In a video posted on his YouTube channel, in which he says he realized his bad physical shape (derived, in part, from sitting for hours in front of video games eating junk food), streamer Skooch decided to challenge himself testing how much he could improve his fitness just by playing fitness-themed video games.
Not having much space to train in the basement of his home, the player has chosen to use some virtual reality devices and some console accessories such as Nintendo Switch. “I wanted to develop the world‘s first ‘gamer body’, created only and only through video games,” she said. “Virtual reality gaming is almost like magic, but there are many other games that can get your heart racing.”
Skooch then began his workout schedule by playing Beat Saber: “I thought relaxing to music was the easiest way to burn calories,” she explained. “The first day was much more tiring than I expected“. As the days went by, the sacrifice turned into a healthy routine, with unexpected effects. “It gave me a reason to get up from my gaming desk and do something that was actually good for my body,” he reiterated Skooch.
“Standing and having to wave your arms for hours every day is exhausting and time consuming. So, being able to cut that time down and still burn calories was a great feeling.” However, lest it get too monotonous and bored, the youtuber has also decided to try his hand at fitness games such as Ring Fit Adventure. “These games weren’t as effective at burning fat, but it didn’t matter…a bad workout is better than no workout,” she said.
At the start of the challenge, Skooch weighed in at around 85 pounds. After a month of solely playing fitness video games, with no further workouts or changes to his diet, he dropped to 80. “The results on my body haven’t really been drastic,” the streamer said. “The goal was to see if I could improve my fitness using video games alone, and I seem to have done it quite well. One step is infinitely better than zero, so as long as you take a step, you’re going in the right direction.”