A few weeks ago, I broke my wrist (in a very stupid way, e-scooters are bad) and the prospect of an extended recovery period with extremely limited mobility in that arm was not really something I was looking forward to. In general, I am an extremely active person who primarily enjoys weight training and it is a key component of my mental well-being as well as my physical health. What I didn’t expect was to find relief through virtual boxing.
I’ve been using Supernatural on my Meta Quest 3 headphones since I got one at launch and found it surprisingly engaging even before my injury—despite my long-held view that no one wants to work out with a sweaty headset. It provides a good full-body workout with a cardio component that’s accessible to various skill and comfort levels, and the virtual elements make the whole thing much more engaging and much less likely to inspire boredom over time, compared to you’re just trying to shadowbox yourself.
Where it went from fun diversion to virtual salvation was after my injury. The fracture required surgery and the doctor predicted a total of about six weeks of recovery time before I could even consider putting any kind of significant stress on my wrist joint. That seemed like a lot of downtime for someone who relies on physical activity as a primary outlet for stress relief and, frankly, staying sane.
Because of the way my wrist injury was treated (surgery to place a plate, followed by an extended period of wearing a brace, but thankfully no permanent cast) I was able to hold a Quest controller while also doing all the hand movements required for a Supernatural boxing training (with the exception of turning my wrist inward for uppercuts, but that didn’t stop them from registering as hits).
Supernatural is also helping with my recovery as I build back range of motion and flexibility in my now healed wrist. I ditched the prop and put the revs back on the upper cuts, plus I went back to medium to low volume. It was also very rewarding to see my punch speed return to full over time as I gained confidence and my hand became healthier.
Meta’s Quest 3 was already turning me on to the value and appeal of consumer VR, due to its enhanced capabilities and seemingly more casual approach, thanks in part to its use of mixed reality. The injury made me realize at a very accelerated rate what the company saw in Supernatural in terms of lasting, sticky traction for home VR.
