“It’s amazing how much of a tw** you look”, exclaimed my housemate as she walked undetected into the room.
No, her reaction wasn’t down to me joining the Gen Zs who are reviving low-waisted jeans. Instead, I was strapped into Meta’s Quest 3, putting the VR headset through its paces, to find out if I could achieve a workout to rival that of Barry’s Bootcamp.
Barry’s is, in my opinion, the best workout in London. I have tried countless studios to match the calories burned and high heart rate achieved from the 50-60 minute treadmill and mat-based classes, but to no avail. Perhaps, a virtual reality session could change that...
The Meta Quest 3, unlike its predecessor, is a mixed-reality headset. First things first, you place it onto your head and you can see a digital representation of your room, pixelated, but it’s there – leopard print rug and all.
After the usual process of connecting it to your phone, it automatically maps out a boundary on the internal screen free from obstructions to create your workout zone. For fear of the knocks and bumps that I’m notorious for, I chose to fold up the aforementioned rug to create my own touch sensor on the floor, marking the edge of the room (and to avoid falling backwards out of the window).
There are a few different exercise apps available in the Meta Quest 3’s library to bring the studio experience to your home, as well as a whole host of games. Honourable mention goes to the Mission: ISS simulation, which will make you feel like you’re actually in space, complete with zero gravity and ethereal views of the Earth.
Whether you select HIIT, boxing or Zumba in the app, you don’t feel as if you are working out at all
One such is Fit XR, which was designed for virtual reality fitness. During the start-up process, you detail your goals, the exercises that you enjoy and even your music taste. And, as one of my gripes with Barry’s is the thumping ‘untz untz’ music — which is the farthest thing from motivational when you’re attempting the more challenging rounds — Fit XR has one up.
Whether you select HIIT, boxing or Zumba in the app, you don’t feel as if you are working out at all. That is, until the beads of sweat start rolling down, and you suddenly find yourself panting. Once the session begins, it’s like you’re in an immersive version of the Wii. There is an avatar instructor and fellow Mii-like class members. You can even personalise the vibe of the former, detailing the personality traits you are looking for — be it tough, energetic or funny.
The classes are available in a wide range of durations — some as little as seven or 11 minutes — and once you have chosen the one to suit, you select your environment. You are fully immersed, 360 degrees in a studio made to resemble a basement gym or, as per my preference, a clifftop view overlooking the sea.
You need a reasonably large clear floorspace, so some rearranging of your coffee table and chairs will likely be essential before you’re good to go. No travel, no waiting time and the ability to slot it into a busy schedule were all pluses for me.
For those just starting on their fitness journey, the Meta Quest 3 is surprisingly good at guiding your technique. During my HIIT class, I was encouraged to throw punches with my arms at various heights, and I had to squat lower than I likely would have done in a dark studio setting where the instructor has the distraction of 20 other class members. “Get low to watch your booty grow,” the trainer intones in the same kind of semi-inspirational way you’d expect in a Barry’s class. The avatar also shares tips on how to improve your performance.
You are scored on each round, so you get immediate feedback, which helped me to stay motivated. These are added to a leaderboard with the other tracksuit-clad avatars in the class — a feature guaranteed to fire up fellow competitive types (whoever you are Leslie, I’m coming for your crown). I burned 70 calories in 11 minutes and definitely raised my heart rate, without a treadmill in sight.
Other highlights in the Fit XR app include Disney Disco Cardio and a boxing class with two-time gold Olympic champion Nicola Adams in avatar form, who walks you through the boxing fundamentals. Each session focuses on the basics with the first dedicated to mastering the jab/cross. Colour-coded balls fly forwards and you must hit them with the corresponding hand, switching your stance between rounds. The device measures the power of each punch and you get a score, something that’s not possible in an IRL class. You will, however, need to secure the controllers to your wrist — or risk launching them to the other side of the room.
Litesport is another exercise app on the Meta Quest 3 and provides a totally different experience. You are one-on-one with the instructor who is not an avatar, but seems lifelike and has been pre-recorded to feel interactive in the same way as in Peloton classes. You mirror the trainer's movements in front of you (and they really do feel like they’re right in front of you). You curtsy lunge or squat in time, so it’s great for ensuring you have the correct form. This also pushes you to go deeper into each movement with a virtual block heading towards you that you need to get low enough to avoid.
Boxing is where the app shines and there’s a virtual speed bag, battle ropes and a six-circle punching target to ensure you are in tempo and upping your heart rate more than a few beats per minute in the process. You can add equipment like weights but this is not essential.
The Verdict
Few to none compare to Barry’s. In my last class, I burned 573 calories and spent 10 minutes in my max heart rate zone. But it’s not perfect. Barry’s is expensive with a single class costing £25, and of course, you have to adhere to their schedule, which might not be convenient. What’s more, you need self-motivation to up the speed on the treadmill when you are told to, and the level of difficulty and soundtrack are dependent on the instructor.
The Meta Quest 3 is not cheap either at £459.99. Then you have the monthly app subscriptions which are around £6.99 a month or £69 a year each. Yet once this (admittedly painful) initial outlay is made, it’s a relatively small sum, especially when you break it down by session.
Where the Meta Quest 3 shines, however, is its sheer convenience. In five minutes, you can get a solid workout. I burned around 60-80 calories in this time. There is also immense versatility, from HIIT to boxing, Zumba to dance, all of which can be done in the comfort of your own home. The workouts themselves are so transportive that you don’t even feel like you’re in your living room, and you won’t disturb neighbours or housemates in the process, as you’re the only one who can hear it.
However, if you’re the kind of person who needs to have a class booked and the threat of a no-show fee to get you to the gym, it’s not going to work for you. It is worth mentioning also that wearing the VR headset for an extended period can give you a serious headache. This isn’t something that I have experienced while working out, but in a particularly long Assassin’s Creed gaming session that involved climbing – and sometimes falling – I started to feel vertigo.
But, crucially, Fit XR and Litesport are fun and make you want to keep going. You don’t feel like you are even exercising, unlike in a Barry’s class, which is mentally and physically challenging. I can’t wait for my next VR session.
Meta Quest 3
Best for: Joining the mind-blowing metaverse
No, not a PS5 and now an Xbox Series X, but rather the very latest entry point into the world of VR gaming, the Meta Quest 3; and what an entry point it is too as having been hands-on and head-in with the device, I can quite honestly and emphatically say that I’m a complete and utter convert.
Currently costing about the same as the console twins, what you get in the box is the headset with the standard pre-installed facial interface, 2x Touch Plus controllers and power gubbins, so all quite simple and straightforward. Then you download the Meta Quest app on your phone, install some apps, slip on the headset and slip seamlessly into the virtual world.
Using mixed reality, you can let the Quest 3 measure and map the movable space within the room or do it manually, then bring up the virtual control panel to select games, TV streaming channels or, well, all manner of marvellous things to get started. Naturally, I waded straight in with some battle royales.
Games cost anything from free to around £30 for heavy hitters like Resident Evil and The Walking Dead, or up to £45 for stunning new stuff like Asgard’s Wrath 2. All of which are – and I can’t stress this enough – utterly thrilling to play.
With an adjustable head-strap, it’s simple to find a comfortable fit, and the ergonomic controls are intuitive to use.
While I’ll never abandon console or PC play, the Meta Quest 3 has dazzled me and thoroughly turned my head with its truly immersive play, sucking me in with its irresistible succubus charms.
Finally, I should probably mention that, yes, you can do much more than just play games with the Meta Quest 3, with other equally amazing work and entertainment options available.
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