Any guesses who's getting a kick out of exercising?
How the VR fitness industry is adding a zing to home workouts, and treadmill runs or lifting weights are being swapped for rock climbing and sword fighting.
Written by Kajal Iyer
The wise Elle Woods once said, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.” A primary motivation to exercise these days seems to be - to be happy - happy enough to get through another zoom session, another PTA meeting, another back breaking chore. Of course, it helps that one loses weight and looks and feels better overall. But all that comes only after a few months of sticking to the regime and while Elle Woods talked of the thing that comes after the exercise, she forgot to mention the thing that may help keep you exercising until the release of endorphins and that my friends, is dopamine. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that regulates the reward system in the brain, keeping a person hooked.
Dopamine is what gets released when your partner hugs you. It is also what gets released when you up level in your favorite video or virtual reality game. Remember that time when you moaned you had no time to exercise, but spent 2 hours clearing 20 levels of Candy Crush? That’s what we are talking about. So how does this relate to your fitness regime?