Cranky Fitness Tries the Holofit Virtual Reality App and Can't Shut Up About It

So I keep pestering all my friends about my favorite exercise addiction, the Holofit VR App, and they are getting awfully sick of hearing about it. Good thing I have a blog again!

(BTW, this is not a paid post. I got nothing for free. Those glory days of fitness blogging are all over for yours truly. In fact, the poor Holofit people don't even know about this. Imagine how thrilled they'll be to find out they've been endorsed by a geriatric blogger who often writes under  the name Crabby McSlacker!) But to fully disclose: I was so blown away by their exercise app that I purchased a lifetime membership. Which  even makes me a shareholder, yay! But technically: I have a miniscule financial interest here. But it is the least of many many reasons that I want them to be successful.

Here's the short version: Holofit is a virtual reality fitness app that can connect with an exercise bike, rower, or elliptical. It makes you feel like you are zipping through totally immersive three dimensional worlds, whether they be magical, urban, science-fictiony, mythical, or beautiful spots in nature. Sometimes all of those at once. (Note: two dimensional pictures do not do the graphics justice, they are detailed and amazing).

The harder you pedal or row or ellip (it should be a verb, right?), the faster you go. Plus, you can also use it solo, without equipment, just using the hand controlers. And speaking of hand controllers, you don't need them at all once you're in the app if you're on a machine, you just stare at stuff to interact with trophies, settings etc. I am holding them for demonstration purposes only.

So if you, like me, have a hard time getting your heart rate up by flailing your arms around playing Beat Saber, this app is a game changer.  You can work out as gently or as brutally as you care to. But if you don't have a machine, you can still pretend to run and duck and throw things with the hand controllers. 

And depending on what kind of equipment you have, you can see your heartrate projected in front of you, so you can speed up, slow down, or pass out accordingly. 

There are already fifteen or so worlds (she said, being too lazy to actually count them), and the Holodia people seem committed to bringing new ones onboard, updating features, and adding new details all the time.

 

You can simply  wander around exploring in Zen mode. Or you can gather trophies and gain points. You can go on "missions." Or train to your specific cardio goals. Or compete with AI generated competiors, real people, or yourself in previous sessions. You can even bonk donkeyheads in a virtual whack-a-mole game. (Don't ask. For mysterious reasons, donkeys figure heavily in the Holofit iconography). Plus there are leaderboards, daily and monthly challenges, an active Facebook community, and all kinds of silly special events that are weirdly motivating.

Is it raining/snowing/scorching hot outside? Is another wave of Covid hitting your local gym? Who cares? You're covered! Note: I am a huge fan of outdoor exercise, but I absolutely love having a convenient indoor option. Sure, snow is pretty, but the snow inside my headset is not even chilly, and I don't have to shovel it.

 

So, wanna know more about this whole Virtual Reality contraption that I'm so obsessed with? I've mentioned only good things so far, but what are the drawbacks?

Holofit Q & A

 

Is Virtual Reality Fitness Insanely Expensive?

Well you do need a VR headset.  The Meta Quest ones currently run between three and five hundred bucks, but you can probably find a used Quest 2 for cheaper, and I believe they still work fine. Plus, if you haven't entered the world of Virtual Reality yet, there are a million more games and apps you can check out. 

And the Holofit app isn't free. After a trial period, there's (currently) a $12 per month subscription fee for the app, or about $85 for a year. They often run specials to encourage annual or lifetime memberships.

A bike or rower with built in bluetooth is a nice feature, in order to better measure how hard you are working and not just how fast you are moving. But any rower will work, as will any exercise bike or elliptical if you buy a bluetoooth cadence monitor. (I think these run about $30-$40.)   

So bottom line: yeah, if you're starting from scratch, it's a luxury fitness purchase, like a gym membership. But if you already have a rower, bike or elliptical, or if you have a VR headset, you're already well on your way. And Holofit lets you have more than one profile, so others in your household can play with it too.

 

Is Wearing a VR Headset While Exercising Uncomfortable and/or Barfy?

The headset takes a time or two to get used to, but I barely notice it anymore. Many (like me) have found that searching out a compatible aftermarket contraption for a more balanced fit is worth a few more dollars. 

And as to nausea, it's funny because in real life, I'm the sort who's so seasick-prone I need dramamine to step across a mud puddle, while my wife can calmly read while aboard wildly pitching ferries, watching sympathetically as I sprint to the railing with barf back in hand. Yet I have no queasiness at all in VR! And she finds it a little more unsettling.

In general, most people are fine in Holofit, because it's (unfortunately, in my opinion) not very roller-coastery. But those who do encounter some initial motion sickness seem to find it resolves over time, working up from short exposure until the brain gets used to it. But no promises! Borrow some gear if you can if you think it might be an issue before plunking down hundreds for a headset that makes you want to hurl.

Do You Need to Be a Computer Engineer to Get All Set Up? 

No, I'm certainly not! There is a user manual and the Holofit people are very, almost weirdly helpful, in that they respond to emails and guide you through troubleshooting any problems you might have. Who does that in this day and age? And there is a Facebook community full of experienced users who are always eager to help the newbies. 

But that said... technology is technology. Anytime you have "bluetooth" anything, you can have connection trouble, and if you work out far away from your network router you can lose your wifi connection, and there are often glitches that happen when the Holofit folks update with new features. There have been some frustrating moments, honestly, although I've always been able to find a solution. When there is some sort of problem, it only highlights to me how addicted I've become to the VR immersion aspect. Staring at a cement wall in a basement while pedaling away seems a very poor alternative to, say, biking on Saturn or in Antarctica or alongside a desert canyon.

What Do I Like Most About Holofit?

I love that the Holofit folks keep adding new features, and new worlds! (And hint, hint holodia: aren't we about due for a new world soon?) Some of us have been at it for a few years now. The technology, especially now with the advent of AI, would seem to have almost limitless potential, and unlike a lot of popular products, the developers seem intent on keeping things as fresh as possible.

What Do I Like Least About Holofit? 

That's easy: that no one I've ever run across seems to have heard of it. Even when I read reviews of Virtual Reality Fitness Applications, it's rarely mentioned. I worry about its future. 

Let's just say their marketing leaves something to be desired. I understand their good intentions: they throw all their money into fixing little glitches and adding new features, with nothing, apparently, left over for letting people who might like the app know about it.  And so when Holodia runs low on money, they come to the Facebook page to try to scrounge up a few more investors, or lifetime members, or annual subscribers to keep going.

Yes, a Facebook page is the place you go to find the Holofit Community. Tells you a lot, right?

(And don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic group of people. In fact generous holodians posted the above images for me to put here because I'm too lazy to have ever learned how to take and export screen shots from inside the headset). 

But... Facebook. It's where us Olds hang out. Which is great, because we Olds are diggin it! But where's the rest of their media campaign? Where are the Youngs?

Youngs know technology, they aren't afraid of VR. And at least some of them must want to exercise.

Where are all the tech bros, the geek girls, the she-coders? Where are the fitfluencers, the gamers, the gym partnerships, the Peter Attia groupies who need to get their Zone 2 in? 

And come to think of it, where is the rest of the world? The product seems heavily marketed to U.S. and other western nations, so much so that when they put up seasonal decorations they put Christmas decorations all over ancient Babylon, Japan, etc.  You can't tell me their aren't Asian countries where people are interested in gaming their fitness?

It's just frustrating because I feel like Holofit should be the new Peloton, featured in all kinds of places. Especially since some of us introverts prefer fantasy worlds with no other live humans in them, let alone screaming instructors. (Says a woman who has never done Peloton in her life and knows nothing about it, but whatever).

I used to wish a billionaire would just buy the company up and pour a bunch of money into so it could fully realize its almost unlimited potential, but.... given billionaires these days, I'm not surea about that. What would the next new world be? 

Yeah, no.

Anyway, hang in there Holodia, I really do love your app.

Has anyone else discovered Holofit yet? Would any of you consider it? Do you have other gamey exercise options?  Any questions? Come brave the crappy blogger comment interface and say hi!