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Does anyone on HN actually use VR to workout? That seems to be the killer use case, but I don't know anyone that's getting fit because of VR workouts.

nickthegreek 3y ago
I use to with Supernatural on Quest2. It was cool and at the same time a huge pain in the ass. But there is something there for sure, the headset just needs to be like a pair of those lightweight wraparound sunglasses that baseball players wear and I would be shedding pounds.
JimtheCoder 3y ago
If I am going to spend $3000 on a VR headset, I don't really want to sweat all over it... Also, the sort of people who are going to work out consistently don't need a headset to work out. Or any other tech. They just do it. I know you're not implying this in your comment, but if anyone thinks you are going to take someone who is sedate, strap on a cool headset and give them some sort of virtual experience that will finally motivate them to work out consistently...I'll take the other side of that bet every day...
- crooked-v 3y ago
  The key to losing weight with VR for the average person isn't in exercise-specific apps, it's in replacing sitting video game time with something just as engaging but that has you standing, walking in circles, crouching, and waving your arms around for a few hours instead. You're obviously not going to get buff from it, but it can add up fast for an otherwise sedentary person.
  - ProfessorLayton 3y ago
    While exercise is great and should be done regardless, the key to losing weight is almost entirely in the kitchen.
  - astrange 3y ago
    You don't lose weight via exercise, you lose it via diet. Exercise is sometimes found counterproductive in empirical studies because it makes you less compliant with your diet, which is much more important.
    - asdff 3y ago
      You still need to be mostly active vs sedentary in order to be healthy. We didn't evolve to sit in front of a monitor.
      - astrange 3y ago
        This is true, which is why I didn't say that.
    - mensetmanusman 3y ago
      No, you lose it by not being sedentary.
      - astrange 3y ago
        It's diet. Exercise only interventions are ineffective. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212267214010557 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221226721... Anyway, the modern answer is Ozempic.
        steve_adams_86 3y ago
        It seems exceedingly unlikely that Ozempic will compare positively to regular movement and a healthy diet in the longer term. Even our most prized pharmaceuticals seem like hacks compared to behaviour-based solutions.
        astrange 3y ago
        It actually seems plausible since it has the side effect of stopping addictions and improving your self-control! https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/05/ozempic-addictive-behavior-drinking-smoking/674098/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/05/ozempic-a... But I don't think behavior and diet are necessarily the cause; there's some room for gut bacteria (which control your behavior anyway) and environmental pollutants.
divan 3y ago
I used FitXR througout this winter. Fantastic experience, I just wish I had a dedicated room for sweat-inducing activities. I especially liked HIIT training, where you hit glowing spheres and glass that appear in the air. Level and quality of multisensory stimulation (visual/audio/haptic) during those hits are just mindblowing. Reality can't offer that. One particular thing that I believe is underexplored is using visual/haptic cues for movement learning (motor skills acquision). For example in FitXR there is a glowing semi-transparent path showing how your hand is supposed to move. If you deviate from it, it gives a light haptic feedback. There is no substitute for that in reality – we learn hand movements (like in dance or martial arts) either by proprioreception, visual feedback through mirrors or verbal feedback from teacher. All three ways are inferior to what VR can offer. I think some progressive sports researchers are experimenting with VR (especially in Constraint-Led Approach community), but these are just first steps. PS. I personally want to invest in learning VR programming for years, but waiting until software ecosystem will stabilize and settle on something. So waiting for the Apple announcements in that field.
ilaksh 3y ago
Its not exactly a workout but Eleven Table Tennis on Quest 2 has been my primary exercise for the last several years. My Quest 2 broke a few months ago. I am getting fatter. I really want to get a new sleek VR/mixed reality device but I can't actually afford to spend $1000 right now let alone $3000.

nickthegreek 3y ago

I use to with Supernatural on Quest2. It was cool and at the same time a huge pain in the ass. But there is something there for sure, the headset just needs to be like a pair of those lightweight wraparound sunglasses that baseball players wear and I would be shedding pounds.

JimtheCoder 3y ago

If I am going to spend $3000 on a VR headset, I don't really want to sweat all over it... Also, the sort of people who are going to work out consistently don't need a headset to work out. Or any other tech. They just do it. I know you're not implying this in your comment, but if anyone thinks you are going to take someone who is sedate, strap on a cool headset and give them some sort of virtual experience that will finally motivate them to work out consistently...I'll take the other side of that bet every day...

crooked-v 3y ago
The key to losing weight with VR for the average person isn't in exercise-specific apps, it's in replacing sitting video game time with something just as engaging but that has you standing, walking in circles, crouching, and waving your arms around for a few hours instead. You're obviously not going to get buff from it, but it can add up fast for an otherwise sedentary person.
- ProfessorLayton 3y ago
  While exercise is great and should be done regardless, the key to losing weight is almost entirely in the kitchen.
- astrange 3y ago
  You don't lose weight via exercise, you lose it via diet. Exercise is sometimes found counterproductive in empirical studies because it makes you less compliant with your diet, which is much more important.
  - asdff 3y ago
    You still need to be mostly active vs sedentary in order to be healthy. We didn't evolve to sit in front of a monitor.
    - astrange 3y ago
      This is true, which is why I didn't say that.
  - mensetmanusman 3y ago
    No, you lose it by not being sedentary.
    - astrange 3y ago
      It's diet. Exercise only interventions are ineffective. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212267214010557 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221226721... Anyway, the modern answer is Ozempic.
      - steve_adams_86 3y ago
        It seems exceedingly unlikely that Ozempic will compare positively to regular movement and a healthy diet in the longer term. Even our most prized pharmaceuticals seem like hacks compared to behaviour-based solutions.
        astrange 3y ago
        It actually seems plausible since it has the side effect of stopping addictions and improving your self-control! https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/05/ozempic-addictive-behavior-drinking-smoking/674098/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/05/ozempic-a... But I don't think behavior and diet are necessarily the cause; there's some room for gut bacteria (which control your behavior anyway) and environmental pollutants.

divan 3y ago

I used FitXR througout this winter. Fantastic experience, I just wish I had a dedicated room for sweat-inducing activities. I especially liked HIIT training, where you hit glowing spheres and glass that appear in the air. Level and quality of multisensory stimulation (visual/audio/haptic) during those hits are just mindblowing. Reality can't offer that. One particular thing that I believe is underexplored is using visual/haptic cues for movement learning (motor skills acquision). For example in FitXR there is a glowing semi-transparent path showing how your hand is supposed to move. If you deviate from it, it gives a light haptic feedback. There is no substitute for that in reality – we learn hand movements (like in dance or martial arts) either by proprioreception, visual feedback through mirrors or verbal feedback from teacher. All three ways are inferior to what VR can offer. I think some progressive sports researchers are experimenting with VR (especially in Constraint-Led Approach community), but these are just first steps. PS. I personally want to invest in learning VR programming for years, but waiting until software ecosystem will stabilize and settle on something. So waiting for the Apple announcements in that field.

ilaksh 3y ago

Its not exactly a workout but Eleven Table Tennis on Quest 2 has been my primary exercise for the last several years. My Quest 2 broke a few months ago. I am getting fatter. I really want to get a new sleek VR/mixed reality device but I can't actually afford to spend $1000 right now let alone $3000.