Even though we all know that exercise is important for our health, and working out can help us look and feel our best, it can be unmotivating to head to the gym to lift weights or lace up your shoes and go for a run. If you've never been particularly active, or you played sports as a kid but haven't found an efficient and motivating fitness routine, there may be a newer, more engaging way to work out that finally feels more like play than a dreaded sweat session: VR fitness.
With virtual reality platforms and headsets, gamers can engage in active exercise while playing games. Much like a ninja, when you strap on your Oculus Quest 2 and start playing VR fitness games, you can stealthily get in shape, strengthen your muscles, burn calories, and improve your cardiovascular fitness.
VR fitness apps are transforming the entire fitness industry by encouraging previously sedentary gamers to get moving and play in ways that absolutely boost their health and fitness. As VR fitness games become increasingly popular, developers are finding even more exciting and effective ways to disguise challenging workouts as riveting VR games. If you've struggled with finding the motivation to go for a run or jump on an indoor cycle, keep reading for our list of the best VR fitness apps to take your workout virtual and sweat as you play.
Liteboxer VR is unique in that it's the first VR fitness platform that enables you to work out alongside real trainers. With a crew of nine world-class trainers to choose from, Liteboxer workouts are more motivating, instructional, and effective than boxing on your own or using other VR fitness apps with avatars or simulated coaches.
There are plenty of ways to track your progress as well, such as punch goals for each workout, seven- and 30-day performance views, and your workout score, which is based on a combination of accurate hits, streaks, and force.
Liteboxer VR fitness has a free and premium version. The free version offers 35 classes, while the premium version has over 300 trainer-led courses and access to in-app, chart-topping music.
FitXR is our pick for the best VR fitness game out there. This motivating virtual reality fitness app blends the immersive world of virtual reality with challenging total-body workouts designed by top fitness experts. The app includes boxing, dancing, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts, which enable subscribers to create a well-rounded workout routine.
The workout classes in FitXR are extremely fun, yet they absolutely "count" as a good workout. The boxing and HIIT workouts are especially effective, with hundreds of classes to choose from, and more added every week. You can select different environments to serve as the virtual studio for your workout as well. For example, some of the HIIT workouts take place in a mesmerizing clifftop studio, which adds a whole dimension of visual pleasure to the experience as you punch, dodge, and smash your way through total-body moves.
The music is fun and upbeat, with popular favorites like Tiësto and Calvin Harris, and the coaches are motivating and encouraging. This VR fitness app will keep you entertained not only during your workout but over time, as they are constantly building and expanding their library of options.
Supernatural is a serious VR fitness workout app. After FitXR, this is the best VR fitness app if you're looking for structured, effective VR fitness workouts. You get to work out in realistic virtual locations around the world as you take on any of over 500 different workouts. There are virtual coaches to help you get the most out of your workouts, and tons of challenges. Users can select workouts based on difficulty level and even connect with a community of other fans on social media.
Supernatural workouts are musical in nature, blending movements with music. There are four types of VR fitness workouts available in Supernatural: boxing, flow, meditate, and stretch. Boxing and flow are the more intense options. Flow classes, which are Supernatural's signature content, involve high-intensity rhythmic movements. You'll lunge, swing, and swipe your way to the beat, burning calories and elevating your heart rate.
OhShape is more of a VR rhythm game than a VR fitness app, but you'll certainly get your body moving and sweating. Inspired by the Japanese TV show Hole in the Wall, it has players moving their whole bodies to punch, dodge, and go through various body-shaped holes in the walls to the beat of the heart-pumping music. The faster you move your body and more precisely you perform, the more points you earn.
From an onlooker's perspective, the player geared up in the VR headset may look like they're doing a pretty bizarre and frantic dance as they contort their body into all sorts of random forms in rapid succession, but it's an engaging way to get your body moving and grooving.
Holofit may be the solution if your rowing machine, exercise bike, or elliptical resembles more of a towel rack than a piece of well-used exercise equipment. Holofit is a VR fitness app that allows you to run, cycle, or row your way through different immersive worlds from the safety of your stationary exercise equipment right at home.
The VR fitness app has all sorts of cardio challenges, virtual coaches, and different landscapes and worlds to explore as you work out, taking the concept of "distraction" to a whole new level. You can choose to row, run, or cycle through international locations like Antarctica or the Amazon rainforest, or you can take things to the fantastical realm and enjoy outer space and more.
Between the immersive scenery and the competitive goals and challenges the app sets (along with multiplayer mode), Holofit can transform boring, monotonous cardio workouts into gamified excursions.
VZfit is like Holofit in that it transforms your home exercise equipment or basic stationary cardio into a world-exploring virtual adventure. VZfit pairs with Google Street View to bring over 10 million miles of road into a three-dimensional world surrounding you as you sweat. You can bike the Tour de France route from your stationary bike in your living room or ride along the streets of San Francisco from your garage in Connecticut. The visuals are incredibly immersive and make the time fly by. If realistic roadways aren't your cup of tea, you can use your pedaling power to race a car around a track while firing guns to destroy other vehicles. There are fun challenges and something for everyone.
Another perk of VZfit is that you don't have to own an elliptical, treadmill, or exercise bike. With the freestyle mode, you can ride the "exerboard," a virtual exercise device you can propel by engaging in a total-body movement created by a professional trainer. It's surprisingly challenging and a great aerobic workout.
While the aforementioned VR fitness apps earn our top recommendations for the best VR fitness games, there are other VR games that will have you sweating and burning calories as you play. Honorable mentions go to Beat Saber, Pistol Whip, Thrill of the Fight, and Dance Central. Most games allow you to play them for a trial period or download a demo version to see if it's something you'd like to purchase. Remember: Ultimately, the best VR fitness app is one you'll actually play, as you have to do the workout to reap the benefits.
Finally, if you're an Oculus fitness app player, be sure to download Oculus Move. This fitness tracker app allows you to set fitness goals and it tracks the burned calories and minutes active across any app, game, or in VR.