Workouts that feel like a game: do they help you keep going?

Most people do not stop exercising because it stopped working. They stop because it got boring. Workouts that feel like a game start from that problem: if moving is something you want to do, you will do it more often.

The research mostly agrees. Enjoying a workout while you are doing it is one of the better-supported reasons people keep exercising, and turning activity into a game does get people moving more in trials. The effect is modest and it fades after a program ends, so the trick is to pick a game you would play anyway.

Why fun matters more than willpower

A systematic review of 66 studies on motivation and exercise found a pattern. Valuing the result, such as better health, was more tied to getting started. What went with keeping it up was liking the activity itself. In the paper's wording, the review found "intrinsic motivation being more predictive of long-term exercise adherence".

Most of those studies observed people instead of running experiments, so read that as a link, not as proof of cause.

A second review of 24 studies looked at feelings. People who felt better during moderate exercise tended to be more active later. How they felt after the session showed no such link. The glow afterwards is nice, but what seems to count is whether the minutes themselves are pleasant.

What happens when exercise becomes a game

Researchers have tested this directly. A meta-analysis of 16 randomized trials found that adding game elements to activity programs made people more active than comparison groups. The authors describe "a small to medium summary effect". About 14 weeks after the programs ended the effect was still there, but weaker.

Older research on active video games, sometimes called exergames, asked a more basic question: is it even exercise? A meta-analysis found that playing them raised heart rate and energy use above resting, and concluded that such games "may facilitate light- to moderate-intensity physical activity promotion". That is somewhere between a stroll and a brisk walk, not boot camp. How hard it gets depends on the game and on you.

Two honest limits. These studies looked at console games, apps and step challenges, not at camera-based phone workouts. And none of them followed people for years.

What makes a workout feel like a game

Not prizes. A meta-analysis of 128 studies found that tangible rewards handed out for doing a task tended to undermine people's interest in the task itself, while positive feedback increased it. Hearing that you did something well does more than being paid to show up.

So the parts of a game worth keeping are the ones that tell you how you are doing.

• A clear goal for the next minute. Land this move on this beat
• Feedback right away. You know how the last rep went before the next one starts
• Short rounds. A round you can finish is a round you will start
• Visible progress. A score, a combo or a level that moves when you do
• An ending. Good games stop the round while you still want more

How to make exercise feel like a game at home

You do not need a console to try this. If you have searched for how to gamify your workout, most of the advice comes down to five steps.

1. Pick one thing to beat, and make it your own last result
2. Keep the round short enough that you cannot talk yourself out of it
3. Put on music with a clear beat and move on it
4. Count something you can watch go up, such as rounds finished this week
5. Stop while it is still fun, so tomorrow feels like an invitation

If you would rather not build that yourself, there are fitness games for adults that do it for you, on consoles and on phones. Fitness games without a console compares what each kind needs.

Where ShakeFit fits

ShakeFit is a rhythm workout game for the phone you already own. You stand the phone up, move to the track, and every rep that counts gets a grade word: PERFECT, GREAT, GOOD and COACH. A combo builds while your reps keep landing, and the result screen shows how the round went.

It comes in small pieces. There are 35 tracks across five genres (Aerobics, Power, Dance Pop, Boxing and Qigong), and each runs 1.5 to 4.5 minutes. It also knows when to stop. Replay a track with "One more" twice, and after that third round in a row the result screen suggests a break and stops offering "One more".

What we cannot tell you is that ShakeFit will make you exercise more. No study has tested that. The research above is about game-like exercise in general. What we can describe is what the app does, and how ShakeFit grades a rep covers the scoring in detail.

ShakeFit is entertainment and general fitness software, not a medical device. If you have a health condition or are new to exercise, talk to a doctor first, and stop if you feel pain or dizziness.

Questions people ask

Do workouts that feel like a game count as real exercise?

They can. A meta-analysis of active video games found they raise heart rate and energy use to light or moderate levels. What decides it is your effort, not the format. By the CDC's talk test, if you can talk but not sing while you play, you are at moderate intensity.

Is gamified fitness effective?

In randomized trials, adding game elements made people somewhat more active than comparison groups. The effect was small to medium during the programs and weaker a few months after they ended. So choose a game you would want to play anyway, not one you have to force.

What are fun workouts for people who hate exercise?

The ones built around something other than exercise: music, a score, a story or other people. Dancing, rhythm games, active video games and a walk with a podcast all count. Keep the first sessions short and easy enough to finish. US government health guidance says it in four words: "Choose activities you enjoy."

What are good fitness games for adults without a console?

Phone apps that use the camera or motion sensors, step and music challenges, and simple interval games with a timer all work without a console. ShakeFit is one option. It runs on a phone, needs no extra equipment and grades each rep that counts.

Sources

• Teixeira and colleagues, Exercise, physical activity, and self-determination theory: a systematic review, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2012
• Rhodes and Kates, Can the affective response to exercise predict future motives and physical activity behavior?, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2015
• Mazeas and colleagues, Evaluating the effectiveness of gamification on physical activity, Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2022
• Peng, Lin and Crouse, Is playing exergames really exercising?, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 2011
• Deci, Koestner and Ryan, A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation, Psychological Bulletin, 1999
• CDC, How to measure physical activity intensity
• US Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Get active