Supposed to 'target the chest' but cheating with the whole body. The minimal setup for a 40-something to despair at the diet game and keep going anyway

*This article is based on the experiences of a 40-something programmer who once dropped from 120kg to 65kg and currently maintains the 70kg range, organized with research into exercise physiology and behavioral science. This is not a medical article. If you experience severe pain, swelling, numbness, or shortness of breath, stop immediately and consult a doctor.

When I first heard the concept of a diet game, I thought, 'It's a genius invention.'

Lose weight.
Have fun.
No need to leave the house.

...or so you'd think.

I bought Ring Fit and Wii Fit.
I started them up.
They were much tougher than I thought.

And, naturally, I got bored.

Why is it tough, why do I get bored, and how should I use it to keep going?

This is a record of my own trial and error.

I bought Ring Fit. The reason is shallow by national average standards

The reason is simple.

'If it's a game, I'll be able to enjoy it.'

That's it.

That naive path that all of humanity walks at least once.

And so, after starting it up for the first few days, you really do think it.

This thing... is surprisingly tough.

No, not surprisingly.

It's just plain tough.

At first, you start with a face like, 'It's for beginners, right?'
But, you gradually realize.

Even though it looks bright and pop,

the content is quite intense.

Ring Fit is especially like that.

The screen is bright.
The enemies are kind of pop.
The world is an adventure.

But my thighs and lungs are basically in emergency maintenance mode.

Ring Fit isn't just 'a little bit of strength training.' It's a different genre of exhaustion.

Gym weight training tends to be like this:

Repeatedly applying high load for short bursts and then resting.

On the other hand, Ring Fit-style games tend to be:

Doing moderate loads for a long time, many times, with little rest.

What's required isn't just 'maximum single-rep strength.'

Muscular endurance
Cardiovascular stamina
Form that doesn't break down

The capacity to keep moving in sync with the screen's instructions.

It's everything.

No wonder it's exhausting.

'I've dabbled in strength training, so Ring Fit should be a breeze.'

Most people fall off after the mid-game with that mindset.

Being able to do a few bench presses and repeatedly doing moderate loads to match a game are, more than you'd think, different sports.

The gains in the early stages of strength training aren't because your muscles suddenly got bigger, but are largely considered to be due to nervous system adaptation, where you 'get better at exerting force.'

But the 'ability to keep repeating without breaking form' is a different story.

I was the same way.

The case where it's supposed to 'target the chest,' but for some reason, the whole body joins in

When you're playing Ring Fit, this comes up, doesn't it?

'This targets this area!'

It's kind.
Very kind.

But in reality, this is what I'm like.

It's supposed to target my chest, but

my shoulders go up,
my neck pulls in,
my legs are bracing,
and my face looks terrible.

In the end, I'm somehow putting my whole body into it.

It's no longer a 'chest workout.'

My form has collapsed, and it's a movement where I'm just managing with my whole body.

This isn't about slacking off; actually, that's just how it is sometimes.

It is said that when you get tired, the coordination of your movements is disrupted, and the work easily shifts to other parts of your body.

So even if the screen says 'chest,' your actual body is prone to saying, 'I'll just manage with everything for now!'

When you reach your 40s, another problem gets added to this.

You don't have enough stamina, but you still have your pride.

My mind says, 'I want to target this,'
my body says, 'I want to survive.'

As a result, surviving wins over form.

And the next day, before my chest, some random place hurts.

It's a common occurrence.

Wii Fit is fun at first. But fun alone isn't enough to keep you going.

On Wii Fit, I used to do the rhythm boxing games.

They're fun when you first start.

It's a game,
I can move,
and it has that 'feeling of playing while exercising' vibe.

However, you gradually get bored.

Why?

Because it doesn't feel like I'm improving.

Plus, I'm bad at rhythm games.

A fatal blow.

The timing is off,
I fail,
I fail again,
sometimes I get it right,
but I can't replicate it.

With strength training, it's easy to see clear progress, like increasing the weight or the number of reps.

But with rhythm-based games, especially in a genre I'm bad at, my brain starts saying this:

'What do I have to achieve to win in this game?'

This is where my motivation drops.

Why do we get bored of diet games? 3 reasons and solutions

Exercising through games isn't bad in itself.

Research has shown that gamification tends to increase physical activity. However, it's also said that the effect of novelty tends to wear off in about three months.

'Easy to start'and'easy to continue'are different issues.

What people who keep it up have in common is:

a sense of growth,
a sense of self-management,
and a sense that it's just a little bit fun.

Apparently, it's these three things.

When you get bored, it's usually because one of these has disappeared.

Reason 1: Making weight the only result

I worked hard at the game today.
Yet the scale will likely remain silent tomorrow, too.

Naturally, my brain says:

Isn't the feedback too slow?

Weight is important.
But if you use it as your daily measure of progress, it's just too slow.

→ Adjustment: Make 'number of times launched this week' or 'number of times I didn't quit halfway' your achievement. Replace the feedback with a number that moves faster than your weight. For me, the number of times I launched the game worked better as an indicator for ease of consistency.

Reason 2: Being measured on your weak points

Showing only the combo count to someone who is bad at rhythm games.

This is the same as having a test for a subject you're bad at returned to you every single day.

It's bound to be exhausting.

→ Adjustment: Make 'one fewer mistake than last time' your own achievement indicator. Instead of the game's evaluation, set a separate standard where you can win.

Reason 3: You can't choose for yourself

Doing exactly the menu the game tells you to do every time.

If you keep doing this, you start to feel like you're being forced to do it.

Just mixing in days where I can choose the stage or song myself changed things significantly.

It is said that having 'a little bit of choice' tends to make things easier to continue.

→ Adjustment: Create a day once a week where you choose the menu yourself. Also, create days where you don't do the full routine and count 'finishing one stage' as an achievement.

It's not a matter of willpower.

It's a matter of method.

When it comes to dieting, rather than trying to change to a perfect method all at once, it's more successful to eliminate the causes of why you can't continue one by one.

I was able to lose weight from 120kg to 65kg not because I made a perfect plan. It's because every time I found a part that wasn't working, I kept fixing it little by little.

The pride of someone in their 40s adamantly refuses the choice to "lower the difficulty"

I don't want to lower the difficulty.

When you hit your 40s, that starts to look like

the "button to officially acknowledge aging"

to me.

I don't want to press it.

But I understand now.
Lowering the difficulty isn't the answer.

Shortening the time per session is the answer.

Keep the difficulty the same.
Just shorten the time.

Instead of planning for 20 minutes, finish in 8.
Instead of planning for 3 stages, cut it off at 1.
Create days where just turning it on counts as a win.

You can protect your pride.
And you're less likely to get injured, too.

Take it from someone whose wife told him, "Lately, your body shape looks like a Lego figure," so please believe me.

The minimal setup that's easy for people in their 40s to replicate (it's modest)

Day Content Time

Mon Ring Fit 10-15 min
Wed Bodyweight training (squats, push-ups) 10-15 min
Fri Wii Fit or boxing-style 15 min
Sat Walking 30-40 min

This is fine.

No, this is better.

"Isn't anything less than 15 minutes per session a loss?"

I used to think that.

But after keeping it up, I realized that rather than the time per session,

For me, tracking how many times I moved per week worked better as a metric

that is what I mean.

You don't need a flashy approach.
The game is enough just to serve as a trigger to ensure you don't have a zero-activity week.

I'll leave behind the things that helped me keep going.

Yoga mat (thick)
The floor feels softer, and I stopped worrying about my knees. In your 40s, you'll break due to environmental discomfort before you lose motivation. This alone significantly changed how much of a chore it felt to start.

Smartwatch (with heart rate monitor)
Once 'feeling exhausted' became a number, it became easier to decide when to call it a day.

Knee support
I use it as an aid on days when my knees are bothering me.

Reference: Physiological load measurement study of Ring Fit Adventure (targeting young adults), reviews on gamification and physical activity, studies on long-term use and continuity of activity trackers, WHO Physical Activity Guidelines 2020 edition

Games are not a panacea. But they are quite powerful as a continuity aid for people in their 40s.

Ring Fit and Wii Fit are not bad.

What was bad was my own thinking that 'it's a game, so I'll lose weight easily.'

It looks fun, and the hurdle to start is low.
But it has a different kind of difficulty than a gym, and if you get the way you continue wrong, you'll just get bored.

So, don't make the game carry the whole burden.

Reduce the hassle of starting up.
Change the criteria to something you can feel progress with.
Instead of difficulty, shorten the time per session.

This is probably the most realistic way to win in your 40s.

If you are doing 'chest training' while your form falls apart and you're compensating with your whole body, you're probably a comrade of mine.

If there's anyone else like me, please let me know with a like.

It will save my pride a little bit.

▼ Summary of the 125kg to 65kg journey

▼ Summary of Gout