You can 100% without a doubt get fit playing video games.
Playing video games is fun and exciting. It opens up a totally different world away from the one in which we live. They allow you to “get away” from everyday life and all the different things that come with it. Video games are also a great way to connect with your friends and meet other people.
I grew up playing video games and I still remember opening up my first Playstation 2 for Christmas. Lets just say that I was freaking pumped. I would spend hours in my room, both day and night, playing a variety of games.
My video game addiction evolved over the years. It started off with sports games like Madden, NBA 2k, and WWE’s Smackdown vs. Raw. Eventually, it progressed into more action based games and RPGs like Call of Duty, Halo, and Runescape.
As you can see, I think it is safe to say I have a fair share of experience playing all different kinds of games.
Not sure if you can relate or not, but I’ve always been more of an introvert, so I naturally gravitated towards video games. I was the kid that would rather stay home, keep to myself, and play video games during the weekend than go out with my friends. Whatever was happening in the game became my life.
However, I was not fit at all, started suffering from acne, bad stomach aches, and low self confidence. Something had to be done.
Everything changed my sophomore year in high school when I was introduced to weightlifting. I was intimidated at first just like everyone else because I was new and wasn’t sure what to do. It helped having friends to go with because we learned together. But, it was still scary. I soon got over this fear, realizing that everyone has the same goals: to get healthier and get into good shape. When you need help, most people will be there to offer it
Ultimately, just because you play video games does not mean that you can’t build muscle, burn fat, and get fit. And it also does not mean that you shouldn’t have a social life either. Get out and go talk to people in person. This becomes more important the older you get and the sooner you get comfortable with this, the better off you will be. This was the mistake I made early on which is why I am writing this article. So you don’t have to experience the same consequences I suffered through.
Given these points, this is not an article to talk about how to get jacked and shredded. To do that, you would need years of hard work, consistency, and maybe a little PED’s sprinkled in.
This article is about how you can get stronger, more defined, improve your health, all while still playing video games and living the lifestyle you want. You’ll be more focused, have more energy, and motivation which will make you the best video game player you can be.
I am going to teach you just how you can chase your dreams of playing video games and still be in the best shape of your life. It’s going to take time, but it will be worth it because I have done it myself and I have helped and seen others do it too.
Ok, sorry for the long intro. First, let’s discuss some of the common problems with being inside and sitting down in a chair all day that makes it hard to get fit playing video games.
Common Problems While Playing Video Games:
Your body works best when it’s active and moving. They are not made to sit all day and when you do, it will lead to a few problems that are not fun.
You are more likely to experience back, shoulder, and neck pain.
Sitting all day is going to place a lot of stress on your back, neck, and shoulders. When you sit all day, your body becomes tired and as a result, tends to slouch. Consequently, leading to aches and pains in your joints, muscles, hips, back, and neck. Leaving you looking like a hunchback, which will only get worse the older you get.
You are more likely to gain weight and increase your risk of getting sick (heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc).
Remember how I just mentioned how your body prefers to be active? Well, the less active you are, the more likely you are to gain weight. Not only will this lead to more aches and pains in your joints, but it can eventually lead to some serious diseases and illnesses down the road. Things like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are a few to name.
Now you know that sitting for long periods of time with little activity is unhealthy. Just by being more active and in better shape, you can help tremendously with these problems.
Can lead to Anxiety and Depression
Let’s face it… Sitting in a dark room all day can get depressing as f*ck. You are made to interact with people in person, socialize, go outside, be in the sun, and exercise. If not, it can lead to a deep dark place. I’ve gone through it myself. First and foremost, if this is you, seek professional help. In the meantime, make sure to go out and get sunlight and actually talk to people in person.
Can make you more sluggish
Playing games for a long period of time (hours and days) can bring down your motivation to do other things, lower your energy, can decrease your enthusiasm, and can lead to more sleepiness. All of which can make the rest of your day that much worse.
Can lead to eyes discomfort, fatigue, and headaches.
Think about it. Staring at a screen all day is going to wreck your eyes and brain. After awhile, your eyes may start to hurt, you may start to experience some brain fog, and the headaches may start to come. This is one of the things I experienced most when I played video games for hours a day.
Luckily, most if not all of these things can be prevented if you know what to do. Below is a list of 10 different things to start implementing into your life to help you so you can be healthy and fit while still being able to play video games.
Here are 10 ways to get fit while playing video games:
1. Get up and move
In order to get fit playing video games, you’re going to have to be active. It doesn’t mean you have to run for miles each day or have 3 hour workouts. It means to sprinkle in a little activity throughout your day everyday by getting up and moving to work your muscles. If you don’t your body will be weak with poor posture.
Do you want to be old, out of shape, and have a hunchback? No? Didn’t think so.
Go for walks, do a certain number of squats, crunches, and pushups, and stretch. Everyday try to get more in than the last time. Try getting a certain amount of pushups, crunches, and squats in between games and throughout the day. Set challenges and goals for yourself and have fun with it.
Another thing you can do is set a daily step goal for yourself each day. Walking is the easiest and best form of cardio you can do to stay active. Tell yourself you must hit this goal each day. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Usually, 8,000-10,000 steps a day is a good goal to aim for.
An easy way to build some momentum is to take a 10-20 minute walk after each meal or once every hour. This will help tremendously in staying active, hitting your step goal, and getting up and moving.
Get up and move. It is important if you want to get fit playing video games.
2. Set a training time in the morning
Oftentimes, the way you start your day determines how the rest of your day will play out. Plus, the morning is typically when you have the most energy and motivation. That said, taking advantage of this opportunity to train can be your best bet. The training I am talking about here is strength training or lifting weights.
Strength training is going to be your best friend to get fit playing video games. Here’s why:
- You will be stronger and be able lift heavier things up.
- You’ll build muscle, boost your metabolism, and burn more calories when you’re playing video games which will make staying fit easier.
- You’ll be more lean than ever before. Not only will you feel good while playing video games, but you’ll look good too.
- You don’t have to spend hours in a gym. You can have a very effective workout at home if you have the equipment or at a gym in less than an hour.
- You’ll be a more confident and motivated person.
Make sure to set a time in the morning 2-4 days a week. Remember, going in the morning is going to make you more motivated, focused, and in a better mood for the rest of your day.
Be sure to stick to the basic movements: Squat, Hinges, Presses, and pulls. All of which you can find in my muscle building guide. These movements give you the most bang for your buck results. This is especially important when you’re trying to get fit playing video games with limited time. Focus on lifting heavy, getting stronger, and the rest will pay off by creating a strong and sexy body.
3. Meal prep your meals
You can’t be healthy and get fit playing video games unless your nutrition is dialed in. The easiest way to make sure you are eating healthy meals is to meal prep them.
Meal prepping your meals can be a game changer for you when trying to get fit playing video games. You can either prepare your meals in advance 1-2 days a week or create a list either physically or mentally of what you’re going to eat for the rest of the week so you are prepared.
Meal prepping your foods doesn’t mean that you have to make it before and have it ready. Although that will definitely help to have a readily available meal for you to eat, plan on what you are going to eat that day in advance so you have a plan.
It is important to eat healthy foods. These healthy foods give your body the nutrients and fuel it needs to feel and perform at its best. This is even more important if you are going to be sitting down and staring at a screen for the majority of the day. It is also going to allow you to focus more which is going to tremendously help you out. I am not saying to never eat “junk” food. That would be boring and unrealistic. Have at it. I am saying to eat healthy food more often.
Some healthy options include:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Whole grains
- Eggs
- Yogurt
- Proteins
- Oats
4. Track your calories and protein:
I am going to give you a crash course of what you need to know about calories and macronutrients. Think of it almost like a tutorial when you are first starting a new game.
Listen. You don’t have to be perfect and eat only salads or chicken, broccoli, and rice. You are allowed to still enjoy the foods you love in moderation. Focus on adding in healthy foods rather than taking unhealthy foods out.
Calories and Macros
Calories are the energy you get from food. To lose weight, you need to be eating less calories/energy than your body is burning. (calorie deficit) To gain weight, you would have to eat more calories/energy than your body is burning. (calorie surplus)
Macronutrients or “macros” as they are typically called, are what make up food. The 4 macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates, fats, and alcohol. All of these added up together make up the total amount of calories you eat per day.
The only two you really need to focus on are protein and total calories. That is not to say that carbs, fat, and to a lesser extent alcohol aren’t important. But, to keep it as simple as possible to get fit playing video games, only focusing on those two make the most sense.
(If you want to learn more, read my ultimate guide to fat loss article)
There are a few ways to track your calories.
First, you can do it the old fashioned way on paper and write everything down. This can be very annoying and time consuming writing everything down and adding up all the numbers.
A more efficient and convenient way is to use an app like My Fitness Pal. This app allows you to input the food you ate, while automatically calculating the calories and macros that food contains. Plus, it saves the foods you eat so you don’t always have to keep rewriting in your food.
It is much more efficient and accessible to you using an app. You have the ability to look on your phone whenever you want to see how you are doing for that day. This is important for you to see how your energy balance is. Are you eating more than you should? Are you eating the correct amount to stay in shape while playing video games? Are you eating enough protein?
Protein
Protein is essential for your body – meaning that your body needs it to survive. Protein is going to help keep you full throughout the day, help retain and build muscle, and burn more calories. Typically .8-1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is a good goal to shoot for. So if you are 150 pounds, you should aim for 120-150 grams of protein per day.
Some foods that contain protein are:
- Chicken
- Beef
- Fish
- Eggs
- Cheese
- Greek Yogurt
- Beans
- Protein bars and powders
Aim to eat some type of protein at every meal. Doing this will help make it easier to reach your goal each day. If you try to fit it all in at once, it will be a challenge so try your best to spread it out.
Protein shakes will be your best friend too. Whole food is always the best choice, but supplementing with protein powders and shakes can help out a ton.
So, tracking your calories and protein may be a good idea to make sure you’re properly eating the correct amount of food and hitting your protein goals so you can get fit playing video games.
5. Stick to diet zero calorie drinks
Water will always be your best bet. That said, I know you probably may like your sodas and energy drinks. I used to be the same way. The only problem with traditional soda drinks like Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Coke is that they contain a crap load of sugar and calories. This is the exact opposite of what you want, especially when you aren’t going to be active for major parts of your day.
Instead, stick to the diet versions. In my opinion, I can’t tell much of a difference from diet Mountain Dew to regular Mountain Dew. You’re basically getting the same taste without all of the unwanted calories.
Carbonated water is another good option too. The carbonation gives it a soda-like feel and it is more enjoyable than water.
6. Get enough sleep and wear blue blocker glasses
Sleep is so important. It may be the most important thing on this list other than nutrition. You’re not cool if you do not sleep. It is not a badge of honor that you want to have. A lack of sleep will be so detrimental to your health in the long run.
Another important thing to keep in mind is since you will be staring at a computer screen all day, it is probably not going to be so good for your eyes and brain. Computer screens, TVs, phones, and anything else with a screen releases blue artificial light. It is fine during the day but can create problems at night and can be an issue when you are trying to fall asleep.
Luckily, there is a solution for this and that solution is blue blocker glasses. These glasses do exactly what their name describes: blocks blue light. Make sure to wear them if you are playing games at night and during the day if you are playing games for long periods of time.
Here are a few side effects of not getting enough sleep::
- Can hurt your focus and concentration while playing video games
- Make you drowsy
- Affect your mood and attitude
- Make you sick
- Make weight loss harder
As you can see, sleep is not for the weak. A lack of sleep makes you weak. So, what can you do?
Well, caffeine can be a great tool when used in moderation. Try not to rely on caffeine drinks too much though. Your body eventually adapts, so caffeine loses its effect, meaning you’ll need more of it. Too much caffeine, especially closer to bed, can make it harder to fall and stay asleep, give you anxiety, make you more tired when its effect wears off, and lead to other health problems like high blood pressure.
If you are finding it hard to stay awake causing you to have to rely on caffeine it may be a good idea to focus on improving your quality of sleep:
- Create a nighttime routine
- Go to bed around the same time each night
- Sleep in a dark and quiet room
- Don’t drink caffeine at least 6 hours before bed
- Limit electronic usage before bed (Wear blue blocker glasses if you can’t.)
- Use a supplement like melatonin if you need to but do not rely on it.
These are a few ways to optimize sleep. Quality, or how well you sleep, is more important than how much you sleep. So, 6 hours of quality sleep will be better than 9 hours of shitty sleep. Aim for 7-9 hours total per night. This is individual and changes from person to person.
7. Make sure to stretch and work on your mobility.
When you sit down constantly, you are promoting bad posture. This is because you are weakening the muscles that promote good posture. This and the repetitive motions of gaming can lead to other musculoskeletal disorders like back pain, carpal tunnel, arthritis, shoulder and neck pain, and unwanted stress. You can probably imagine that that is not good and not comfortable.
To help prevent this, make sure to actively stretch and work on mobility. Mobility in simplest terms is how well you can move and use your muscles in an active range of motion. Obviously, you want to move well and having good mobility is going to make this happen. If you have trouble placing your hand over your head or squatting down, you likely have poor mobility. Set a timer for yourself to get up and stretch if you need to. Do this in between games, before you play in the morning when you wake up, and after you play at night before you go to bed.
Here are a few exercises to focus on for the common problem areas from playing games:
- Tricep stretch
- Lat stretch
- Wrist stretch
- Prone Cobra
- 90/90 Stretch
- Lizard with rotation
- Windmill
- Thread the needle
Pick 1-3 of these each day for 8-15 reps each and work on them. You’ll feel so much better doing so.
8. Go outside and get some sun.
Movement throughout the day and going outside to get some sun work well with each other and both are very important.
A good way to measure your movement throughout the day is to set and aim for a step goa as discussed earlier. Use your phone or a step tracker like a Fitbit to measure your steps. I would suggest aiming for 8,000-10,000 steps a day.
Going outside, breathing in fresh air, and letting the sunlight touch your skin is so important for your physical and mental health. Getting outside becomes even more important if you are staying inside all day in a dark room. All it takes is 15 minutes in the sun for you to get enough Vitamin D your body needs.
Here are a few reasons why getting sunlight and Vitamin D is crucial:
- Helps increase your mood which is essential if you are going to be inside all day.
- Helps build strong bones
- Good for your skin
- Aids in sleep
- Improves mood
So go outside and get some sun! Go for a walk. Listen to some music or a podcast. Have fun and relax. Trust me, your body and brain will thank you. Plus, it will be a nice breath of fresh air and a nice little break to decompress so that you are refreshed when you get back to gaming. Take a 10 minute walk every hour or after every meal. You will thank yourself later.
9. Take a day off/Limit the amount you play per day
Have at least one day during the week where you do not play at all. Give your brain, body, and eyes a break. Use this day to get out and do something else you love.
Socialize, go out with your friends, go out to eat. Just go out and do something. You already stay at home most of the week if you are a hardcore gamer so do yourself a favor and get out and have some fun. If you want to get fit playing video games, your social/mental health is just as important as your physical health.
Do yourself a favor and do this. You need to still be social and have face to face interaction with real human beings. This is one mistake I made early on in my life. Please take my advice and do not do the same.
10. Get a comfortable chair to play in.
A gaming chair may be more important than you may think. At least it was for me. This is something that I never had and I wish I did. I used a beat up computer chair and it destroyed my neck, shoulders, and back.
Good gaming chairs fit your personal posture, body shape, increase your productivity, and also are comfortable as hell. It is going to relieve your muscles, joints, especially in the problem areas: your lower back and neck areas. They may be a bit pricey but for the circumstances, it could be well worth it. Especially if you are going to be sitting in it all day playing a lot.
If you are going to be sitting down in the same spot for hours and hours, you mine as well invest in something that is going to benefit you.
Buy a chair that supports your body, back, and butt and that is high enough so that the screen is in front of you. This way, you are not constantly looking up which is going to promote bad posture in your neck, shoulders, and upper back. This chair should also make you super comfortable.
By sitting in a nice chair all day that’s comfortable, you are going to feel better. The better you feel, the more motivated and focused you will be. And the better you will perform.
Final Thoughts:
I believe that implementing these 10 things will not only make you healthier and more confident, but I also believe it will make you a better gamer as well. You’ll feel better, have more energy and more focus.
That said, it’s important to remember that results will take time. It will not happen overnight. You have to be consistent. The more consistent you are, the easier it will get, and the more and more this becomes a part of your daily routine.
I know this is a lot to take in. The cool thing is that you can keep this article as a guide so that you can always know what to do if you’re ever confused and have any questions. You do not have to start by doing all of these at once. Start with one, make it into a routine into your life, and then master another one. Keep doing this and before you know it, you will have fit all of these into your life. If you try them all at once, you may burn yourself out.
I really appreicate you taking the time out of your day to read this article. I hoped it gave you what you were looking for.
If you ever have any questions, I am here to help. Email me at bobhooverfitness@gmail.com or visit my coaching page to apply for one on one coaching.