Howdy losers! I discovered a really neat method that works for me to exercise and enjoy myself at the same time.
I like to cycle outdoors when the weather is good and I can make time during the day. I also have a spin bike in my living room that I can pull out in front of the TV, so I usually will watch YouTube or Netflix or something while I am spinning. I have Chromecast so I will just use my phone to control it. This works okay. I usually find myself checking how long the video has left or looking for the next time or calorie burn milestone (I have a chest strap HRM).
About a week ago, though, I installed the Android version of a board game called Galaxy Trucker and have really been liking it. Tonight I was playing it, but thought 'Hey, I didn't eat very carefully today, why not do this on the spin bike instead of the couch'. I set my spin bike for medium intensity and spun away while playing several rounds of the game. I had to stop to go to the bathroom, and was shocked to see that I had been spinning for 43 minutes, and had burned 670 Cal according to my HRM!
I think what made gaming so much more effective for me was that it's an active distraction with constant input and output and thought. Watching a show, redditing, or other passive activities just invite one's mind to drift back to the exercise they are doing. After 45 min on the bike I would usually be mentally wiped, but not tonight- I was having a great time playing Galaxy Trucker.
Naturally, this will only work if you're already accustomed to spinning or another exercise that is conducive to gaming. If you slow down to turtle speeds because you're not paying enough attention to exercise, you're just wasting time. If you have an exercise you can do mindlessly, though, playing a game while you do it could work really well!
-> Learn the easy way to loose fat
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