Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank
I am finishing 2020 on a high note, come hell or high water! This year has been a horrible one for everyone. But, I’m not going to let it keep me down. So, I am returning to daily rounds of Virtual Smash on the Kinect. And, I am going to lose the last of my body fat.
I keep talking a big game, but I have very little follow-through. This never used to be the case, as I burned through more than 20 pounds in just over a month when I started.
I’m still working on getting back my give-a-shit.
What is Virtual Smash?
Virtual Smash is a mini-game in Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. You use your hands and feet to break bricks as quickly as possible to earn points. The more points you make, the more calories you burn.
It uses a cross-body pattern, and the bricks are worth more points if you smash them early. Otherwise, the point value begins to decrease.
You do this for 60 seconds at a time. When you strap on a pound or so to each hand, the workout is that much more grueling.
Out of all the games I play, it’s by far one of the most intense. Especially if you play it as hard as I do.
A New Case Study for Colorado Plays and Virtual Smash
What is driving my return to Virtual Smash is the case study I am doing for my other blog, Colorado Plays. That website is geared more towards gaming and gamifying fitness in general.
It just makes more sense to start putting the Xbox Kinect stuff on that site.
Anyway, the plan is to do a 6-week fitness plan using the Kinect as the focal point. I plan on doing a few other things through the next month and a half, but most calories will be burned playing various Kinect games.
I’m also following my Net 600 Calorie diet this time around. I know it works, as I’ve lost a lot of weight doing it. I just need to remind myself what I’m doing when I get late-night munchies.
But after the first day of playing Virtual Smash, I’ve realized a few key points for the next six weeks.
Not Going the Distance
In reality, it’s been about a year and a half since I put this much effort into playing Virtual Smash. And the overachiever I am decided to try it with one-pound weights.
Yeah, I can’t push as hard as I did 18 months ago!
Needless to say, I had to stop myself this morning after 13 rounds. I started to get light-headed, tingly, and vision was starting to grey out. This is what happens to me shortly before I pass out.
Don’t worry…I recognized the signs and stopped the game.
Still, in March of 2019, I was able to push 18 rounds with three pounds on each hand. It’s very disappointing that I let myself go so much. You don’t realize it until you try to do something you used to do.
Back, Thighs and Glutes are Sore
So, I’m no absolute slouch. After all, I’ve still lost 10 pounds since March of 2019. But, I haven’t really put in a lot of muscle work. It’s all been simply walking around and burning a few calories here and there through cardio workouts.
After my game of Virtual Smash, my back, thighs, and glutes are quite sore.
My back is sore from punching virtual bricks while wearing weights. And my thighs and glutes are sore from repetitive squatting to duck the flying bricks on the hard difficulty of the game.
But it’s that “haven’t worked out in a long time” type of sore.
Using Fewer Weights
All I could think after playing this morning is how I used to do more rounds than this while wearing more weight on each hand. I knew it’s been a while since I’ve played Virtual Smash, so I strapped on the new one-pound weights.
I’d probably be crying on the floor right now if I used three pounds.
What this tells me is that I have a long way to go. I’m not sure if I’ll be back to where I was in March of 2019 before the end of six weeks. But, I’m still going to try!
Got a Lot of Work to Do!
The key to being successful this time around is making sure I don’t push myself too hard. I have a tendency to go as hard as I can to the point of nearly passing out from hypoglycemia.
I have an issue with low blood sugar anyway. Intense physical activity exasperates the condition. Well, unless I plan for it, which I rarely do.
The hard part is remembering that: a) I’m getting older with each passing year, and b) I need to work back up to where I was.
Still, I’m fairly certain I can at least get back to where I was before 2020 ends. Perhaps even doing more.
That’s the plan, anyway.
Why I Love Virtual Smash
I have a lot of Kinect games. But Virtual Smash is often my go-to when I want an intense, physical workout. This is because of the movement involved.
In reality, it’s almost a full-body exercise, especially once you get to the hard level.
It’s also a game that keeps my attention as I constantly strive to break my high scores. And that’s a key point to any exercise. Find something that can hold your attention longer than a week.
Some people love to run, I love to strap on a bunch of weights and smash imaginary bricks. As long as you enjoy the workout, who’s to say you’re doing it wrong?
Excited for the Study!
I’m really looking forward to seeing the end results of this particular study. In the grand scheme of things, six weeks really isn’t all that long.
Statistically speaking, I should lose at least 21 pounds. At that rate, I’ll be within striking distance of 200! And that is kind of exciting for me. I’ve never seen myself as an adult at 200 pounds.
It’s been a long time coming, but I feel I can do it this time with Virtual Smash.
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