Whether you like to play games casually or competitively, it is important to always balance your gaming with a good exercise routine. More and more professional gamers are eating right and exercising along with there daily gaming routines. We all know the saying a “a healthy body leads to a healthy mind”, and in the world of gaming this is truer more than ever.
Not only should you exercise to help you mentally with your gaming, its something that can help you in your everyday life as well. You’ll feel more energized and ready to take on the day, it helps with relationships, and it also makes you feel better about yourself in general. Many professional gaming organizations are now hiring fitness trainers, professional cooks and are even putting out self training videos for there fans to help there players feel more energized and be able to concentrate better on there performances. A study from the German Sports University examined the physical and mental demands of professional gamers during competitions. The study found that eSports competitors are exposed to physical strains just like conventional athletes. Research also shows that exercise can improve cognitive function such as speed, attention, and flexibility.
Jake Middleton Founder of eSports Performance Lab and personal trainer did a study The Effects of Exercise Programming on Competitive Video Game Performance. He took a volunteer group of League of Legends players with varying skill levels and had them compete in a pre-trial tournament. After the tournament, he randomly assigned them to one of two groups –an exercise group and a “non-exercise” control group. The trial lasted four weeks, and he had the exercise group perform three workouts a week, while the control group stayed stationary. After the trial period, participants then competed in a post-trial tournament. The post-trial results proved his hunch: the active group of gamers outperformed the group that did not exercise and beat them by an acceptable margin.
Before I joined the army I really wanted to be a professional gamer. I worked towards that goal in my favorite game Counter Strike: Global Offensive. I would go through trends where I would want to go to the gym everyday and trends where I was a couch potato. The one thing I noticed when I was going to the gym was I was performing better in my games. I would hit the shots I need to and would have quicker reaction times. The times I wasn’t going to the gym, I slowed down and I couldn’t concentrate, an it made me feel awful.
But, lets get real for a second, 99.99% of us are not or will we ever be professional gamers. So you might ask “why does this matter for me? I’m not trying to win tourneys or spend all my time gaming.” It’s simple you should do it for yourself and other around you. Exercise helps fight common things that can be found in family genes or traits, such as heart disease or dementia. If you have kids, you can set a good example and show them that eating right and exercising properly is a good thing.
So whether you’re looking for that next winner winner chicken dinner in PUBG, looking to rank up in League of legends or Counter Strike, or you are just wanting to have fun shooting people in GTA V with some friends of yours. Remember that while its nice to escape for a while in the gaming world, you also need to remember to take care of yourself in the real world.
