Free VR fitness app VRWorkout is one of the most intense experiences on Oculus Quest, though you’ll need plenty of space to give it a try.
VRWorkout is available for free on the 3rd party store SideQuest. That means it hasn’t gone through Facebook’s policy checks around safety. You’ll be jumping up and down, getting down to the ground and running on the spot. Given that Quest essentially blindfolds you to the real world, take caution if you’re going to try this one out.
Of course, there are plenty of fitness-focused apps on Quest now, many with high production values and great songs to workout to. What makes VRWorkout so special besides being free? Simple: it uses Quests experimental hand-tracking feature. That means no more controllers and, as a result, a much more draining workout.
So, yes, there’s a Beat Saber-like segment in which you punch different orbs, but it also frees your hands up to be used for push-ups and crunches. Quick-fire jumps and, frankly, a cruel amount of squats round off a demanding play session. In fact, VRWorkout gets your whole body working in ways other apps don’t. You’ll just have to excuse the rather crude presentation, not that it’s any different to other SideQuest fare.
The way VRWorkout works is to change up the type of exercise it’s asking of you, then track your hands and head to make sure you’re actually doing them. For crunches, for example, alternating heights for head and hand markers are timed to make sure you’re doing the proper motions, and the same goes for push ups and jumps.
You can tackle sessions either by individual songs or, more efficiently, choose a length of time to play for to a set difficulty. This is what a lot of VR apps miss; the break between songs/levels can often be too long. VRWorkout gives you a proper endurance test for the right amount of time you want to work out to.
Of course, hand-tracking on Quest isn’t perfect and it can miss some markers, but that’s not really the point if you’re still doing the motions. This is all about giving it your all and trying as hard as you can; win or lose you’ll still feel the benefits.
Basically any other VR workout app on the official Oculus Quest store doesn’t provide this range of workouts and for good reason; it’s potentially dangerous. But, as a result, VRWorkout pushes you more than anything else I’ve played in VR, including the recently-launched, $20-a-month Supernatural.
