VR games are probably never going to replace lifting weights, but could they make cardio more fun…and more likely to get done?

Dr. Jimmy Bagley is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, and Director of the Muscle Physiology Lab, Co-Director of the Exercise Physiology Lab, and Research Director of the Strength and Conditioning Lab at SF State. His department has conducted studies using VR games to test how humans respond to exercise performed in virtual reality and augmented reality environments.

We got him on the line to run down exactly how those studies worked, but first we took our own stab at this question.

Here’s what we came up with:

• It seems very likely to work, but will this really get people off the couch?
• How available is this technology?
• If this really works well, will globo-gyms someday have VR rooms in place of bike/cardio rooms?
• Do people workout longer when they’re competing against others in a game environment?
• How similar is it to the recent experience Mike had at local bike gym All City Riders, or being on a Peloton bike at home.

Our ideas start about 4:00.

Dr. Bagley joins us about 12:45.

We kick off the episode talking about why we don’t talk about politics.

You can find Dr. Bagley on Instagram at @drjimmybagley, and on Twitter at  @drjimmybagley.

Hosted by Mike Farr (@silentmikke) and Jim McDonald (@thejimmcd).

Produced by Jim McDonald

Production assistance by Connor O’Neal.

Theme by Aaron Moore.

Branding by Joseph Manzo.