The secret to long term workout success By Ralph Rajs COO
One of the exciting features (among others) of pairing video games with fitness is the ability to build in tools that help members stay consistent with workouts – and have fun doing it. One such feature we’re using at Black Box VR is a quarterly season refresh. Each new 90-day season is an opportunity to celebrate accomplishments, introduce new themes and offer rewards in both the game and real life.
At the beginning of October, we launched Season 6 with a new theme, new goals, and new quests. Although common in the gaming world, the turnover of seasons is fairly uncommon in the fitness world. But it’s a great motivator. Using these gamified tactics helps keep people energized and motivated, and anything that makes fitness fun, is a win.
Here is a great example. One of our Boise members set a goal for the amount of weight he wanted to lift in the last month of Season 5. Our Black Box VR system tracks this and all kinds of other statistics so your numbers are always handy. He saw that he was going to be a little short by season end and did quite a few extra workouts to accomplish his goal. He couldn’t maintain that pace forever, but knowing there was a finish line in sight, he was able to make the push and hit the goal. Best of all, we were closely watching his progress, cheering him on and celebrating with him after he made it. That’s the power of a finish and a fresh start.
As someone who is newer to video games, I have also come to really understand and appreciate the value of quests. Everyone knows the value of a good to-do list and the satisfaction of crossing things off. That’s exactly what quests are within the Black Box VR game. Quests are designed to give participants additional things to achieve on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis that reinforce workout consistency while keeping things fun. After every quest completed, players are rewarded with Experience Points or Care Points reinforcing the activity. This is just one aspect of gaming psychology that is baked into the Black Box VR universe.
In an independent study done at UCLA, researchers found that people who participated in Black Box VR workouts had significantly better adherence to exercise rates and perceived enjoyment versus the group that did a conventional strength routine. Here is the link to the latest study.
Not everyone loves working out, but everyone appreciates the benefits of a consistent workout routine. Using the end of a season to celebrate accomplishments, the beginning of the season to re-establish goals, and using the quests for micro doses of challenge and reward, we are helping people discover the joy of being fit through the empowerment of exercise. Our goal is to have lifelong members who love doing Black Box VR workouts three times a week and we won’t stop until we get there.
On Strava, Twitter, and Instagram you can find Ralph at @ralphrajs
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