Until now ripped abs, bulging biceps and feats of strength are the stuff of gym rats and pixelated superheroes.
Step aside Jillian Michaels and fellow Lululemon-wearing fitness gurus, there is a movement happening that could only begin and grow from within.
Frozen food
Video gamers are known for their ability to spend ridiculously long hours seated in front of their screens. Often in solitude and fueled by not-so-fresh diets.
The serious gamers in this community are a fine example of inactive living and it is usually apparent by their physique (overweight & or poor posture) as well as poor health markers (low cardiovascular fitness, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc…)
But…in the very near future we could see masses of self-proclaimed geeks emerging from their gaming lairs with the very same svelt physiques as their online counterparts.
It’s not Wii
All thanks to a new gaming platform designed around physical activity. No, not Wii-style where you play games in front of your screen that are physically active. Fitocracy is a new game style platform for tracking real physical activity and staying motivated. Designed for gamers, by gamers. Yes, you really have to lift heavy stuff!
The fat and the scrawny
We all knew it would take a champion to overcome the mass inertia of hundreds of thousands of youth and adult gamers who spend ridiculous amounts of time sitting in front of a screen. In this case two champions have emerged and the Fitocracy founding story is the stuff of, I guess you really can say… ripped up, 6-pack superheroes. “Brian Wang and Dick Talens were the stereotypical video-gamers in high school. One was scrawny, the other fat…” Read the rest of their story here on CNN.
The Switch
Will we see fridges full of Coca-Cola replaced with Greens Plus? Will pizza boxes be replaced with protein powder tubs? What a blessing to the medical system that will be!
How Fitocracy works
“Here are some of the awesome benefits of playing Fitocracy:
-Earn points, levels, and achievements for your workouts
-See how well you’re doing in comparison to other players
-Find challenges based on your personal statistics to help push your limits
Some other things you should do to make your Fitocracy experience even better:
-Check out the “Latest Happenings” stream every time you visit. Here you’ll see what other Fitocracy players are doing every day.
-Get to know other players by commenting and giving props for awesome workouts
-Visit other players’ profiles and see which quests and achievements they’ve been unlocking”
-Excerpt from the Fitocracy Welcome email
Keep on gaming buff geeks, a Fitocracy is exactly what we need!
Join the Fitocracy (You might need an invite, it’s still in beta)
Happy training (& gaming)!
Shari
I started pumping iron and drinking green smoothies in my teens. Now a 40+ mama with 25 years of experience working in the fitness industry, I do things differently. What I discovered during my personal healing journey made me pivot in my approach as a personal fitness and wellness coach. Now I teach people how to sweat, nourish and glow from an entirely new perspective.