Exercising in VR Isn't For Me

The title to this pretty much says it all, but I will try to expand on that below.

First off, I do not mind exercising, in that I do not mind doing activities that could be classified as exercise.  I enjoy riding my bike, hiking, snowshoeing, bouldering, and skiing, and while I did use exercise equipment back in 2012-2013 (because our apartment/condo complex had a workout room), I do not actively seek out gym time.

When I got the Oculus Quest 2 (sorry, Meta Quest 2), I had thought that a couple of games I picked up would be fun ways to incorporate forms of exercise from a VR setting.  So it was that I bought some resistance bands to use while playing The Climb 2* and became sore for a couple of days after playing The Thrill of the Fight.  I enjoyed playing both games with the implied added benefit of exercising, but then what happens when you exercise happened and I sweat.  Sweated?  There is a downside to sweating while playing VR was really twofold, maybe threefold.

First, the sweat was annoying because it made the headset slide down my face a bit, even with the head strap slightly tightened.  So readjusting the headset with a slippery forehead was uncomfortable.  Then, because I have long hair (which I do have pulled back in a ponytail) there are strands that do end up getting loose from the aforementioned ponytail and will oftentimes get in the way between the headset cushion and my forehead, only worsening the sweat and slip situation.  Thirdly, because I sweat in areas that are within the headset, like my nose, eyebrows, and cheeks, sweat will sometimes gather and need to be wiped away to prevent too much pooling.  And all in the process of trying to wipe away sweat and minor pooling, the lenses will need to be wiped too with a microfiber cloth (that is what the manual said since standard t-shirt materials could cause scratches on the lenses).  Just another step required to play a video game.

So it really just boils down to sweat and the issues that are caused by sweat.  Sweat is the problem and reason I do not like doing excessively high-energy games in VR.  Because the last thing I want to do after playing a video game for 30-45 minutes is to go take a shower because of how much sweat I exuded.

Except that I do enjoy playing Beat Saber and Ragnarock and while I do work up a heart rate upwards of 145, there is a long enough break between playing songs that it functions as a sufficient cooldown period so that my face is not swimming in a pool of sweat.  A pleasant image I know.  

But I also think that all of that sweat aside is that I am playing a video game, and I do not want to be exerting myself in an exercise-like manner.  But then again, I could see myself playing something like The Binding of Isaac or Vampire Survivors while riding an exercise bike, except that we would need the space for an exercise bike and that is likely a great many years in the future.  So until then, it is hikes, bouldering, and cycling for me to get my exercise.  Grass and all that.

~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
How Do You Think I Keep This Lovey Grin?

*A brief explanation as to what I mean about using resistance bands while playing The Climb 2.  I recognize that the optimal and more realistic way to use these would be to have the resistance bands mounted on the ceiling and the straps around my wrist so that when I reach up there is no tension, but when I pull myself up (virtually), there is tension, like pulling myself up while bouldering.  But, because the ceiling in our living room (and the only room in our house where it is possible to play VR) is just over eight feet high and because we have a ceiling fan in the center of the room that comes down about a foot and has about a three-foot diameter, there is not a lot of space for me to reach up without hitting something.  So instead, I step on the resistance band and have my wrists strapped in, creating the reverse tension of what should really be happening.  It actually works pretty well in-game and is not as confusing as it sounds.

P.S.  And now that the weather is improving, I am actually going to get out there to do outdoorsy activities for the next seven months to help get rid of this winter gut.