In the age of video games, television, and the high tech world of computers and ipads; children (and parents) have resigned themselves to coming home, cooking dinner, then watching TV until it’s time for bed. The “active” child and parents have become a thing of the past. Pokemon Go Fitness could be changing that for the better. Families are taking to the streets, parks, and wilderness to hunt down these “make believe” characters that can be seen digitally through their phones.
How Pokemon Go Fitness Works
Finding new and different ways to perform your daily exercises can be fun, but it can also be a bit of a bore you can’t find things that motivate you. No one would have ever thought that Pokemon would help people exercise, yet Pokémon Go is providing plenty of people with an alternative to their usual fitness routines.
Pokémon Go fitness is really taking the world by storm. This is essentially a mobile game that requires you to – as always – catch all the characters, by actively walking, jogging or running outside. The game uses the GPS and camera on your phone. You can see Pokémon on the screen as if they were in the same real-world location as you. Your job is to capture, train and battle Pokémon while you’re also burning calories.
This has allowed more people and families to regularly exercise more than they normally did, getting in a good dose of cardio.
Spontaneity
There is mystery involved with this new Pokémon Go fitness phenomenon, wondering where the Pokémon are and which one you’ll discover next. This fun element will actually make the fitness component more enjoyable.
Setting Goals
You can feel accomplished while pursuing your Pokémon by marking each one you catch off the list. It actually compliments all the necessary components of a good exercise that you would need.
How To Begin Your Pokémon Go Fitness
You can begin your Pokémon Go fitness session by doing a proper warm-up, by jogging to a PokéStop that is a reasonable distance away. PokéStops are basically like pitstops that allow you to get items and other things. You can plan out a specific route and stock up on items at PokéStops along the way.
The basic format of a Pokémon GO interval training session looks like this:
- Warmup for 15 minutes. You can jog to your PokéStop-dense location for your warmup like I do, or start your warmup when you arrive if you had to travel to get there.
- Spin for items at a PokéStop to kick things off.
- Do your first interval of intense sprinting to the next PokéStop. If the next PokéStop is too close, go to the closest one that matches your planned intervals (more on that below). But don’t look at your phone and get distracted. In fact, enable power save mode in the Settings menu and run with your phone upside down in your hand to save battery, and keep yourself from getting distracted by Pidgeys.
- Rest and spin for items at the PokéStop.
- Do next interval.
- Repeat until complete, followed by a quick 10-minute cool down (source).
To finish, you can make your way back home and dedicate that time to catching more Pokémon or do a simple cool down.
Variety is the spice of life. Using a fun interactive app such as Pokemon is a great way to spend more time moving, and less time in sedentary positions. I am sure it’s just a matter of time before Pokemon Go Fitness before and after shots surfacing all over the web. Download the app for free for both apple and android. Do you think these little characters in a virtual world could help you move more? Comment below and tell us you thoughts and experiences!
Stephen
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