We know that going to the gym is recommended, going for a run or training at home for a few minutes a day. But we don’t always do it, although to propose it is usually the usual tonic year after year. Therefore, some companies have launched video games to lose weight or burn calories that pretend that we put aside sedentary life so that we jump, dance or box in front of the screen.
Most of the best games to burn calories are from Nintendo consoles. Basically because the console allows total movement more than others of the competition. Beyond highly recommended video game options to lose weight on Nintendo Switch, you can still find some models of old consoles such as Wii or Wii U if you have them at home and want to give it a new use. You can buy them on Amazon or download them from the Nintendo store .
They will not work miracles, you will not lose weight or get fit in two weeks just because you play these video games but they can be a complement to your training sessions or for active rest days or for people who are not accustomed and want to start with something light.
Do they really work?
You may have seen them on the Internet, in stores or even on YouTube reviews … But do they work? Some video games for burning calories or for sports do work . Although we had some options in the market for years, they have been improving to titles such as Ring Fit that allows us to make circuits of strength activities, for example. The key for them to work is to use them as a complement to training, good nutrition, good rest …
In January 2020, the user Migui Minaj went viral since he assured on Facebook that with 25 minutes of daily training to Ring Fit Adventure for Nintendo Switch and the proper diet he had managed to lose weight significantly in just 30 days and stop being overweight .
What advantages do they have?
The main advantage of video games for sports is that they are something fun and entertaining that we want to do for pleasure. It will not become an obligation but the physical exercise is gamified so that we have a good time but also to lift the ass of the sofa. Some of them will allow you to exercise with your friends, such as Just Dance or the Zumba versions, and you will not even realize that you are doing a good cardio session in your classroom. In addition, the main advantage is that you will not have to move from home or change your clothes or put on your shoes.
Another advantage is that nobody sees you, if you don’t want to go to the gym or you’re embarrassed to start in some sport. For example, if you love to dance but you don’t want to do it in front of many people until you are an expert… Or if you want to try what is it about Zumba that they offer in many collective classes. Or simply if you want to test yourself as a boxer before joining a gym.
What role do they play?
Video games to lose weight, to burn calories or play sports do not replace “real” physical activity such as going to the gym, doing weights at home or going jogging for cardio exercises. Yes they are a good option for the days in which we will be at home, we can not or do not want to leave and we do not want to spend the whole day sitting on the sofa leading a completely sedentary life without activity. Half an hour or an hour of some of these video games to lose weight or burn calories will help us improve our ability to exercise, our resistance or even improve our mood or mood even if we don’t feel like leaving home. It will always be better to take advantage of them than to be still on the couch because of the laziness of not going out to the gym.
Another of the functions they fulfill is to bring the sport to people with a completely sedentary life, gamifying it and making it attractive. As is logical and as we have said, these titles for sports do not replace training in the gym or at home but they are an option for all those people who do not perform any type of physical exercise. It can be a good option to start, to improve resistance, to lose fat or simply to move.
Games to burn calories
Zumba Burn it up!
If you want to try Zumba, the Zumba Burn It Up! Nintendo Switch was launched in late 2019 and is one of the best video games to burn calories. It has more than thirty songs available with hits by J Balvin or Bad Bunny and you can choose the different routines, the intensity of the exercise session or even the instructor that will give you the virtual class. One of the advantages of this game is that up to four players can play simultaneously so you can share the sessions.
As you can see in the videos, it consists in following the exercises, the choreography and the music. Movements and complete sessions of movement with which you will say goodbye to sedentary life by moving your hips. In addition, you can get rewards for dancing and the game bets on real locations that will give you more credibility. You can choose from more than 30 classes adapted to your level of physical ability, you can have personal goals or share achievements. Zumba Burn it up! It is not the only zumba game you will find on the eShop and there are titles that you can buy for Wii or Wii U.
Ring Fit Adventure
If you are looking for a specific video game to play sports and have a Nintendo Switch, Ring Fit Adventure is the best. If it seemed impossible to sweat playing the console, it is the proof that it can and that it will cost you. It is a title focused specifically on training and on those days when we don’t feel like going to the gym. Training at home can become lazy or we don’t always have material at hand but Ring Fit Adventure gamifies it, it makes it fun and fast. But you will get in shape and you will have laces if you have never played sports. It is a graphic adventure in which the character will have to use his movements to overcome obstacles or kill villains. And, of course, these movements are what we will do with the peripheral included : a ring (Ring Con) similar to a Pilates ring and with pressure sensors to know how much we tighten.
With Ring Fit Adventure you will have to do squats, yoga poses or even you will have to jump for the character to do it on the screen. Beyond the adventure mode, there are also fun and short mini-games to exercise a particular musucle or even allows us to create a personalized exercise table. Another advantage of this game is that it is able to tell you how many calories you have burned, it shows you a warm-up before the exercises or it indicates some stretching once you finish the session. If you are looking for real sport without leaving home, an excellent option.
Just Dance 2020
Just Dance is one of the best video games to lose weight, a Ubisoft title available on all types of platforms and with which you can get in shape while dancing. It is a worldwide success with professional championships to dance their choreographies and that allows you to play with the console control or with the mobile phone if you are more comfortable. It allows you to play online with people from all over the world and has 40 hits of recent times but you also have the possibility to join Just Dance Inlimited for PS4, Xbox One, Stadia or Nintendo Switch with more than 500 songs available between which to dance and with choreographies divided by levels or categories.
Although the dance is fun in itself and you can play with your friends, the main advantage of Just Dance to be one of the best games to burn calories is its Sweat mode. The sweat mode allows us to do choreographies while we see on the screen, in real time, how many kilocalories we are losing. Unlike Ring Fit Adventure, Just Dance is committed to a cardio exercise and we can lose a good amount of calories in a dance time. Another of the main advantages is that it will not be an effort because you will be having fun dancing the great hits, from Baby Shark to Ariana Grande. In addition, there are all kinds of accessories for Nintendo Switch that will make it more comfortable to dance and have greater freedom of movement.
Fitness boxing
In Fitness Boxing we will hit jabs, crochets and all kinds of blows as if we were really on a ring. This is a training game for Nintendo Switch in which we will have to hit the music game and with well-known songs by Pitbull or Avril Lavigne. The workouts have different levels of difficulty and we will go from less to more, of course, although there is also the possibility of doing free training. Once you start one, you will have to take a series of strokes to collect rewards. It is a game similar to Just Dance but in which you will have to hit boxing and focused more on training than on fun.
Like others on this list, Fitness Boxing may not replace the complete training in a gym for some but it can be a perfect alternative for all those who just want to do some exercise and have fun , sweat or see how we improve as we play more hours thanks to the ability to save your progress and see how your punches are improving. Another advantage is that you will also see the approximate amount of calories burned.
Wii Fit
Wii Fit is a classic that has been in its Nintendo Wii version for more than ten years and more than five in the Wii U version. Still, you can still find them in stores, on Amazon or on Nintendo’s own eShop if you want to wear fit. Together with the Wii Balance Board , you will have to do a series of exercises and activities that you see on the television or gamepad screen. This is the first game (or one of the first) that sought to burn calories or help you improve fitness and you can do aerobics, yoga, balance, toning …
Wii Fit has always been one of the best video games to lose weight and exercise but it is clear that there are other more modern and complete, such as Ring Fit Adventure itself. But if you have a Wii or Wii U console at home and don’t want to change it, you can still find it and give it a chance not to get up and go to the gym.
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
If you have the Nintendo Wii U or the Xbox 360 (with Kinect sensor) at home, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 is another of the best video games to lose weight and one of the most complete. There are more than 200 sports movements and more than 125 different exercises from all areas: cardio, dance, relaxation … You can overcome challenges to the rhythm of music and you will have to jump, run, dance or even punch. In addition, you can compete against your friends to see who is the most athlete. The game will show you the approximate calories you have lost during the session and it is a very interesting option with which you will sweat for a long time.
Nike Kinect Training
For the owners of an Xbox 360 and with a Kinect sensor, the Nike + Kinect Training video game is one of the best options. It has exercise programs that seek to improve fitness or lose weight and lose fat. We can do sports without leaving home and there are two trainers on screen to help us do them. Every four weeks, the videogame makes an evaluation of the progress.
Nike + Kinect Training stopped having online support years ago but if you have an Xbox 360 you can enjoy the local advantages of the game and it is one of the best for the Microsoft console if you want to get in shape as soon as possible.
