The Video Game Approach to Fitness
Key Takeaways
Video game designers are masters of human psychology and can teach us a lot about the optimal approach to fitness. Valuable lessons from video games that we can apply to our health and fitness include:
Starting with small goals to build momentum
Setting goals that are challenging yet realistic
Making it FUN and not taking it too seriously
Taking breaks and celebrating wins
GAME OVER doesn’t actually signify the end
These principles will help us level up, maintain long term adherence, and achieve our fitness goals.
Full Story
You may think that video games are the last place we should seek out health and fitness lessons. After all, playing video games is one of the few activities that requires nearly zero physical exertion.
The act of playing Xbox or N64 may not offer us much physical benefit, but to know how to have fun with our training, maintain adherence to our plan, or set the perfect fitness goal, we needn’t look further than the engineering of a good video game.
Have you ever wondered why video games can be so addicting? It’s because video game designers are masters of human psychology. They make a game just challenging enough for you to keep coming back for more but not so difficult that it seems a hopeless endeavor.
Personally, I haven't picked up a controller since grade school, when defeating the evil King Bowser was the most difficult and important endeavor of my young life. Despite the passing of nearly 20 years, the deep seated feeling of “Dang, SO close. I’ll get ‘em next time!”, after falling just shy of victory still resonates deep within me.
Psych Yourself Up
This genius blend of challenge, anticipation, triumph, and defeat, is common to every rewarding endeavor in life; it’s why, despite the hardships and difficulties that set us back, we continue to strive for success. More importantly, this “sweet spot” - the intricate balance between challenging and achievable - makes difficult activities, such as exercise, fun.
It keeps us coming to the gym with a great fervor, regardless if last time around we set a personal record or got crushed under a barbell. This sweet spot is an integral component of optimal goal setting and supports long term adherence and success in health and fitness.
The principles of video game engineering, derived from human psychology, that can help us achieve health and fitness goals include:
Starting with small goals to build momentum
Setting goals that are challenging yet realistic
Taking breaks and celebrating wins
Making it FUN and not taking it too seriously
GAME OVER doesn’t actually signify the end
Allow me to explain.
Starting With Small Goals To Build Momentum
The first level of the video game is never challenging. Level one is an opportunity to:
learn the controls
take in the surroundings
get a feel for the game.
We should consider taking the same slow and steady approach to fitness, but we rarely do.
More often than not at the outset of a new training program, we skip all the buildup and jump straight to the final level. Instead of…:
taking the time to learn proper form
understanding the pros/cons of each piece of equipment
giving our bodies time to get used to a new activity
…we go immediately to sets to failure, drop sets, and hours of cardio.
Can you just imagine if video games let you jump straight to the most difficult level from the outset? You wouldn’t stand a chance! You would play for 15 minutes, maybe a half hour if you’re especially strong-willed, and then realize the hopelessness of the situation and hurl your controller in a fit of frustration.
A very similar distressing situation, sans the flying electronics, occurs after we skip the “intro level” with fitness. If we jump straight to the most difficult level in fitness, we find it to be:
way too difficult
unsustainable
something that leaves us sore for a whole week!
If we take our time and go level by level in the gym, we have less pain, more fun, and more hope for the future. If it was a challenge, it would defeat the purpose of the level and not allow for the learning and growth that is critical to success in the rest of the fitness routine and game.
Day one and level one is not about the short term, but rather sets a foundation for the more difficult days ahead. Without establishing this solid base, we will crumble way before we can even dream of reaching the final level.
2. Setting Goals That Are Challenging Yet Realistic
Have you ever wondered why video games can be so addicting? It’s because video game designers are masters of human psychology. They make a game just challenging enough for you to keep coming back for more but not so difficult that it seems a hopeless endeavor. If we take the same approach to setting goals, we can actually have fun with fitness instead of dreading it.
After we learn the controls and complete the first level, the video game progresses in a stepwise manner and has built-in barriers to prevent skipping levels. Completing level 1 does not give us a free pass to start jumping around from 1 to 3, from 3 to 7, etc.
In fitness, it’s wise to not only start small but to progress slowly. The “introductory level” may feel easy and even boring for a few days or weeks, but, considering that it is a lifelong process, this time spent early on amounts to just a fraction the total time we will spend on fitness. This slow-cooked approach to goal setting, while not flashy, is an investment that pays significant dividends in the form of adherence and sustainability, not to mention decreased risk of injury and burnout.
The key to setting a perfect fitness goal is finding the sweet spot between challenging and realistic. Top video game engineers are paid inordinate amounts of money to establish this elusive sweet spot - we should not expect to do it perfectly on our first try.
It is better, as we learned from the momentum created by cruising through the first level, to set goals that might be too easy instead of too ambitious. It feels a lot better to smash a goal after setting the bar too low than to fall short after setting the bar too high. The former, though suboptimal, creates positive momentum and keeps us fresh and excited for the next challenge, while the latter stops us dead in our tracks.
When setting your next fitness goal, consider your current level and the next rung above. Don’t set out to win the game after just completing level 3. You won’t be successful, you won’t have fun, and your fitness journey will end prematurely. To reiterate, slow and steady wins the race - in video games and in fitness.
3. Making It FUN And Not Taking It Too Seriously
FUN. Such a simple word, only three letters, but fun may very well be the most important component of maintaining adherence to an activity. If playing video games wasn’t, you wouldn’t play them. You know this. If fitness isn’t fun, you won’t exercise. You know this, too, but you might not have ever thought about it.
Millions of people play video games because they offer a fun, stress-reducing reprieve from work, sadness, and every other negative aspect of life. If we can make exercise enjoyable and frame it as a relief from the stressors of everyday life, we will be much more likely to hit the gym. But if working out starts to feel like a chore, we will dread the gym instead of counting down the hours until we can swing open its doors.
4. Taking Breaks and Celebrating Wins
Ah, the sweet release after defeating a level we’ve been stuck on forever. A joyous moment, and one video game designers always take the time to recognize:
Your character does a happy dance
Your enemy shrivels and writhes in dramatic fashion
Or “CONGRATULATIONS” flashes across the screen.
Regardless of the specifics, the important point is that there is recognition and celebration of the success. Far too often in fitness, we set our sights on another goal before even celebrating the one just accomplished. We spend 12 weeks dieting, training hard, and losing 20lbs to unveil a chiseled physique and, before we can even post our mirror selfie on Instagram, we start chasing a new endeavor!
The scenario sounds ridiculous, but I’ve experienced it myself and know that many others have as well. The past and present matters far less than the future, at least to our genetically hardwired brain. The past and present doesn’t help us find food, seek out reproductive opportunity, or evade predators. This tendency is not beneficial in fitness, though, as it is important for the longevity of our routines to reflect and celebrate each milestone.
The more positive emotions we associate with fitness, the more likely we are to work out when motivation is low. On the other hand, if we fail to recognize our victories, fitness becomes a monotonous grind instead of an exciting journey. In order to stick to a fitness routine and have fun in the process, be sure to take time to do your victory dance after achieving goals.
5. GAME OVER Doesn’t Actually Signify the End
One of the best components of video games: immortality. For instance, you can get:
Your head cut off
Blasted into space
Eaten by a three-headed monster
…yet, somehow, return miraculously back to the start to retry the level!
Though defeats in the gym aren’t nearly as dramatic, you’ll benefit from taking the same fearless approach to fitness. In order to maintain long term success in health and fitness, we need to have a short memory and embrace every new session as a fresh start. This mindset keeps fitness fun, even if last time it was “game over” after getting crushed under a squat bar or having our warm up weight feel like a max attempt.
One underwhelming workout performance doesn’t mean that:
You’ve lost your edge
Already hit your peak
Will never reach your goals
Instead of throwing in the towel after disappointing situations, rest up, refuel, and return to the gym at full strength for your next workout.
Wrap Up
Video games aren’t my forte; I don’t play them now, and I always came in last place in Mario Cart when I did. That being said, I felt compelled to write about the subject after considering the key similarities between gaming and fitness and the practical takeaways that can be applied to achieve success in both arenas.
Oftentimes we take our lives and ourselves too seriously. Video games serve as a refreshing reminder to slow down, celebrate the good times, and enjoy ourselves. If we can learn to apply these lessons to our fitness, we can prevent it from becoming a dreadful obligation and keep it fresh, fun, and sustainable.