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Ring Fit Adventure: The Ultimate Nintendo Switch Workout for Weight Loss
Can your Nintendo Switch really give you a full-body workout and help you lose weight? After trying out the best Nintendo Switch fitness games, particularly Ring Fit Adventure, I would say the answer is YES. Of course, it’s not like a hardcore 15-minute six-pack workout, but for many people who find all that grunting and sweating outdated, this might be THE best home workout.
It’s no surprise to see Nintendo leading the way here. With the Wii, they brought physical movement into the console realm, most notably with Wii Fit. Fast forward 14 years and Ring Fit Adventure, among other titles, is taking the Nintendo Switch to a whole new level of awakening.
These dedicated fitness games with special controllers are designed to transform you from Mario to Luigi, and then into… erm, Samus Aran?
I put a selection of the best Nintendo Switch fitness games to the test to find out if they are good for helping you lose belly fat fast. To track the calories burned while playing all the games in question, I used a heart rate monitor as it’s still the most accurate device for tracking heart rate – and also because I didn’t need the altimeters, GPS, and other sensors that they pack into running watches on this occasion.
Each game was played for approximately 30 minutes, and if there was an option, I chose the most physical way to play them. For example, in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, you can play using only buttons, but for the test, the dual controller setting was chosen – or, if not available, the single one -. In Ring Fit Adventure, I chose the ‘Extreme’ difficulty setting. For the other two games on this list, I used the default controller settings.
CAN YOU REALLY LOSE WEIGHT PLAYING NINTENDO SWITCH GAMES? My initial thought was “no,” but after trying out the games, I must say that they certainly burn calories and can definitely improve your fitness if you play them correctly and regularly. Not all Nintendo Switch fitness games are created equal, but they all have their use, as you will see.
Overall, the game that can not only help you lose weight but potentially help you get stronger too is Ring Fit Adventure, which is not surprising. Thanks to the special controller that provides some resistance and the variety of exercises you can do in the game (once they’ve been unlocked), playing Ring Fit Adventure can effectively help you burn fat and build muscle mass. The game is not without its issues, but overall, it’s excellent.
Best for: all fitness needs, even building muscles… but definitely losing weight
Calories burned (in 30 minutes): 245 kcal
Ring Fit Adventure is an awesome game. It’s not easy, but it makes exercise a little more fun without compromising the quality of the workout. There are over 40 different exercises you can do in the game (once all unlocked), not to mention the mini-games targeting specific muscle groups and the custom workouts you can put together for yourself.
You’ll have to go through the main story mode to unlock new moves. Needless to say, the story is not too complicated, but you don’t play this game for the immersive story. Different moves have different attack points, and you must use some strategy if you want to defeat your opponents before they take you down.
Ring Fit Adventure is an indoor game, and Nintendo has thankfully included some features to make working out with this game more neighbor-friendly. You can play in “Silent Mode,” where you can squat your wrist instead of running on the spot to move your virtual avatar forward on the screen, reducing the amount of vibrations and sounds you make while defeating your opponents.
Thanks to the special controllers and how they are used, playing Ring Fit Adventure provides a full-body workout. You can train your legs and improve your cardiovascular system just with stationary jogging/squat pulsing, let alone performing actual squats during the Fit Battles in the game.
One of the downsides of the game is the lack of exercise variety at the beginning of the game: you can only choose from 4-5 to start with and unlock one as you progress in the story. You can also choose which exercises you want to do in each battle, and while I appreciate the flexibility, a more structured approach could ensure players don’t neglect to choose the more challenging exercises to progress.
Playing Ring Fit Adventure is not a similar substitute for working with kettlebells, dumbbells, or suspension training systems, but it’s a fun way to introduce people to resistance training and make them healthier too.
