I think I may be on to something here. I'm absolutely positive it's been done before, but I just want to share it to garner some opinions.
Well, I've played sports my entire life, and all throughout high school, I played volleyball. It wasn't until my senior year, though, that I changed my diet and dropped 50 pounds (from 250 to 200, I'm 6'7"). I played volleyball for my college my freshman year too, and throughout that year I pushed myself in the weight room and dramatically increased my bench, pull-ups, squat... everything. Best shape of my life.
Ironic that it'd be then, though, because the high level of competition caught up to me and I was no longer good enough to have a spot on my team and was cut. Since sports were the only way I ever kept in shape, and I knew I'd never be motivated to work out on my own, I got scared I'd drop in strength and gain a ton of weight back.
So, after thinking of some ways to motivate myself, I thought of turning working out into a grind, like earning experience in RPGs, then it hit me. I could make working out into an RPG.
Basically, I have three experience bars: Cardio, Upper Body, and Abs (I don't like lifting legs at all, really, so I left those out) and started Level 1 in each. Each has their own "to next level" requirement (cardio was 70xp, upper body was 100xp, etc), and certain tasks gained experience: going for a run was 10xp, lifting upper body at home (push-ups, pull-ups) was 20xp, while lifting upper body at the gym was 40xp, and my ab workout circuit gave 10xp as well. Working out every day (alternating abs and upper body of course, to leave time for muscle growth) ensured I'd gain exp in something and work towards a level up.
Later, I added challenges (like quests or missions) to the mix, like: "Finish Cardio circuit in under 15 minutes: +15xp to Cardio" and whatnot, to motivate for an extra push (I actually finished that challenge, it was an incredible workout, that circuit usually takes 25 minutes). To top it off, I added anti-experience to keep my eating in check: both snacking and adding an extra meal give -5xp to each bar.
Like I said, I'm sure it's been done, but I haven't heard of it and it's really been keeping my health in check. Maybe other people can give this a try, or people can post challenge ideas to keep the list fresh with new ways to push limits. I think it'd be a really fun thing to do.
Well, I've played sports my entire life, and all throughout high school, I played volleyball. It wasn't until my senior year, though, that I changed my diet and dropped 50 pounds (from 250 to 200, I'm 6'7"). I played volleyball for my college my freshman year too, and throughout that year I pushed myself in the weight room and dramatically increased my bench, pull-ups, squat... everything. Best shape of my life.
Ironic that it'd be then, though, because the high level of competition caught up to me and I was no longer good enough to have a spot on my team and was cut. Since sports were the only way I ever kept in shape, and I knew I'd never be motivated to work out on my own, I got scared I'd drop in strength and gain a ton of weight back.
So, after thinking of some ways to motivate myself, I thought of turning working out into a grind, like earning experience in RPGs, then it hit me. I could make working out into an RPG.
Basically, I have three experience bars: Cardio, Upper Body, and Abs (I don't like lifting legs at all, really, so I left those out) and started Level 1 in each. Each has their own "to next level" requirement (cardio was 70xp, upper body was 100xp, etc), and certain tasks gained experience: going for a run was 10xp, lifting upper body at home (push-ups, pull-ups) was 20xp, while lifting upper body at the gym was 40xp, and my ab workout circuit gave 10xp as well. Working out every day (alternating abs and upper body of course, to leave time for muscle growth) ensured I'd gain exp in something and work towards a level up.
Later, I added challenges (like quests or missions) to the mix, like: "Finish Cardio circuit in under 15 minutes: +15xp to Cardio" and whatnot, to motivate for an extra push (I actually finished that challenge, it was an incredible workout, that circuit usually takes 25 minutes). To top it off, I added anti-experience to keep my eating in check: both snacking and adding an extra meal give -5xp to each bar.
Like I said, I'm sure it's been done, but I haven't heard of it and it's really been keeping my health in check. Maybe other people can give this a try, or people can post challenge ideas to keep the list fresh with new ways to push limits. I think it'd be a really fun thing to do.
