How I Skyrocketed My Fitness Using Animal Crossing
Yep, you heard me right. Animal Crossing, a video game produced by one of the most beloved video game companies out there, Nintendo, helped me, a seasoned fitness enthusiast already, to skyrocket my fitness to the next level.
How?
Simple, they finally brought one of my favorite franchises of theirs, Animal Crossing to IOS and smartphones everywhere.
Now, something you need to understand about my personality, my approach to fitness in general, is that I am very much one of the "all or nothing" mindset. That's why I love lifting weights, going to and beyond failure, even to the point where people come up to me after grueling sets of squats to ask if I'm alright, genuine concern flooding their voices Not like I can blame them either, as I was close to passing out, or at the very least puking.
But we all have our flaws, our gaps that need filling, weaknesses that need addressing.
For me, for the longest time at least, that was my cardiovascular endurance. Emphasis on was.
For those who may be unfamiliar with the franchise, Animal Crossing is, and always has been, a relatively simple game, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, I'd argue that this is one of Nintendo's strong suits, being able to produce simple yet fun products so consistently.
Regardless, the game itself sets you up as the headmaster of some sort of campsite, giving you even your own, old-fashioned RV home to decorate/expand along with the campsite itself. You'll find yourselves fishing, collecting bugs, collecting shells, and just generally doing relaxing activities all in favor of doing your cute little animal friends favors (in exchange for crafting materials of course. Ain't no such thing as a free lunch, after all).
The point is, the game is just simple and relazing enough for me to want to play it (especially combined with the nostalgia factor of growing up with it); however, as an adult with more commitments than ever, and still having that burning desire, the "all or nothing" mindset", I was faced with a dilemma: how to enjoy Animal Crossing, one of the greatest stress relievers of my life,with the extremely limited time that comes with being an adult striving to live life to its fullest.
Then it came to me.
What else is tedious yet beneficial, albeit without the joy that Animal Crossing provides?
Cardio. Long-distance cardio, to be exact.
As it turns out, Animal Crossing, and undoubtedly many games like it on the smartphone market, are just simple enough to play while busting out an easy hour on the treadmill with a 12% incline, burning around 700 calories at my weight, and dramatically benefitting my health and well-being while boosting my cardiovascular endurance; for those of you who are unaware, cardiovascular endurance is something that I consider just as important to physical fitness as strength and anaerobic capacity, so this is actually quite the discovery here.
Maybe I'm a bit late to the party on this one, as I'm sure that plenty of people must have come across such a genius idea before I did, but regardless, the message is well worth spreading if it helps others like me to build themselves further, one step at a time (Hah!), and while enjoying it, too!
P.S. Don't mind any looks you might get from the "hardcore" members of your gym, as if you're following the rest of my advice, then you are far from the typical cardio bunny holding onto the raiils at an incline for dear life.
Also, please be careful. Seriously, I'm pretty uncoordinated and managed not to fall, but if life has taught me anything it's that there is always someone who will excel beyond you in just about any area of life, and that includes clumsiness.
I should probably put some kind of legal disclaimer here, but you know what? I'm a believer in freedom.
MURICA!
Comments
Post a Comment