For many, the new year starts with the optimistic setting of resolutions to be healthier, happier, and hopefully fitter. But, in my experience, resolutions live and die in January, a month when the thought of slogging on a run in the rain, shivering on football fields, or cramming into a gym alongside other dripping, lycra-clad folk is enough to deter even the most motivated.
There are ways to stick to it, though, and one is by trying something new and surely more fun. That’s where PUMA and Meta Quest come in.
Meta Quest, Meta’s mixed reality headset previously known as Oculus, has teamed up with PUMA to create an immersive exercise experience free of crowds, contracts, and the aching cold. The partnership offers access to a wide range of workouts from HIIT to boxing and dancing, all to be experienced while wearing the Meta Quest 3. The third-edition mixed reality headset launched at the end of last year, and is currently one of the most affordable and widely available on the market.
To launch the collaboration, PUMA and Meta Quest have installed a series of “pods” — aka “the world’s smallest gyms” — in three locations around Berlin. These two-by-two square-meter pods offer enough space for you to work out comfortably, solo, as demonstrated in the campaign by Toronto Raptors player Dennis Schröder. Those curious to try it out can register for free for a 20-minute sweat of their choice here.
Joining classes online and working out from home skyrocketed in popularity during the pandemic and it's not hard to imagine a world in the near future where mixed-reality workouts are viable alternatives to IRL experiences. They allow you to work out from anywhere, in the smallest of places (which, given the eye-watering apartment prices in most cities, is a necessity), demonstrating that you don’t have to think big to work out hard.
Book your session in one of the world's smallest gyms with Meta Quest 3 x PUMA or buy the Meta Quest headset here.
