FitXR is the best combination of video games and workouts I've ever encountered.
A lot of people try to make a system where you can play video games and exercise, but the best system I've seen is this one where you can basically work out in a virtual gym in a virtual reality game. While moving your body while playing video games dates back to Nintendo's Power Pad in 1988, most of this hybrid tends to be a video game that lets you move a little, or a fitness app that barely serves as a sad copy of a video game. FitXR is the perfect combination of these two activities.
I have over 20 years of fitness experience as a personal trainer at traditional gyms, CrossFit and weightlifting gyms, and as a competitive athlete. That's 19 years more experience than I have in VR. Virtual reality workouts were a far cry from the sweaty, battered dumbbell dungeons I grew up in, so my commitment to wearing goggles and playing video games would give me a satisfying workout.
Plugins
To access the game, you'll need a $299 Meta Quest VR headset and a necessary Facebook account. (If you haven't gotten the above message, the Oculus company name disappeared as part of Facebook's renamed Meta Platform, and the Oculus Exploration Headset will be called MetaTask.) In addition, a Facebook account will not be required to be used from next year. For now, you'll still need to sign in to Facebook. ）
After purchasing the FitXR app in the Oculus App Store, the game takes you to the home screen, which looks like a stylish fitness center with a front desk. Once you've created a profile using basic information like name, age, weight, and gender ( including non-binary options ) , you're ready to start working.
The courses are divided into three categories: boxing, dance, and high-intensity interval training. Courses range from 5 minutes to 35 minutes and are divided into three difficulty levels: Mild, Moderate, and Difficult. The game also offers multiplayer lessons where you can participate in live matches with up to 6 people, earning points as you hit targets and accumulate winning streaks. Currently, there are over three hundred courses to choose from, and a new course is released every day. In fact, at last week's news event announcing the name change, Meta Platforms said that FitXR has added many new experiences, although I haven't tried it yet. (Also announced: Boxing experiences in the Paranormal Workout app, I'd love to be a part of it too.) ）
Even if you don't have any online friends working out with you, the class pairs you with six virtual players, giving each lesson a sense of community. Leaderboards show how well you perform during your workout compared to (real or virtual) matches. It shows the time remaining in the workout as well as your score, your current consecutive record, the best continuous record, and your current level. Points are scored based on how accurately you hit and move during your workout.
One of the best indicators of when to move is the beat of the music. FitXR has a great soundtrack with lively and energetic beats in every workout, and the beat of the song can serve as an auditory cue that you should move, dodge, or punch. In my first few boxing matches, it took me some time to figure it out, but once I mastered the rhythm, my scores, winning streaks, and Stoke level spiked.
Playing Quest 2 is a great re-introduction to the VR world. Workouts take place in a variety of environments, from rooftops to cliffs or traditional fitness rooms, where music, graphics, and haptic cues are the closest thing I've ever experienced to an X-Men danger room.
The resulting experience is a very fun workout, and you won't realize you're exercising until the end. Usually, I would start exercising in boxing training, fight for a high score, then take off my headphones and realize I had trouble breathing and sweat was dripping. In multiplayer, you and your workout buddies can talk to each other, yell at each other, and shout encouragement. Or, if you're as stingy as I am, you can try to distract the leaders or irritate them to miss the reps a few times so you can try to overtake them on the leaderboards.
The fitness room with headphones on is also perfect for frequent travelers. Inserting a virtual world and swaying through a cluster of glowing neon lights, accompanied by a killer soundtrack, is better than cramming into hell in a sad hotel gym closet. I've made several trips with my Quest 2 headset and its handheld controller, specifically for a quick FitXR workout on the go. It's much easier (and more fun) to get a quick workout in the privacy of your hotel room before you jump into the shower and walk out the door. Just make sure you don't get too excited and will end up playing TV in your hotel room. It's not that it happened, or it doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Pairing with Oculus offers a neat perk. You can route anything the user sees to a second screen so that others can watch the action. My wife and I took turns exercising while the other watched and shouted encouragement (or mocked unfulfilled goals).
Parry moves
The biggest hurdle with FitXr is that you need to have a Quest headset to use it, but to be fair, the Quest 2 is a lot cheaper than many home fitness systems. Also, at least for now, you still need a Facebook account to sign in. If you are one of those anti-social media types, you will have to create a virtual account and hope that you will not be sucked into the Meta vortex.
Things are a bit confusing inside the headset, but that could change as Meta moves into the VR world — the company recently announced the Quest 2's Active Pack, a set of controller handles, and a face pad. It's about to expire.
Since the entire operation is virtual, there aren't any weight-carrying workouts (Fit XR may have weight-integrated workouts in the future), so if you just want to gain weight, you're out of luck.
Aside from these points, the most obvious weakness I've found is that the calorie counter is a bit generous. My heart rate monitor consistently reports lower calorie burn than FitXR reported after a workout. Of course, there are many variables when estimating an individual's calorie consumption, so some differences can be expected. If you're particularly interested in how many calories you burn, you'll want to wear your own HRM.
Downloading the game is free, but it requires a $10-a-month membership to use it, which is the low end of most fitness subscribers. However, it's much cheaper (and more portable) than a stationary bike or treadmill, and it's more versatile, even including buying VR headsets.
Although, quest 2 may require some non-fitness-related purchases. Since I got quest 2 for this review, I've downloaded tons of games and apps that take up a lot of my time. If I hadn't cut the robot with a lightsaber, I might have submitted this post earlier.
Although I was initially reluctant to work out in a virtual environment, FitXR won me over with a very fun and effective workout. I've been playing games since I can remember, and this was the first video game to make me sweat from exertion rather than frustration. With the recent deal with Warner Music, the increasing amount of workouts, the beautiful soundtrack of familiar inspirational songs, and the ability to carry around, FitXR looks a lot like the future of fitness. Hopefully, we'll be able to do one of the final boss battles in one of the follow-up updates.