Virtual exercise in the gym
利用虚拟现实技术的新健身体验
Going to the gym can be something that many people find a gruelling experience. It takes time and effort, it often hurts, and it can be extremely tedious. Most weight-related exercises are a combination of sets and reps. In order to see any significant change from any one exercise, it will probably need to be repeated six to eight times, for a minimum of three sets, for about three months. Then there's cardio. For some, there's nothing more boring than endless miles spent running on a treadmill.
去健身房对很多人来说都是一种折磨人的经历。它需要时间和精力,经常会受伤,而且可能非常乏味。大多数与体重相关的运动都是多组运动的结合。为了从任何一项运动中看到任何显著的变化,可能需要重复六到八次,至少三次,持续大约三个月。然后是有氧运动。对一些人来说,没有什么比在跑步机上无休止地跑上几英里更无聊的了。
But what if there were a way to alleviate the boredom of exercise while still getting a good work out? Luckily for us, there's virtual reality.
但是,如果有一种方法可以在保持良好锻炼的同时减轻锻炼的无聊感呢? 幸运的是,我们有虚拟现实。
In the past, "playing video games was a sedentary experience," says Jo Stauffer of the VR Health Institute, "but VR changes all of that". He says that the room-scale experience engages your body in full.
在过去,“玩电子游戏需要久坐不动,”VR健康研究所的Jo Stauffer说,“但VR改变了这一切。”他说,这种房间规模的体验会让你的身体充分投入。
Many VR games are played while standing. In order to play properly, the player is forced to move around swinging their arms or using their legs. After an hour of this on a regular enough basis, it's not surprising that many people unexpectedly find themselves a little fitter. There are already a number of virtual reality games which, deliberately or not, result in their player 'getting a good sweat on' if played for enough time. For example, there's a first person shooter which forces the player to sidestep, duck and dodge incoming projectiles. That's cardio. Or there's a music game which forces players to shadowbox in order to hit the notes - that's an upper-body workout.
很多VR游戏都是站着玩的。为了玩好这个游戏,玩家必须挥动手臂或移动双腿。一个小时后,很多人会意外地发现自己更健康了,这并不奇怪。现在已经有很多虚拟现实游戏,不管有意与否,只要玩够了时间,玩家就会流汗。例如,有一款第一人称射击游戏可以迫使玩家回避、躲避来袭的炮弹。这就是有氧运动。或者有一种强迫玩家打太极拳的音乐游戏,达到锻炼上半身的目的。
The potential for VR to help people get fit has been noticed by one company. They want to take the whole experience into the gym. They are making a bespoke resistance machine, designed to be used in combination with a VR headset. Players challenge a virtual opponent in a series of games, which results in a 30-minute full-body work out. However, the cost of the equipment is expensive and there are safety concerns to be worked out, says J P Gownder from the consultancy Forrester. So don't hang up your gym shorts just yet.
一家公司已经注意到VR有助人们锻炼的潜力。他们想把这个体验带入健身房。他们正在制作一款定制的电阻机,可以与VR头盔结合使用。玩家在一系列游戏中挑战虚拟对手,这将持续30分钟,使玩家得到全身锻炼。然而,弗雷斯特咨询公司的J?P?高恩德表示,这些设备的成本很高,而且存在安全问题有待解决。所以现在先别寄希望于此。
Although it's early days, for those of us who struggle to overcome the tedium of exercise, a new solution could be coming. And a world where a person can exercise and have fun at the same time might be something that many people would want - virtual or not.
虽然现在还为时过早,但对于我们这些努力克服单调运动的人来说,一个新的解决方案可能会出现。一个人可以同时锻炼和娱乐的世界可能是许多人想要的东西——不管是虚拟的或现实的。
词汇表
a gruelling experience
一个使人精疲力尽的艰苦经历
tedious
单调乏味的
weight-related exercises
重量练习
set
(一)组(练习)
rep
(一个)重复(动作)
cardio
有氧运动
treadmill
跑步机
work out
锻炼身体
sedentary
久坐不动的
swing
挥动
fit
健康的
get a sweat on
做一段高强度的运动
sidestep
侧向跨步
duck
猛低头(躲避)
dodge
闪躲
shadowbox
与假想敌人作拳击练习
upper-body
上半身
resistance machine
对抗器材
full-body
全身的
don't hang up your gym shorts
“挂起健身时穿的短裤”,放弃