EMS armbands pump your biceps during VR workout
VR fitness isn't strenuous enough for you? Then these EMS armbands will help. They use electronic pulses to simulate weight and tension in virtual reality.
Valkyrie Industries is launching haptic fitness armbands designed to simulate muscle resistance in VR games. The use of electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) is expected to make full-body cardio workouts more efficient for VR fitness enthusiasts.
EMS training for virtual reality
EMS training uses controlled, electrical pulses to additionally contract muscles during a workout. This makes fitness exercises more strenuous, promotes muscle growth through the additional stimulation, and is said to make the workout feel more rewarding overall.
Video: Valkyrie Industries
Valkyrie Industries is now looking to bring this form of exercise to VR fitness. The EIR armbands are said to provide feedback in the upper arms according to movements in virtual reality. The pulses change in intensity according to the activity performed.
If gamers lift a virtual dumbbell, for example, the armbands simulate the strain on the muscle that results. The harder you punch a virtual punching bag or the more intensively you pull on a rope, the stronger the impulses become.
EMS armbands come with fitness VR app
Valkyrie Industries is releasing "EIR Training," a fitness VR app designed for its armbands. It includes various full-body HIIT courses that have been put together by professional trainers.
The following courses and game modes are included in EIR Training:
- Cable HIIT: Virtual cable machines and elastic bands for pushing and pulling with a force of up to 4 kg simulated by the armbands.
- Dumbbell HIIT: Dumbbell exercises at different speeds and intensities.
- BoxFit: Virtual shadow boxing exercises with uppercuts, jabs, and hooks.
A free play mode will also be available, allowing users to train at their own pace. EIR Training is available for Meta Quest (2) via App Lab.
The EIR armbands can be pre-ordered now for 150 Euros. Valkyrie Industries is offering a 25 percent discount for an unspecified period of time. The armbands will be delivered in the summer of 2023. It is not known whether they will also be compatible with other fitness apps like FitXR.
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