How does playing games in a fitness class help you get results?

It's all about gamification!!

Gamification is becoming all the rage at the moment, certainly in business circles, and some suggest that if you're not a ‘alpha type’ go getter person, that gamifying your life can work wonders (1).

So what is gamification and why does it play a vital role in getting you faster results?

Gamification is defined as:

The application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity in order to encourage engagement with a product or service.

“gamification is exciting because it promises to make the hard stuff in life fun” (2)

If I could pull out one word from the definition it’s a small one. And it’s the one that underpins the whole point of gamification and why we use it…. FUN!!

Gamification is used to get people engaged in something when other more traditional avenues have failed. We all know that exercise, while it can be enjoyable, is something most of us need a little help and motivation with. What better way to stay motivated than to play physical games while you’re at class. This is after all why group classes are so popular - although most don't include this formal element in their programming.

But, there is a more considered and scientific element to all this.

Game play can trigger feelings of satisfaction, success and achievement. This triple whammy of endorphin realising activity is perhaps why Pokemon Go is so successful.

The source of these endorphins is dopamine - the brains 'feel good' chemical. And, it's addictive so it also makes us seek out more of these experiences in order to get our fix (3). We've been planning this motivating factor into our products for years and because science said it works we know it guarantees long term loyalty from customers too. I'm telling you how below!

Dopamine, which is often associated strictly with pleasure, has a much more complex role in the body. Research by Dr. John Salamone showed that dopamine’s role is multi-faceted and includes not just pleasure but also motivation. (1)

3 examples of how gamification is used to develop fitness. Each uses a distraction method;

1. Virtual. When you're playing a game you're not really working out, right? Well, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Results of a study on cyclists using a video game as a distraction method during a performance test actually found they worked harder and had far more enjoyment that the test group with no distractions during their performance (4). Virtual cycling? "Game on", we say!

2. Challenge. Distraction also works well for Personal Trainers (to give the game away). How often, as a trainer, have you attempted to coach and sometime coax clients into doing an exercise like you demonstrated it? A simple tactic here would be to use a game to distract them. Example;

Your plan for todays PT session is to work on range (as we know this is controlled by the brain and not the muscles) at the hip. Try as you might to get a client to squat low, they still can't/won't do it. Try this;

Game: Lay out 5 kettle bells and 5 slam balls in the workout space. Challenge the client to go and touch each one with their bum as fast as they can. Repeat the challenge encouraging a faster time second time around.

3. Competition. We have seen countless examples of clients attending class that tell us "they can't run" or their "back hurts". Play a game of British bulldog and you watch them go. As soon as you include an element of chase or competitiveness to a client, the'll quick forget about 'not being able to run' or their back problem'. That's for certain.

If you're not thinking about the role of gamification in your fitness planning, then I'd encourage you to. Not only can you get more out of your clients through distraction, your clients will have more fun too. Fun, is one of the biggest reason clients attend a fitness class in the first instance, so go and make it so.

Next blog - how to create strong team bonds. And it's gonna mean some hard work...from the clients. Until then, bye!

Rich

Head of Research

Military Training Limited

1) Games and Your Brain: How to Use Gamification to Stop Procrastinating by Kevan Lee

2) gamification

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noun

noun: gamification 

3) Dopamine modulates effort-based decision making in rats.

Bardgett ME, Depenbrock M, Downs N, Points M, Green L.

Behav Neurosci. 2009 Apr;123(2):242-51. doi: 10.1037/a0014625.

PMID: 19331447 Free PMC Article

4) Interactive video game cycling leads to higher energy expenditure and is more enjoyable than conventional exercise in adults.

Monedero J, Lyons EJ, O’Gorman DJ.

PLoS One. 2015 Mar 4;10(3):e0118470. doi: 1