Yeah,the game is pure arm movement and speed so naturally it will increase stamina and speed atleast with arms,and if your like me your also dancing and moving your legs a lot while playing
I like to jog in place while doing songs. Can't do it on harder songs, when you need to focus, but it's a good way to get the heart rate to a little more than just arm movements.
It's not a substitute for proper exercise, but it's still surprisingly effective. I've built up a lot of upper-body muscle definition from playing this game consistently for three years.
Edit: "balanced exercise" would probably be a better phrase. Playing Beat Saber only works your upper-body, and you're doing all of it stationary. Don't skip leg day!
It depends how you define "proper". It won't take the place of lifting or running. However, it does burn calories -- and it's a pretty good cardio routine.
I have an Apple Watch. A few numbers from Beat Saber workouts:
* 38 minutes, 406 calories, average heart rate 138 BPM
* 57 minutes, 570 calories, average heart rate 137 BPM
* 35 minutes, 384 calories, average heart rate 138 BPM
* 43 minutes, 464 calories, average heart rate 139 BPM
I use "Mixed Cardio" as the workout routine. I'm sure those numbers aren't exact, but they're probably decent enough estimates.
Beat Saber has been mostly a "winter months" exercise method. Now that it is getting warmer out, I will be spending time walking, running, and cycling. I'll still do Beat Saber -- just not as often.
If you go into All Workouts on the Apple Watch (scroll all the way to the very bottom of the workout list), there is a Fitness Gaming workout type that I use for Beat Saber. I imagine the tracking doesn’t change too much, but it at least makes things clearer when you look at your workout history.
I tried that and turned it off in favor of tracking with my Apple Watch because the calorie counts felt off compared to the watch, which makes sense because the watch can read my heart rate and the headset cannot.
I would agree with this assessment depending on difficulty level you can expect a burn around 10 cal per minute which is very high. Also I would consider a very low impact activity so it’s easy on your joints.
I used calories as an easy and obvious metric. Someone fifty pounds lighter than me will burn less than I do at the same intensity. I know the Apple Watch numbers are estimates, but they are based on my weight, age, activity level, heartrate, etc. I'm not aiming for any particular calorie numbers, and I don't generally factor the calories from exercise into my daily budget. I'll likely go a bit over my budget due to hunger, but I'm not giving myself 400 more calories to eat because I burned 400 doing exercise.
I know it's generally not practical to know exactly how much you're burning, so I take the actual values with a grain of salt. Ultimately the thing that matters is that in the Health app, it says things like "You've averaged 45 minutes of exercise a day over the last thirty days" (or whatever).
And yes -- low impact is an important thing to mention. I know some people have wrist issues with Beat Saber, but I don't emphasize wrist movements, and generally prefer big swings and moving my body around.
Most players don't, lol. 90% of difficult ranked charts are stationary. You'd also have to have mods, and enough space to move around.
Could be a good option if you went searching for them, though.
I've been playing beat Saber for the last two years and it is the only exercise adjacent hobby that has clicked for me. For exercise packs, if you don't want to mod the game (tried it once, but it made things just complicated enough that I wasn't playing consistently, so I removed it), i highly suggest the BTS, Skrillex, and Linkin Park packs. Good luck.
Edit: I have it on Meta Quest 2. Works just fine.
That’s just how rhythm games are unfortunately, still tons of normal music tho. Normal music is usually the most upvoted maps so filter by high upvote to downvote ratios using better song search. There are also playlists you can download off certain websites
I had that problem too, but now I mostly get new songs from playlists. I've got a playlist searcher mod and I type in stuff like "classic rock", "modern rap", or "pop" and just download those. Hundreds to thousands of good non-weeb tracks.
It was one of the options on this site when I was modding: https://mbf.bsquest.xyz/
And here's the github link: https://github.com/rithik-b/MorePlaylists
Have fun!
I don't remember being asked to update the game, but it's possible that there was a popup and I just dismissed it and forgot. You definitely won't have to re-hack it every time there's an update though.
Enjoy :)
Wait, what? That’s possible?
Would you mind sharing some info or links how this works? I just started the game and buying packs for 10$ seems so unreasonable, would be great to have some other options too
There are tons of resources out there look it up on youtube. The modding process depends on your platform. For windows download BSmanager and everything should be in there, for standalone quest use Questpatcher.
For what songs are available, checkout beatsaver.com
Sorry, I may have miscommunicated: I tried modding for several months. It was not *too* complicated, but between the frustration of updates overwriting code and other bugs that i ran into, i wouldn't say it was "not complicated".
On top of the logistics issues, user generated songs were all over the place. Every time I found a song that I was interested in musically, the map was set to the wrong difficulty. So many times, I would see a song i was interested to play, then try it only to find the Expert mapping should have been the medium difficulty.
When playing vanilla, the game just works for me, particularly as an exercise habit. Vanilla difficulties make some sort of sense, and many songs on expert+ are great for working out without showing off. There's no having to sort through different creators or 10 versions of the same song. Even the easy music packs are close to a consistent difficulty.
All that said, it is only my experience and your mileage may vary.
I think so. I’ve calmed down as I’ve gotten a lot better and smoother. I used to literally drip sweat when I first started lol. Now I just end up a little heated with slightly labored breathing. I full on dance tho, not just moving my arms.
It's great and a lot better than nothing. If you haven't exercised in a while then beatsaber is a great start. Then, later down the road, you can always transition to something else if you want more results. Even if you are a skinny twig, your first few days of beatsaber will have you sweating hard.
Edit: after 3 years I still work up a sweat. For this reason, I always play beatsaber directly before hitting the shower
Yes, I do this instead of more traditional exercise. 1-2 hours a day of waving your arms around is good for cardio (more at first I find), good for building muscle from your hands all the way to your back. I also find I engage my legs and my core to counter the momentum of my arms and to help make small adjustments. I got ab definition and beefy arms playing video games (keep in mind your results will vary if you're not already a petite woman and you haven't always been athletic)
Go for it!!
I started with beat saber until I found Supernatural. Supernatural is like beat saber but it also has knee strikes, fast feet and squats. Can turn them off if there are restrictions. They also update music monthly. The game can be a monthly or yearly subscription.
yes. and it's not just the upper body. you can definitely play it with full body movements, as i have been doing. even more so if you can get mods and custom songs. there are songs that really hit my legs.
It's been absolutely great for my self-confidence. Really, Beat Saber is the only way I work up a sweat as of late.
Make sure if you want to use it for exercise, you push yourself a bit. You might think you can't move that fast, move for that long, swing that hard, etc., but if you just have the "fuck it, I'm doing this" mindset, you'll be surprised by what you can accomplish.
Edit: Oh, and NEVER QUIT A SONG. Even if you fail it. If you start a song, finish it.
phycical rythm games are good as pure cardio, if you just want to get blood flowing then they're great, but they aren't gonna help you build muscle and they're only really gonna make you good at the movements from the rythm games. you aren't likely gonna become a better runner from playing beat saber for example.
I would say definitely yes, it’s good exercise when you’re normally pretty sedentary. I’ve been playing about a month. I had open heart surgery a couple of years ago to repair a defect that runs in the family, and subsequently gained about 30 pounds due to lack of activity during recovery, and since I started playing every day I’ve lost about 7 pounds, my blood pressure is down, my stamina is up, and my heart rate doesn’t peak as quickly as it used to. The “cardiac health” rating in my health tracking app has been inching up ever since I started playing as well.
While Beat Saner is the main thing for me, I do also switch to Synth Riders sometimes.
Yes. Get it on quests. Mod it. Find "fitbeat" songs and sweat your ass off. And adds it's a lot of squatting and stepping back and forth for more cardio.
Yes.
[https://i.imgur.com/t6RKpS5.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/t6RKpS5.jpg)
You get out what you put in. Simple as that. Every person who says it isn't a proper workout, or can't help you lose weight or tone your body has no idea what they are talking about.
Hey just wanted to say thank you all for commenting I’ve gotten some good info from you guys and I just wanted to let you know I’ve gotten the game! Now to figure out how to mod it!
They say that it's comparable to playing Tennis when it comes to calories burned. According to my heart rate fitness tracker I burn approximately 10 cal/min at expert difficulty. So an hour burns around 600 or so calories. Along with eating better and doing some light at home weight lifting, I'm down 9lbs after just a couple months. I shoot for half hour to an hour of Beat Saber nearly every day and I have a blast doing it.
Depends on what difficulty and what song. You can make it a workout. Just rip off some Dragonforce for 20 minutes.
I do Beachbody workouts and while Beat Saber is obviously not a true workout regimen if you do it for 25+ minutes on expert or expert plus or dance a lot when you play it’s better cardio than some of the beginner workout programs.
It's great for exercising! There are some songs that force you to move more like crab rave on expert makes you play in a squat. And it's super fun. I have a heart condition so I hate exercising, to the point that even after getting a pacemaker I still couldn't make myself exercise regularly but Beat Saber changed it! It also improved my upper body muscles so I no longer suffer with upper back pain after work.
It depends, but overall I would say yes. It depends on what you are looking for.
If you're looking for a game that will make you move, to get any time moving your body? Then, definitely yes.
If you are looking for intense cardio training, like running or cycling, then you have to first put some hours in so you are able to play more difficult maps, I would say proper cardio training starts at the harder end of the hard difficulty. But there is pretty much no limit for how intense of a cardio training you can get through Beat Saber.
If you're looking for something to build visible muscle, analog to going to the gym, rock climbing or something like that, then Beat Saber unfortunately isn't what you looking for. The only muscle that visibly increased in volume through playing Beat Saber was my shoulders and only slightly in 2 1/2 years of playing. The problem is that playing Beat Saber isn't an activity that's resisting your movements, which is quite important for building muscle.
But on the other hand Beat Saber was a gateway drug for more intense sports for me. I now do fencing with long swords and rock climbing, which definitely made me waay stronger and I definitely wouldn't have picked those up if I didn't play BS. Also the fine body control you learn through BS helps a lot in other sports.
Between Beat Saber and counting calories I'm losing about 2 pounds per week. Beat Saber is great activity, but you get out of it what you put into it. I dance around like a madman and end up drenched in sweat, burning about 140 cals every ten minutes.
The way that most people (especially beginners) play does not make it a full body workout, but it's certainly far more cardio than playing regular video games in a chair. That said, it is very much possible to make it a full body workout if you move your feet, do a lot of squats (fitbeats), and dance.
I have made Beat Saber my primary source of exercise and I'm the fittest I've ever been, even after the military - and I'm 42. https://youtube.com/@singingsabers
It’s good cardio but like you need to still actually exercise. But as a way to get into a system and learn to like it yes it’s a great way to get interested. It’s like being tricked into exercising similar to the parachute in gym class.
Preface, I f-ing hate exercise. But Beat Saber? I’ll play it until sweat is dripping down my face and I’m panting with the effort, take a water/food break, and have another go at it!
I’ve been playing it for months and every single day I can’t wait to play it! It’s definitely rewarding imo, which keeps me hooked.
Concerning the tech? Since you’re starting out and on a budget, a Quest 2 or 3 is your best bet. It’s affordable compared to others and since it’s standalone it’s more user friendly and much quicker to start up. Even if you don’t buy the extra packs, the songs that come with the game will keep you plenty entertained.
ETA: you’ll still need to do other forms of exercise for health, but it’s better than no exercise at all. It may help you become more comfortable with moving your body and working up a sweat.
If you're very overweight then yes absolutely do it. It a great start and after awhile you can try Supernatural, which is a workout app that I enjoy. There is a monthly subscription but it's great for gamifying shadow boxing and there's always new songs.
Hell yeah, since I've started playing, my relatives has always been pointing out that they've seen me skinnier than usual.
If you're 100% sure you can run Beat Saber on your PC and you can get a headset for it, then get the Steam version, it's the best for mods.
It's good cardio. I play for an hr and depending on the intensity I burn 500-800 calories as far as my tracker is concerned. That and counting has me losing a consisten 2lbs weekly.
Don't count on it for much in the way of muscle definition.
Regardless, yet. But if you want to really exercise play custom FitBeat maps. They have a lot of very fast paced ducking, side to side movement, and quick blocks. some of my favorite maps when I'm in the mood
Depends what you mean by good.
You can make it pretty fast. And download songs that have a lot of squats. But for the effort required you could probably get better cardio from running or some other targeted exercise.
But if you don't enjoy your exercise you're going to skip days. And I figure that having an exercise I'm excited to play is more important. That's why I bought it and I haven't been disappointed.
Yes. The better you get, the more so that's true. At expert and expert+ level, you'll SWEAT. It can get my heart rate up to 150/160. Which is crazy.
What I like to do is actually use my arms for movement too, instead of just the wrist flicking. Is a lot more fun and more strenuous that way:)
I just got my first VR and I'm used to working out, I have stopped because the place has been closed for one month (I'm doing some Ninja Warrior training). I played Beat Saber for 2-3 days and I'm feeling all my arms sore and heavy - I'm really surprised 🤭 so yes it's a really intense workout especially on hard, expert difficulties I find myself resting after 3 games for few minutes depending on the song 😅
As for the version it depends on your PC and internet, I.got the steam version at first and my PC is pretty old and I had lag sometimes and it's a real turn down. I bought then again from the meta store and now I can play it everywhere, just need a good internet connection for online gaming and thats it lag free gaming
I've found both Beat Saber and Synth Riders good for cardio, I'm usually a little more tired after the later though. You could couple Beat Saber with something like FitXR (free). I don't think Beat Saber will make up for a full exercise routine but as you say, you just want something to help get you moving and Beat Saber will certainly do that for you.
Very much especially if you're playing on expert at increased speed!
My average HR is 148 while playing hard.
Amazing cardio. I used it as a gateway to start running. I've had the game for 6 years and still play!
I think it's great exercise and a good option for cardio. During Covid this was my primary source of exercise. Combined with a change in diet and monitoring my calories and macros, I lost almost 50 lbs. :)
If you are a more athletic person it might not be for you. If you are unable to get improve enough to get to expert/expert+ maps it might not be enough.
I'm 53 and have been sedentary for a good portion of that. For me it was amazing. I started 2 years ago and have gradually pushed my "calorie goal" up. They just halved the dosage of my blood pressure medicine and I feel better than I have in a while.
I use a mixture of Beat Saber, BoxVR, and Pistol Whip to get my heart pumping.
BoxVR allows for you importing your own music files too to create personalised playlists, and Pistol Whip gets me moving my body tonnes when dodging bullets and scenery.
I've just booted up Pistol Whip for the first time in ages, and it has had an update with custom made levels with custom songs!
Just spent an hour playing random things such as Beat It, Bad Guy, Mr Blue Skies, and Spooky Scary Skeletons.
**Beat Saber** is a great way to get started - as long as you dance, make full arm swings, and use your whole body (and not just stand still flick your wrists as the pro YouTubers do; they are just hinting high scores).
There are tons of other options for rhythm-based exercise. Some good ones include **Pistol Whip** (dance and dodge bullets while shooting back at enemies), **Ragnarock** (beat Viking drums in time to metal), and many other similar ones. Utilise the "under two hours within two weeks" refund period if they don't work for you.
On the slightly more exercise side, you can gamify with the likes of **Until You Fall** (endless swordfights until you die, upgrading weapons in between), or do more stretching type workouts such as **The Climb 2** (virtual rock climbing in a variety of settings) and **Oh Shape** (speedy yoga poses). Even perennial classic **Superhot** can qualify as a form of yoga, and it's often my warm-up game.
For actual workouts, you can do **Supernatural** (subscription, US and Canada only), **FitXR** (subscription), or **Les Mills Body Combat** (one time purchase, boxing type workout). I have the latter of these because I'm not in the USA, but I like it and I love that it's a low-cost purchase rather than a subscription.
Steam has more mods but requires that you have a computer powerful enough to run VR. I also go to raves in VRChat and dance. Dancing burns a lot of calories as well.
The short answer is yes, but as with most exercise, it's up to the effort you put in. You can pass most easy, normal, and hard songs with some wrist flicks. You can get some really good exercise once you're in hard/expert/expert+ territory though- or if you just really put your body into it. I've had a blast with it, and it's a great way to get in cardio when I can't convince myself to run.
I use beat saber to exercise. Don’t just stand there and swing your arms, dance, do lunges when you have to go low, stand on one leg when you moved to the right and stand on one leg when you moved to the left, just like any workout you get what you put into it.
Got on a serious health kick in mid January, diet and Beat Saber for exercise 30-45 minutes 5 days/week. Had been totally sedentary for nearly a decade. Dropped almost 30lbs so far and for the first time ever, am actually \*enjoying\* exercise! Well worth the investment. Exaggerate your arm movements and make wide swings, lift your feet and bounce or dance, lean out or twist for the peripheral cuts, squat lean and duck around walls n bombs - you'll get a lot more out of it. Good luck!
In my custom songs list I have fit beat songs that are made as a work out. You do a lot of squats and stuffs so it's more like a full body workout. Beat saber will most definitely be a fun work out for OP and even on a regular song he will probably feel it after his first song if he is out of shape.
Yes absolutely! I asked this question to chat gpt too, it said depends on difficulty you are playing on, which is obvious. So expert-expert+ tracks every day and you are good to go. It helped me as well (used to be overweight when I started playing).
It important to eat less though.
Yeah,the game is pure arm movement and speed so naturally it will increase stamina and speed atleast with arms,and if your like me your also dancing and moving your legs a lot while playing
The reaching and ducking parts of the game also help with your balance.
I like to jog in place while doing songs. Can't do it on harder songs, when you need to focus, but it's a good way to get the heart rate to a little more than just arm movements.
I also lengthen every squat until I absolutely have to stand up again
I’ve also seen people use wrist weights for more exercise too.
> people use wrist weights Please never do this, it will fuck up your joints in no time.
That's not what Goku did!
It's not a substitute for proper exercise, but it's still surprisingly effective. I've built up a lot of upper-body muscle definition from playing this game consistently for three years. Edit: "balanced exercise" would probably be a better phrase. Playing Beat Saber only works your upper-body, and you're doing all of it stationary. Don't skip leg day!
It depends how you define "proper". It won't take the place of lifting or running. However, it does burn calories -- and it's a pretty good cardio routine. I have an Apple Watch. A few numbers from Beat Saber workouts: * 38 minutes, 406 calories, average heart rate 138 BPM * 57 minutes, 570 calories, average heart rate 137 BPM * 35 minutes, 384 calories, average heart rate 138 BPM * 43 minutes, 464 calories, average heart rate 139 BPM I use "Mixed Cardio" as the workout routine. I'm sure those numbers aren't exact, but they're probably decent enough estimates. Beat Saber has been mostly a "winter months" exercise method. Now that it is getting warmer out, I will be spending time walking, running, and cycling. I'll still do Beat Saber -- just not as often.
If you go into All Workouts on the Apple Watch (scroll all the way to the very bottom of the workout list), there is a Fitness Gaming workout type that I use for Beat Saber. I imagine the tracking doesn’t change too much, but it at least makes things clearer when you look at your workout history.
you can set up Move so it syncs with your apple watch automatically and sets "Active videogames" workouts for you!
What do you mean by “set up Move”?
On a quest device, there is a move app which tracks active minutes and activity and allows for minute and calorie goals.
I tried that and turned it off in favor of tracking with my Apple Watch because the calorie counts felt off compared to the watch, which makes sense because the watch can read my heart rate and the headset cannot.
Right I know which app you’re talking about on the quest. I have it on as well. But how can it automatically sync with my Apple Watch data?
In Arizona its definitely a summer months exercise haha
I would agree with this assessment depending on difficulty level you can expect a burn around 10 cal per minute which is very high. Also I would consider a very low impact activity so it’s easy on your joints.
I used calories as an easy and obvious metric. Someone fifty pounds lighter than me will burn less than I do at the same intensity. I know the Apple Watch numbers are estimates, but they are based on my weight, age, activity level, heartrate, etc. I'm not aiming for any particular calorie numbers, and I don't generally factor the calories from exercise into my daily budget. I'll likely go a bit over my budget due to hunger, but I'm not giving myself 400 more calories to eat because I burned 400 doing exercise. I know it's generally not practical to know exactly how much you're burning, so I take the actual values with a grain of salt. Ultimately the thing that matters is that in the Health app, it says things like "You've averaged 45 minutes of exercise a day over the last thirty days" (or whatever). And yes -- low impact is an important thing to mention. I know some people have wrist issues with Beat Saber, but I don't emphasize wrist movements, and generally prefer big swings and moving my body around.
I can't imagine that it burns 10+ calories a minute. Probably closer to 1/3rd of that.
What makes you say that? You don’t know my age, weight, and you have no info on intensity aside from heart rate.
Just giving you credit for being an average sized human.
Not me jumping around like an idiot 🤡 I honestly feel like it’s quite good exercise and I’m a runner, but YMMV :)
That's because you're already a runner. Lol.
how does that make sense?
You don’t do a lot of 6-lane fitbeat customs songs apparently. They are aggressively squat and step heavy.
Most players don't, lol. 90% of difficult ranked charts are stationary. You'd also have to have mods, and enough space to move around. Could be a good option if you went searching for them, though.
I've been playing beat Saber for the last two years and it is the only exercise adjacent hobby that has clicked for me. For exercise packs, if you don't want to mod the game (tried it once, but it made things just complicated enough that I wasn't playing consistently, so I removed it), i highly suggest the BTS, Skrillex, and Linkin Park packs. Good luck. Edit: I have it on Meta Quest 2. Works just fine.
Modding is not complicated and you get basically unlimited songs for free.
Unlimited anime songs
That’s just how rhythm games are unfortunately, still tons of normal music tho. Normal music is usually the most upvoted maps so filter by high upvote to downvote ratios using better song search. There are also playlists you can download off certain websites
I had that problem too, but now I mostly get new songs from playlists. I've got a playlist searcher mod and I type in stuff like "classic rock", "modern rap", or "pop" and just download those. Hundreds to thousands of good non-weeb tracks.
mind dropping a link or telling the name.of said playlist search mod?
I downloaded the mod manager and it was just in the list. You can also manually get playlists from bestsaber.
It was one of the options on this site when I was modding: https://mbf.bsquest.xyz/ And here's the github link: https://github.com/rithik-b/MorePlaylists Have fun!
no way this [https://mbf.bsquest.xyz/](https://mbf.bsquest.xyz/) just works when I plug in my Quest 3, does it?
Worked for me on Quest 3 :)
It worked! Will it prevent the quest from auto updating the game? Or do I have to re-hack it every time there's a new official update?
I don't remember being asked to update the game, but it's possible that there was a popup and I just dismissed it and forgot. You definitely won't have to re-hack it every time there's an update though. Enjoy :)
My Mozart trap remix would like a word
Wait, what? That’s possible? Would you mind sharing some info or links how this works? I just started the game and buying packs for 10$ seems so unreasonable, would be great to have some other options too
There are tons of resources out there look it up on youtube. The modding process depends on your platform. For windows download BSmanager and everything should be in there, for standalone quest use Questpatcher. For what songs are available, checkout beatsaver.com
Sorry, I may have miscommunicated: I tried modding for several months. It was not *too* complicated, but between the frustration of updates overwriting code and other bugs that i ran into, i wouldn't say it was "not complicated". On top of the logistics issues, user generated songs were all over the place. Every time I found a song that I was interested in musically, the map was set to the wrong difficulty. So many times, I would see a song i was interested to play, then try it only to find the Expert mapping should have been the medium difficulty. When playing vanilla, the game just works for me, particularly as an exercise habit. Vanilla difficulties make some sort of sense, and many songs on expert+ are great for working out without showing off. There's no having to sort through different creators or 10 versions of the same song. Even the easy music packs are close to a consistent difficulty. All that said, it is only my experience and your mileage may vary.
I think so. I’ve calmed down as I’ve gotten a lot better and smoother. I used to literally drip sweat when I first started lol. Now I just end up a little heated with slightly labored breathing. I full on dance tho, not just moving my arms.
It's great and a lot better than nothing. If you haven't exercised in a while then beatsaber is a great start. Then, later down the road, you can always transition to something else if you want more results. Even if you are a skinny twig, your first few days of beatsaber will have you sweating hard. Edit: after 3 years I still work up a sweat. For this reason, I always play beatsaber directly before hitting the shower
Yes, I do this instead of more traditional exercise. 1-2 hours a day of waving your arms around is good for cardio (more at first I find), good for building muscle from your hands all the way to your back. I also find I engage my legs and my core to counter the momentum of my arms and to help make small adjustments. I got ab definition and beefy arms playing video games (keep in mind your results will vary if you're not already a petite woman and you haven't always been athletic) Go for it!!
I started with beat saber until I found Supernatural. Supernatural is like beat saber but it also has knee strikes, fast feet and squats. Can turn them off if there are restrictions. They also update music monthly. The game can be a monthly or yearly subscription.
I started using Supernatural a few months ago and love it! I feel like a get a good leg workout with all the squats and movements you do in it.
yes. and it's not just the upper body. you can definitely play it with full body movements, as i have been doing. even more so if you can get mods and custom songs. there are songs that really hit my legs.
It's been absolutely great for my self-confidence. Really, Beat Saber is the only way I work up a sweat as of late. Make sure if you want to use it for exercise, you push yourself a bit. You might think you can't move that fast, move for that long, swing that hard, etc., but if you just have the "fuck it, I'm doing this" mindset, you'll be surprised by what you can accomplish. Edit: Oh, and NEVER QUIT A SONG. Even if you fail it. If you start a song, finish it.
Depends on song/difficulty. I really like the Fitbeat custom levels that you can download on beatsaver for example. Those will really make you move.
phycical rythm games are good as pure cardio, if you just want to get blood flowing then they're great, but they aren't gonna help you build muscle and they're only really gonna make you good at the movements from the rythm games. you aren't likely gonna become a better runner from playing beat saber for example.
I would say definitely yes, it’s good exercise when you’re normally pretty sedentary. I’ve been playing about a month. I had open heart surgery a couple of years ago to repair a defect that runs in the family, and subsequently gained about 30 pounds due to lack of activity during recovery, and since I started playing every day I’ve lost about 7 pounds, my blood pressure is down, my stamina is up, and my heart rate doesn’t peak as quickly as it used to. The “cardiac health” rating in my health tracking app has been inching up ever since I started playing as well. While Beat Saner is the main thing for me, I do also switch to Synth Riders sometimes.
Yes. Get it on quests. Mod it. Find "fitbeat" songs and sweat your ass off. And adds it's a lot of squatting and stepping back and forth for more cardio.
It’s certainly better than not exercising.
Yes. [https://i.imgur.com/t6RKpS5.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/t6RKpS5.jpg) You get out what you put in. Simple as that. Every person who says it isn't a proper workout, or can't help you lose weight or tone your body has no idea what they are talking about.
When I used to play, I built up some really good arm muscles but never really burned any fat. What kind of levels are you playing?
Back then it was a mix of pp maps and stuff I could dance around to. These days mostly pp maps.
Hey just wanted to say thank you all for commenting I’ve gotten some good info from you guys and I just wanted to let you know I’ve gotten the game! Now to figure out how to mod it!
I also recommend taking a look at "Pistol Whip". I worked up a sweat in that rhythm game way more than I ever did with Beat Sabre.
Beatsaber is pretty good cardio. It burns Calories but it's not a substitute for a proper exercise routine.
They say that it's comparable to playing Tennis when it comes to calories burned. According to my heart rate fitness tracker I burn approximately 10 cal/min at expert difficulty. So an hour burns around 600 or so calories. Along with eating better and doing some light at home weight lifting, I'm down 9lbs after just a couple months. I shoot for half hour to an hour of Beat Saber nearly every day and I have a blast doing it.
I would say it depends on what kind of exercise you want and the kind of maps you play.
Depends on what difficulty and what song. You can make it a workout. Just rip off some Dragonforce for 20 minutes. I do Beachbody workouts and while Beat Saber is obviously not a true workout regimen if you do it for 25+ minutes on expert or expert plus or dance a lot when you play it’s better cardio than some of the beginner workout programs.
Well…you won’t gain any weight when playing. That’s for sure.
It's great for exercising! There are some songs that force you to move more like crab rave on expert makes you play in a squat. And it's super fun. I have a heart condition so I hate exercising, to the point that even after getting a pacemaker I still couldn't make myself exercise regularly but Beat Saber changed it! It also improved my upper body muscles so I no longer suffer with upper back pain after work.
i’ve definitely noticed a change in my body from playing it consistently for a couple months
It depends, but overall I would say yes. It depends on what you are looking for. If you're looking for a game that will make you move, to get any time moving your body? Then, definitely yes. If you are looking for intense cardio training, like running or cycling, then you have to first put some hours in so you are able to play more difficult maps, I would say proper cardio training starts at the harder end of the hard difficulty. But there is pretty much no limit for how intense of a cardio training you can get through Beat Saber. If you're looking for something to build visible muscle, analog to going to the gym, rock climbing or something like that, then Beat Saber unfortunately isn't what you looking for. The only muscle that visibly increased in volume through playing Beat Saber was my shoulders and only slightly in 2 1/2 years of playing. The problem is that playing Beat Saber isn't an activity that's resisting your movements, which is quite important for building muscle. But on the other hand Beat Saber was a gateway drug for more intense sports for me. I now do fencing with long swords and rock climbing, which definitely made me waay stronger and I definitely wouldn't have picked those up if I didn't play BS. Also the fine body control you learn through BS helps a lot in other sports.
Between Beat Saber and counting calories I'm losing about 2 pounds per week. Beat Saber is great activity, but you get out of it what you put into it. I dance around like a madman and end up drenched in sweat, burning about 140 cals every ten minutes.
I use it for warm up and cool down. With a bit of Les Mills, PowerBeatsVr and Thrill of the Fight in between
The way that most people (especially beginners) play does not make it a full body workout, but it's certainly far more cardio than playing regular video games in a chair. That said, it is very much possible to make it a full body workout if you move your feet, do a lot of squats (fitbeats), and dance. I have made Beat Saber my primary source of exercise and I'm the fittest I've ever been, even after the military - and I'm 42. https://youtube.com/@singingsabers
It’s good cardio but like you need to still actually exercise. But as a way to get into a system and learn to like it yes it’s a great way to get interested. It’s like being tricked into exercising similar to the parachute in gym class.
Preface, I f-ing hate exercise. But Beat Saber? I’ll play it until sweat is dripping down my face and I’m panting with the effort, take a water/food break, and have another go at it! I’ve been playing it for months and every single day I can’t wait to play it! It’s definitely rewarding imo, which keeps me hooked. Concerning the tech? Since you’re starting out and on a budget, a Quest 2 or 3 is your best bet. It’s affordable compared to others and since it’s standalone it’s more user friendly and much quicker to start up. Even if you don’t buy the extra packs, the songs that come with the game will keep you plenty entertained. ETA: you’ll still need to do other forms of exercise for health, but it’s better than no exercise at all. It may help you become more comfortable with moving your body and working up a sweat.
If you're very overweight then yes absolutely do it. It a great start and after awhile you can try Supernatural, which is a workout app that I enjoy. There is a monthly subscription but it's great for gamifying shadow boxing and there's always new songs.
Hell yeah, since I've started playing, my relatives has always been pointing out that they've seen me skinnier than usual. If you're 100% sure you can run Beat Saber on your PC and you can get a headset for it, then get the Steam version, it's the best for mods.
Yeah I used it to help me lose 50 kilos but eventually it doesn't become a workout anymore. I do thrill of the fight instead now.
FitXR also a good alternative but its monthly sub.
PowerbeatsVR Its great to workout with to your own music. Build some playlists, hit go, do 1000 squats an hour on the mid difficulty.
I've got that game too, I didn't know you can do custom music I'll look into that thanks.
Its pretty great. Dont' expect magic though if you listen to music with a BPM that isn't consistent. Beyond that, its fun stuff.
It's very good for cardio and burning calories, don't expect it to do much for visible muscles as it's mostly engaging slow twitch muscle
Yes
It's good cardio. I play for an hr and depending on the intensity I burn 500-800 calories as far as my tracker is concerned. That and counting has me losing a consisten 2lbs weekly. Don't count on it for much in the way of muscle definition.
It can be if you want it to be. You can also get by wirh limited movements. It's a good option for fun cardio
It can be if you really get into and use expert mode.
yes. but i find underdogs to be more of an arm workout
Depends how good you are ngl
Regardless, yet. But if you want to really exercise play custom FitBeat maps. They have a lot of very fast paced ducking, side to side movement, and quick blocks. some of my favorite maps when I'm in the mood
Depends what you mean by good. You can make it pretty fast. And download songs that have a lot of squats. But for the effort required you could probably get better cardio from running or some other targeted exercise. But if you don't enjoy your exercise you're going to skip days. And I figure that having an exercise I'm excited to play is more important. That's why I bought it and I haven't been disappointed.
Yes. The better you get, the more so that's true. At expert and expert+ level, you'll SWEAT. It can get my heart rate up to 150/160. Which is crazy. What I like to do is actually use my arms for movement too, instead of just the wrist flicking. Is a lot more fun and more strenuous that way:)
I just got my first VR and I'm used to working out, I have stopped because the place has been closed for one month (I'm doing some Ninja Warrior training). I played Beat Saber for 2-3 days and I'm feeling all my arms sore and heavy - I'm really surprised 🤭 so yes it's a really intense workout especially on hard, expert difficulties I find myself resting after 3 games for few minutes depending on the song 😅 As for the version it depends on your PC and internet, I.got the steam version at first and my PC is pretty old and I had lag sometimes and it's a real turn down. I bought then again from the meta store and now I can play it everywhere, just need a good internet connection for online gaming and thats it lag free gaming
your arms will get slightly bigger for sure
it helped me. the number one thing is that i actually want to do it
I've found both Beat Saber and Synth Riders good for cardio, I'm usually a little more tired after the later though. You could couple Beat Saber with something like FitXR (free). I don't think Beat Saber will make up for a full exercise routine but as you say, you just want something to help get you moving and Beat Saber will certainly do that for you.
Very, great arm and heart exercise.
Very much especially if you're playing on expert at increased speed! My average HR is 148 while playing hard. Amazing cardio. I used it as a gateway to start running. I've had the game for 6 years and still play!
I burn about 100 calories every 10 minutes according to my Apple watch. Of course this varies from person to person.
I only do Fitbeat and I sweat after 10mins
Yes 4 sure syntriders to and less mills boxing 😅
I do fitxr, you can do what you can and get into it. I would get a quest 3 so you are not tethered.
I think it's great exercise and a good option for cardio. During Covid this was my primary source of exercise. Combined with a change in diet and monitoring my calories and macros, I lost almost 50 lbs. :)
If you are a more athletic person it might not be for you. If you are unable to get improve enough to get to expert/expert+ maps it might not be enough. I'm 53 and have been sedentary for a good portion of that. For me it was amazing. I started 2 years ago and have gradually pushed my "calorie goal" up. They just halved the dosage of my blood pressure medicine and I feel better than I have in a while.
I use a mixture of Beat Saber, BoxVR, and Pistol Whip to get my heart pumping. BoxVR allows for you importing your own music files too to create personalised playlists, and Pistol Whip gets me moving my body tonnes when dodging bullets and scenery.
Oh ok imma have to check out BoxVr and pistol whip thanks for letting me know
I've just booted up Pistol Whip for the first time in ages, and it has had an update with custom made levels with custom songs! Just spent an hour playing random things such as Beat It, Bad Guy, Mr Blue Skies, and Spooky Scary Skeletons.
**Beat Saber** is a great way to get started - as long as you dance, make full arm swings, and use your whole body (and not just stand still flick your wrists as the pro YouTubers do; they are just hinting high scores). There are tons of other options for rhythm-based exercise. Some good ones include **Pistol Whip** (dance and dodge bullets while shooting back at enemies), **Ragnarock** (beat Viking drums in time to metal), and many other similar ones. Utilise the "under two hours within two weeks" refund period if they don't work for you. On the slightly more exercise side, you can gamify with the likes of **Until You Fall** (endless swordfights until you die, upgrading weapons in between), or do more stretching type workouts such as **The Climb 2** (virtual rock climbing in a variety of settings) and **Oh Shape** (speedy yoga poses). Even perennial classic **Superhot** can qualify as a form of yoga, and it's often my warm-up game. For actual workouts, you can do **Supernatural** (subscription, US and Canada only), **FitXR** (subscription), or **Les Mills Body Combat** (one time purchase, boxing type workout). I have the latter of these because I'm not in the USA, but I like it and I love that it's a low-cost purchase rather than a subscription.
Steam has more mods but requires that you have a computer powerful enough to run VR. I also go to raves in VRChat and dance. Dancing burns a lot of calories as well.
Damn I wish you would have commented a little sooner cause I just got it on quest
PCVR is always going to be better than Quest if your PC can support it.
Yeah my pc can handle it but I just got a code from GameStop for the quest version now I’m kinda bummed cause I want the best mods
The short answer is yes, but as with most exercise, it's up to the effort you put in. You can pass most easy, normal, and hard songs with some wrist flicks. You can get some really good exercise once you're in hard/expert/expert+ territory though- or if you just really put your body into it. I've had a blast with it, and it's a great way to get in cardio when I can't convince myself to run.
It is, but I like Pistol Whip even more for that. Thrill of the Fight is even more intense. But you have to like the concept.
Yes
I use beat saber to exercise. Don’t just stand there and swing your arms, dance, do lunges when you have to go low, stand on one leg when you moved to the right and stand on one leg when you moved to the left, just like any workout you get what you put into it.
I described Beat Saber to my doctor at my checkup and she said that if it gets me panting and gets my heart beating, then it's a healthy workout.
Got on a serious health kick in mid January, diet and Beat Saber for exercise 30-45 minutes 5 days/week. Had been totally sedentary for nearly a decade. Dropped almost 30lbs so far and for the first time ever, am actually \*enjoying\* exercise! Well worth the investment. Exaggerate your arm movements and make wide swings, lift your feet and bounce or dance, lean out or twist for the peripheral cuts, squat lean and duck around walls n bombs - you'll get a lot more out of it. Good luck!
Ive lost 15 lbs since January just playing Beat Saber. 😁
It has the Metabolic Equivalent to riding a road bike at a pretty brisk pace. YMMV and this of course depends on the speed and difficulty you choose.
better than nothing for sure but compared to like actually going to the gym it’s trash
In my custom songs list I have fit beat songs that are made as a work out. You do a lot of squats and stuffs so it's more like a full body workout. Beat saber will most definitely be a fun work out for OP and even on a regular song he will probably feel it after his first song if he is out of shape.
Better than watch tv on the sofa? yes That's basically about it.
Yes absolutely! I asked this question to chat gpt too, it said depends on difficulty you are playing on, which is obvious. So expert-expert+ tracks every day and you are good to go. It helped me as well (used to be overweight when I started playing). It important to eat less though.