically this is what we are comparing. Fun activity with side effects to an exercise in boredom that has better side effects.
      - wingerlang 5y ago
        The original guy said he replaced 8km daily running with VR exercise, so I don't actually think we are comparing 'sporadic gym/exercise' with 'constant VR'. But in the case of that, sure you are right.
      - zfnmxt 5y ago
        The fallacy everyone is making here is believing that consistency trumps all else. But it doesn't if you're consistently subjecting yourself to a stress which does not result in any new adaptations--then there will be no change. An oft repeated example of this fallacy is in the case of tanning. If you go out into the sun for 20 minutes and get a tan, what will happen if you continue to go out in the sun for 20 minutes each day? Will you get more tan? No. You've already adapted to the stress (ultraviolet light exposure for 20 minutes) and so the continued daily stress of 20 minutes of sunlight will not result in any new adaptations. That is why if you are completely untrained, sure, VR constitutes a sufficient disruption to homeostasis that you'll get some muscular adaptations. But the stress is so minimal (and you cannot effectively increase it) that you will quickly adapt to it and subsequent exposure to the stress in the future will not result in any adaptations, it will only maintain what little adaptation you already have.
- zmmmmm 5y ago
  I can't really tell you if using a dumbbell would have done more - probably you are right. But there's no way I would persist with dumbbells, I find them excruciatingly boring. > Similarly, running will exercise parts of your body that VR won't touch right? Perhaps but not nearly as many as VR hits that running doesn't touch. It certainly forces you to do squats.
  - pharke 5y ago
    > I find them excruciatingly boring I find the best antidote to boredom when lifting weights is to find the right weight and number of reps so that you're pushing through the burn for at least a third of the set. Hard to stay bored when your arms are on fire. Music is the other major component, you have to really amp yourself up and listening to music can put you in that mind set. Maybe even doing some circuit training would be better for you since you don't have to deal with long wait times between sets.
- mbrameld 5y ago
  > Correct me if I am wrong, but there is no way VR will bulk up your arms in a way that a simple dumbbell won't do better in 5-15 minutes per day, right? You're not wrong, just missing the point.
zfnmxt 5y ago
> I actually started bulking up in my upper arms for the first time in my life. No you didn't, unless you were completely and utterly detrained (i.e., previously bedridden or something) and even then, the stimulus would've only resulted in adaptation for a short period. VR exercise is far too submaximal (in regards to strength) to result in meaningful strength adaptations past a short initial adaptation period.
- Kiro 5y ago
  I also build muscles in VR training and I've done a lot of stronglift so I know what progression is like. Pistol Whip is great for building leg muscles. Imagine doing that one more squat you didn't think you had in you when in the squat rack. In Pistol Whip you do that 20 times without noticing. You don't need progressive overload to build muscles. High rep sets should not be underestimated.
  - zfnmxt 5y ago
    The lower body musculature is too large to be effectively stressed by bodyweight exercise in people fostering any decent level of fitness, i.e., bodyweight squats don't make you stronger. Just because an exercise is hard or makes you sore doesn't mean it's effective.
    - pastage 5y ago
      I've only ever done body weight and know that get more muscle when training. I think you are doing premature optimizing. I know nothing about exercise theory but I know what gets me fat and what makes me strong, I do not care about what is optimal since I do fun things for exercise, not for strength. Do you think this is the difference, the mindset we have in our training.
      - zfnmxt 5y ago
        > what makes me strong How do you know what makes you strong? That is, how do you measure it?

by zmmmmm 5y ago

wingerlang 5y ago

> I actually started bulking up in my upper arms for the first time in my life. Correct me if I am wrong, but there is no way VR will bulk up your arms in a way that a simple dumbbell won't do better in 5-15 minutes per day, right? > exercising parts of my body that running didn't touch Similarly, running will exercise parts of your body that VR won't touch right?

Lewton 5y ago
> there is no way VR will bulk up your arms in a way that a simple dumbbell won't do better in 5-15 minutes per day, right? Right, targeted exercise will bulk you up more > running will exercise parts of your body that VR won't touch right? What? No Which muscles do you think you use while running that you don’t use jumping around in vr?
littlecranky67 5y ago
> no way VR will bulk up your arms in a way that a simple dumbbell won't do better in 5-15 minutes per day True, but you underestimate the most important thing when working out: consistency - doing it regularly over long periods of time. VR/AR trainings will take off in the future, as the "gamification" (read: instant gratification) will help motivate people to stick with a workout routine and achieve that consistency.
- wingerlang 5y ago
  I don't think I underestimate it, just in case someone is coming here and thinking that VR is a good way to bulk up their arms, I'm just saying that it won't compare to even the minimum of using dumbbells.
  - Broken_Hippo 5y ago
    I'm just saying that it won't compare to even the minimum of using dumbbells. Using dumbbells is the main thing here: It doesn't matter if dumbbells do better if it simply isn't an activity you keep up long term. Daily VR is going to be more meaningful and develop more muscle over time than sporadic dumbbell use. And lets be honest, realistically this is what we are comparing. Fun activity with side effects to an exercise in boredom that has better side effects.
    - wingerlang 5y ago
      The original guy said he replaced 8km daily running with VR exercise, so I don't actually think we are comparing 'sporadic gym/exercise' with 'constant VR'. But in the case of that, sure you are right.
    - zfnmxt 5y ago
      The fallacy everyone is making here is believing that consistency trumps all else. But it doesn't if you're consistently subjecting yourself to a stress which does not result in any new adaptations--then there will be no change. An oft repeated example of this fallacy is in the case of tanning. If you go out into the sun for 20 minutes and get a tan, what will happen if you continue to go out in the sun for 20 minutes each day? Will you get more tan? No. You've already adapted to the stress (ultraviolet light exposure for 20 minutes) and so the continued daily stress of 20 minutes of sunlight will not result in any new adaptations. That is why if you are completely untrained, sure, VR constitutes a sufficient disruption to homeostasis that you'll get some muscular adaptations. But the stress is so minimal (and you cannot effectively increase it) that you will quickly adapt to it and subsequent exposure to the stress in the future will not result in any adaptations, it will only maintain what little adaptation you already have.
zmmmmm 5y ago
I can't really tell you if using a dumbbell would have done more - probably you are right. But there's no way I would persist with dumbbells, I find them excruciatingly boring. > Similarly, running will exercise parts of your body that VR won't touch right? Perhaps but not nearly as many as VR hits that running doesn't touch. It certainly forces you to do squats.
- pharke 5y ago
  > I find them excruciatingly boring I find the best antidote to boredom when lifting weights is to find the right weight and number of reps so that you're pushing through the burn for at least a third of the set. Hard to stay bored when your arms are on fire. Music is the other major component, you have to really amp yourself up and listening to music can put you in that mind set. Maybe even doing some circuit training would be better for you since you don't have to deal with long wait times between sets.
mbrameld 5y ago
> Correct me if I am wrong, but there is no way VR will bulk up your arms in a way that a simple dumbbell won't do better in 5-15 minutes per day, right? You're not wrong, just missing the point.

zfnmxt 5y ago

> I actually started bulking up in my upper arms for the first time in my life. No you didn't, unless you were completely and utterly detrained (i.e., previously bedridden or something) and even then, the stimulus would've only resulted in adaptation for a short period. VR exercise is far too submaximal (in regards to strength) to result in meaningful strength adaptations past a short initial adaptation period.

Kiro 5y ago
I also build muscles in VR training and I've done a lot of stronglift so I know what progression is like. Pistol Whip is great for building leg muscles. Imagine doing that one more squat you didn't think you had in you when in the squat rack. In Pistol Whip you do that 20 times without noticing. You don't need progressive overload to build muscles. High rep sets should not be underestimated.
- zfnmxt 5y ago
  The lower body musculature is too large to be effectively stressed by bodyweight exercise in people fostering any decent level of fitness, i.e., bodyweight squats don't make you stronger. Just because an exercise is hard or makes you sore doesn't mean it's effective.
  - pastage 5y ago
    I've only ever done body weight and know that get more muscle when training. I think you are doing premature optimizing. I know nothing about exercise theory but I know what gets me fat and what makes me strong, I do not care about what is optimal since I do fun things for exercise, not for strength. Do you think this is the difference, the mindset we have in our training.
    - zfnmxt 5y ago
      > what makes me strong How do you know what makes you strong? That is, how do you measure it?