I’m holding a Warrior II pose at the edge of a cliff, overlooking a gorgeous vista of sky and sea. My yoga instructor stands directly in front of me, guiding me through the transition to Triangle pose. Only, from this angle, I can’t see her – so I take my thumb and forefinger and lift her in the air, then place her back in view. We move through a few more poses, then close with savasana, and I take in the expanse of sky before I shut my eyes. After a few minutes of peace, I come to a seated position, then reach around my head to remove the virtual reality (VR) headset that’s wrapped tightly around my face.
I blink a few times and take in the scene around me: I’m not breathing in fresh air on a cliffside paradise in Hawaii, I’m in the middle of an event space, testing out Meta XR’s Alo Yoga program. As my mind hurdles me back to reality, I can’t help but think to myself: is all this new fitness technology making our lives healthier, or just causing even more disconnect with our bodies?
Experts Featured in This Article:
Anthony Crouchelli is a trainer and VP of Talent and Content at Litesport.
Ashley Galvin is a yoga instructor for Alo Moves
Lauren Cook, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist, speaker, and author of “Generation Anxiety: A Millennial and Gen Z Guide to Staying Afloat in an Uncertain World.”
Rachelle Acitelli Reed, PhD, is the head of scientific research and communication at Therabody.
Rebecca Skolnick, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and co-founder of MindWell NYC.
Is Gamifying Fitness Actually Good For Us?
It’s no secret that fitness tech (and the gamification of exercise) has accelerated over the last few years. Most of us wear some kind of tracker on our wrist or finger that measures our activity and health metrics, many people have a digital at-home workout system, and still others have embraced a new era of virtual reality gaming that puts fitness front and center.
These apps and devices use gamification to motivate users to achieve health goals by tracking progress, offering rewards (even as simple as a closed ring or note of encouragement), and facilitating friendly competitions among friends and strangers. They also use challenges or workout streaks (like hitting a certain number of consecutive Peloton classes) to make fitness compelling and, well, more fun.
For the most part, all of these technologies have the potential to be very positive, especially in a time when health continues to decline in this country. After all, exercise can be a powerful tool for supporting mental and physical well-being. “I’m always going to be a fan of anything that gets people moving,” says Laura Girard, CPT, a trainer and online fitness coach. As for VR, she says that since most people have positive connotations with video games, these platforms can be a valuable fitness starting point (and a positive alternative to simply sitting around and gaming for hours).
Over the last five years, we’ve seen a pretty significant evolution of fitness in the VR space. The game Beat Saber hit the market in 2018, compatible with the popular Oculus VR set, and suddenly had people moving (and breaking a sweat) from the comfort of their living rooms. This was closely followed by Supernatural, a VR game that offers everything from cardio to stretching. Litesport (originally Liteboxer) joined the VR space in 2022, offering a first-of-its-kind type of workout: strength training. Most recently, Alo Moves teamed up with Meta Quest 3 to create Alo Moves XR, a program with virtual meditation, Pilates, and (the aforementioned) yoga.
With Litesport, the model is based on what the company’s co-founder and CEO Jeff Morin calls “the three As”: accessibility, accountability, and adaptability. The system allows you to do a workout just about anywhere (accessibility); it features a unique AI body tracking system that ensures you’re not only completing your moves, but also doing them correctly (accountability); and the programming changes depending on your progress (adaptability). “So you have this feedback loop that creates a really engaging and motivating experience that keeps people coming back again and again. Just like video games, you want to see your score, you want to get better, want to beat other people. So that’s the name of the game,” says Morin.
Plus, since this technology provides feedback via AI body tracking, it can be great for individuals who are newer to fitness or who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford personalized coaching. “It’s like having a holographic trainer right there with you, life-size. It’s not just a two-dimensional thing,” says Anthony Crouchelli, trainer and VP of Talent & Content at Litesport. “We call this conversational fitness – there’s a back and forth, and that’s where the magic happens with the headset being able to track you and the coach being there with you.” This platform also uses actual weights, and provides haptic feedback for certain workouts like boxing or battle ropes. “As much as it’s real, authentic fitness, there is this cool, gamified side of it that I think allows us to still be unique in the space,” says Crouchelli.
In addition to entertainment, our brains also crave novelty, which is one of the reasons Ashley Galvin, a yoga instructor for Alo Moves and Alo Moves XR, says these VR fitness systems can be particularly motivating. “It’s a completely new way to experience yoga and meditation. With Alo Moves XR, you’re not just watching an instructor – you’re practicing with them in a fully immersive space. Imagine flowing through a vinyasa sequence on a mountaintop or meditating by the ocean, all without leaving your home,” she says. “The moment you put on the headset, you’re fully present – no distractions, no notifications, just you and your practice. It creates a kind of focus that’s hard to achieve in a regular at-home workout.”
That kind of solace can actually be incredibly powerful for building a sustainable workout routine, according to Girard, as it can “create a space that feels safer to do the vulnerable work of moving your body, especially if you are a person who’s not made to feel comfortable in traditional gym spaces.” Again, this removes barriers (both mental- and scheduling-related), to make prioritizing exercise more attainable than ever before.
“The thing is, we are so busy. We are so pressed for time, and whether it’s virtual reality or these digital offerings, they make it more accessible for folks in the same way that we’ve seen it work with telehealth and teletherapy,” says Lauren Cook, PsyD, a clinical psychologist, speaker, and author of “Generation Anxiety: A Millennial and Gen Z Guide to Staying Afloat in an Uncertain World.”
As for wearables that track our fitness and health metrics, they may have a profound effect on motivation and healthy habit-forming. “It’s an accountability factor to see it in that visual way, and it’s motivating, especially when it gives you different pings and notifications,” says Cook. “So yes, I think a lot of people are more active because they want to get that dopamine kick of seeing that they closed their rings or hit a step goal.”
This theory is backed by what science suggests about behavior change. “We need micro wins to keep us entertained and engaged enough to keep us moving forward towards a bigger goal,” says Rachelle Acitelli Reed, PhD, Head of Scientific Research & Communication at Therabody. Those wins make it easier to repeat the activity that stimulated the positive reinforcement. “And then, eventually, that habit-formation loop is complete, and you can stick with it and sustain the activity.”
That said, some of the research on gamified fitness is less promising. One field experiment on gamification of physical activity suggests that while it can impact behavioral outcomes, it doesn’t have a significant effect on intrinsic motivation. In other words, while it may be effective at keeping us accountable – the moment we remove the tech stimuli, it likely won’t have lasting habit-forming effects.
Are We Becoming Too Tethered to Tech?
While gamified fitness has its pros, at a time in human history when screens are nearly inescapable, is more tech really the answer?
For some individuals, the answer is a resounding no. “It’s important to recognize if these devices are leading you to feel more stressed out or too much pressure to reach a fitness goal that may not be realistic or attainable at a given time,” says Rebecca Skolnick, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and co-founder of MindWell NYC.
Just as apps like TikTok or Instagram can be addicting (thanks to the rapid dose of dopamine these social media platforms send to our brain), “people can get really obsessive about their data,” says Cook. “Take, for example, closing rings on an Apple Watch – people can do anything to try and fill those rings, to the point that they’re exercising at 10 p.m. rather than trying to relax before bedtime. When people start to get into that all or nothing mindset, that’s when this can become maladaptive when it comes to tracking specifically.” This kind of obsessive behavior can also lead to overtraining or even injuries.
What’s more, while the social component (seeing your friends’ fitness successes) of various fitness systems can be a great tool for community support and motivation, it’s important not to fall into the comparison trap, says Cook. “It can really make people feel bad about themselves and feel like they’re not doing enough. So if that’s coming up, then you want to tailor your use, and maybe focus on personal goals.”
It’s also crucial to note that tracking is less helpful and potentially harmful for someone with a history of disordered eating or other mental health conditions.
How to Find Balance in a Tech-Laden World
Again, these systems are not inherently bad. Fitness tech and gamifying workouts can be incredible tools for supporting health and fitness goals. But rather than get too hyperfixated with granular metrics or satisfying micro motivation, it’s important to consider the bigger, long-term picture.
Here’s how to maintain a healthy balance:
- Define your goals: Rather than asking “is this good for me?” Girard suggests clearly identifying your specific goals, then questioning whether using tech might help. For instance, if your goal is to go from exercising one day a week to four, but you find fitness quite boring – then maybe integrating a VR workout might motivate you to move your body a bit more. Whereas, if your goal is simply stress reduction, then using a fitness tracker might not be the best choice – or you might opt for tech that doesn’t leverage screens (like an Oura ring or Whoop). And, when it comes to fitness data itself, “the most important thing to know is what we’re using it for,” she says. “It’s very easy to get into the habit of data collection for the sake of data collection because it feels legitimizing.” But ultimately, if there’s no clear purpose, then that can potentially do more harm than good.
- Be intentional about tracking: Don’t try to do everything at once. “It’s important to know what you’re tracking and why you’re tracking it,” says Girard. “I would recommend picking one or two things to track at a time, then see how those change over time,” Girard says, keeping in mind that fitness progress happens slowly and takes patience.
- Get out of the house: All of this tech means more time on screens and less time interacting with real human beings and the outside world. “It can be important for one’s mood to get out of the house, so there is something to be said for leaving your house to exercise sometimes,” says Skolnick. “I also recommend taking breaks from screens and phones throughout the day. Make sure you get outside every day, even if it’s for five minutes. When you’re outside, put the screens away and look around. Sometimes phones and these fitness devices can distract us from the present moment.”
- Prioritize screen-free hobbies, too: “Whether it’s cooking or knitting or playing tennis, you know, trying to do some kind of activity like that each day where you can’t be using your screen,” Cook says “I think is really, really helpful to give our brain a bit of a micro detox,” she says.
- Maintain bodily awareness: “People are obsessed with the trackers that tell you how well you slept and how well you recovered,” says Girard. “But I think most people would benefit from a little extra sleep, a little more food, a little more stress reduction – and we could definitely benefit from cultivating the skills to determine that for ourselves, rather than relying on an expensive device..” One way to do this is by using the tech to complement your understanding of what’s happening in your body, rather than define it. So, rather than look at your fitness tracker first thing in the morning to tell you how you’re feeling – first, check in with yourself and see how you feel, then you can see if there’s a data point to back this up or offer some intel.
It’s also worth noting that as intriguing and exciting as these flashy fitness devices can be – if gamification is what you’re after, that’s possible to achieve with a simple pen and paper. You can keep a journal of your workouts, note how you feel, how much weight you lifted, and more, suggests Girard. “If you write it down, it’s going to get deeper into your brain. And that is a really powerful set of data,” she says. Then, you can compete with yourself, by aiming to lift heavier, run longer, or simply show up for yourself more days – make it a game for yourself.
Personally, I’d rather take a walk in the analog world than move through a flow in virtual reality (but this is also coming from someone who despises treadmills because she’d rather run outside). I also acknowledge how motivating it can be to try to strive for a PR in my next race, and I admittedly rely on a fitness tracker to hit those goal splits, rather than go off of feel. The point is, bringing tech into our exercise isn’t inherently good or bad. It can be an incredibly positive motivator for some people, while it may be unhealthy for others – it truly depends on the individual. Just like most things in life, this isn’t binary, it’s all about balance.
So while you may not catch me meditating on a mythical mountaintop again soon, I commend anyone who finds their fitness bliss amid our futuristic reality.
Kristine Thomason is a lifestyle writer and editor based in Southern California. Previously, she was the health and fitness director at mindbodygreen, and the fitness and wellness editor at Women’s Health. Kristine’s work has also appeared in PS, Travel + Leisure, Men’s Health, Health, and Refinery29, among others.
