Here at VR Fitness Insider, we are no stranger to the fact that VR, if used correctly and specifically for such, can afford you an awesome workout, but did you know that music can improve anaerobic and aerobic endurance performance? It’s true, according to a 2010 study music can cause “higher-than-expected levels of endurance, power, productivity, or strength.” (2010) Which means listening to music while working out could cause you to go harder (better, faster, stronger…) and for longer. Now, just imagine if we could somehow combine the two.

Oh, wait, VR rhythm games are totally a thing that does exactly this! Not only that, but recently one of the largest Beat Saber communities on the internet, the BSMG—Beat Saber Modding Group—teamed up with YUR—a team turning any VR game into exercise.—as well as 15 popular community mappers to bring you the ultimate workout song pack: Workout With Fantastic Flow Vol. 1.

An Inspiring Collaboration

The idea came about after the massive Discord based community decided to host a contest in order to celebrate reaching two hundred thousand users. To enter, members just had to share their personal stories of how the BSMG impacted their lives. One theme in the responses quickly overwhelmed all others: health and fitness. “One of the top things people talked about in the 200k contest was how the BSMG has impacted their health through fitness,” Elliott, co-founder of the BSMG and founder of bsaber.com explained.

As a result, the team decided to double down and celebrate fitness in VR all month long, reaching out to mappers, modders, players, and YUR to combine forces. The resulting map pack is a great mix of mapping styles and music types, with each level focusing on exaggerated arm movements and utilizing more walls than usual in order to make the player squat, jump, reach, bounce, dance, and sweat along to the beat. After personally playing through it and having some of the top Beat Saber players try it out, it’s safe to say there are maps in this pack that get even veteran players out of breath. Check out the playlist here.

Do More with YUR Integration

With the added YUR support you can track your workouts, watch your progress, and even compete and compare with your friends. Getting YUR to work in Beat Saber is easy, just follow the steps below.

Download and install ModAssistant. Install the YUR.fit mod in the mod section. Make an account under the mod section. (while in VR) Make sure to set your stats to get accurate calorie burn! (while in VR) Enjoy losing weight with games!

If you’re on Quest, check out the YUR Wiki for instructions.

The YUR Discord is also a super helpful place for advice, troubleshooting, and calorie burning leaderboards!

Also, be sure to check out the Beat Saber Modding Group Discord for help with all your Beat Saber modding needs.

Sources:

Karageorghis, C. I., Priest, D. L., Williams, L. S., Hirani, R. M., Lannon, K. M., & Bates, B. J. (2010). Ergogenic and psychological effects of synchronous music during circuit-type exercise. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11(6), 551-559.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2010.06.004