When I began my current fitness quest a year ago, I started small with activities I enjoyed. That meant walking, then easy hiking, then harder hikes, then a bit of running.
I chose those activities because I told myself I hated stationary gym equipment. Now that I’m in a sunny, hot, and flat environment on the Gold Coast of Australia for two months, I’m hitting the elliptical machine in an air-conditioned gym and actually enjoying it.
Still, I have to find ways to ease the monotony of exercising in place. I use playlists of strategically intense music, while others choose a more involved and interactive solution.
Get your fitness game on
Zwift is a massively multiplayer online video game that enables users to interact, train, and compete at cycling and running in a virtual world. Much like my son plays Fortnite and Destiny with a distributed group of gamers, Zwift brings a visually-enhanced spin class to your basement or living room.
The game has been around since 2014, but I’ve just recently heard about it. Perhaps that’s because Zwift just raised $120 million in funding last month.
There are five courses — or maps — in Zwift: Watopia, London, Innsbruck, New York, and Richmond, Virginia. The Richmond option is the first “real world” map from Zwift; it recreates the course used in the 2015 UCI Road World Championships.
From eSports to VR fitness
So far, Zwift seems to attract serious cycling trainers, and even professional riders. It’s also part of the burgeoning eSports movement of competitive video gaming.
A combination of physical exertion and multiplayer gaming has huge economic potential thanks to lots of practical benefits for users. I’m sensing a coming trend.
Meaning, once augmented and virtual reality go mainstream, it will likely become more common for your simple daily workout to be in a digital environment. And that may be your entry point to spending more time and money in the Matrix.
I still overwhelmingly prefer nature for my cardio experience, but anything that makes stationary indoor exercise a more tolerable option can’t hurt.
For now, I’ll make another kick ass playlist.
