Virtual January Results are In

Virtual January is over...   And the question of can virtual fitness create real results...  It would seem they can :)   Although I would argue, that depends on your starting point...   For the super-fit, it's probably not going to do too much for you.  For the rest of us average humans though... Read on :)

Pluses:

- it's FUN.  The last couple weeks I've been less good about riding the bike, mostly cause when I get down there I want to go right into boxing.  And by the time I'm done boxing, I don't have time left to bike.

- because it's fun I do it longer, and put more effort into it, than I otherwise would.  Especially the bike games -- the riding one toasts my cardio in < 15 mins because I go all out to catch the bad guys.  Like buckets of sweat and barely able to breath.  It's awesome ;)   Unless I'm lazy and just go for a ride - that I can do without breaking a sweat

- there's a great online community that makes it even more fun.  Weekly challenges, other people to work out with, and just constantly reminding you that this is here and other people are doing it, so why aren't you ;)

- it can be as long or as short a workout as you want.  Also, as intense or not.  You can totally cheat the system for sure, but if you're actually in it to get the workout...  For instance, in FitXR (boxing) I find myself constantly swinging harder or faster to try and improve my average punching score (about 6.1 now - up from 4 something when I started).   I'm really good at hooks and uppercuts.  Lol those are usually in the 8 plus range.  Unfortunately I absolutely suck at straight punching.  They're usually 4 or less...   So yeah - average meh.  But I get a very good workout trying to get that average number up.

- lots of games also involve squats in an effort to get lower body workout in too.  And there are definitely days I feel this after.

- there are multiple games to choose from that all involve movement.  So if you redefine exercise to mean "it got me off the couch for 30 mins" there are a TON of options.

- super flexible -- want to work out a midnight?  No problem.   And yes, I have literally done that.  

Minuses:

- your core will get a workout only if you go out of your way to engage it.  Upper cuts and hooks are great for core, IF you intentionally engage those muscles.  But it's just as easy to score highly without.   Dancing does slightly better at forcing core engagement, but nothing like a solid plank will do.

- no weights - if you're strictly looking to build the kind of muscles you get by lifting heavy stuff up and putting it down again, this probably isn't for you.

Other notes:

- Holofit is now a thing -- this is for use on the bike or the rower.   Since we have a rower, I'm partially interested in trying it, but I can only afford so many subscriptions and atm I like my bike subscription better (AND it's cheaper :)

- likewise, the game that pretty well everybody I've spoken to raves about for VR fitness is Supernatural, but it also comes with quite an expensive subscription service (more expensive than either of the others), so I've refrained from trying it.  By all accounts it's sort of a cross between boxing and Beat Saber but apparently a far better workout.  

- I did add more walking into my day, so that may or may not have contributed to the end results...

The Results:

Sorry it's in Spanish - if you read the rest of the blog you'll know why ;)

Okay so from a Fitbit perspective, compared to last week I was up in everything except flights of stairs.  So that's all good.  Again, not sure it's super sustainable, but at least I have a new target to beat.  And my resting heart rate has been the same for two weeks - although that's higher than it was at the start of Jan, which is pretty much the opposite of what we're going for?  So not sure what that's about.

Otherwise - I lost the weight that I gained in Dec, so that's good.  Not down any beyond that, but at least back to neutral.  I also lost 3" which is lovely and BETTER than the start of Dec, so pretty stoked at that.  I did *not* lose any arm inches, but what's there is definitely feeling firmer than what was there before, so I'm deeming that a non-quantifiable subjective win ;)

So for Feb I will continue to track.  I'm going to bring my Stealth and my ab-chair back into play so those two between them should help with the abs.  Will continue with the VR games I've been playing but make a point to incl 3x/week on the bike with actual cardio.  That's the goal for Feb.