The 5-Minute Gamer Workout — Level Up In Real Life

For dedicated gamers, the pursuit of digital adventures can sometimes be accompanied by a series of physical ailments; from slight wrist discomfort through actual lower back pain, to even your grandma noticing your posture and asking everyone in the family (but you) what the deal is.

The toll of extended gaming sessions is well-known, but there is quite a bit we can do to prevent and mitigate these issues, even with just a 5-minute prescription of movement. But first, what exactly is this “toll”?

Common Gaming Related Health Issues:

1. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A prevalent concern among gamers, this condition primarily affects the wrists and hands, often attributed to repetitive keyboard or controller use.
2. Eyestrain: Prolonged screen time can lead to eyestrain, causing discomfort and fatigue and even headaches in some people.
3. Neck and Back Pain: Poor gaming posture is a frequent culprit behind neck and back discomfort, which can become chronic if unaddressed.
4. Tendonitis: Frequent and forceful finger movements, synonymous with gaming, can lead to tendonitis, causing localized pain and inflammation.
5. Gamer’s Thumb: An overused thumb joint, also known as “Gamer’s Thumb,” or more scientifically “De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis” is a common ailment associated with controller usage.
6. Obesity: A sedentary gaming lifestyle may contribute to unwanted weight gain and related health concerns.
7. Sleep Disturbances: Late-night gaming sessions can disrupt sleep patterns, leading to restlessness, fatigue and a host more issues if continued long term.

That list was not meant to scare you away from gaming, in fact gaming can be a healthy pass-time provided it’s balanced out with the rest of life’s responsibilities. There’s certainly many more harmful things you could be doing in your free time than potentially “over-using your thumb”.

Equally there are some simple things we can do to make sure the risk for many of the above issues is minimised. The following is a (less than) 5 minute workout that I would look to do:

• Newbie: at least once every two hours
• Casual: at least once every hour
• Pro: once every 30 minutes

Whether this requires setting a short reminder when playing single player games, or playing out the match or game you’re in and doing the workout while queueing for the next. I would recommend starting at newbie level if you’re younger or newer to exercise, but eventually looking to work your way up to pro, it will become easier over time. There’s no planned rest in between exercises, flow through it.

The 5-Minute Workout

1. Shoulder Circles

• How to: Stand comfortably with your arms at your sides. Slowly roll your shoulders forward in a circular motion for 15 seconds, then reverse the direction and roll them backward for another 15 seconds.
• Why: Shoulder circles help relieve tension and improve flexibility in the shoulders and upper back. This exercise counteracts the hunched posture common during gaming, reducing the risk of shoulder and upper back discomfort.

2. Wrist Circles:

• How to: Extend your arms in front of you, palms down. Make small circular motions with your wrists in one direction for 15 seconds, then reverse the direction for another 15 seconds.
• Why: Wrist circles enhance wrist flexibility and mitigate the risk of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a common issue among gamers due to repetitive wrist movements.

3. Finger Stretches:

• How to: Extend your arm in front of you, palm up as if signalling someone to stop, with your other hand, gently pull back your fingers. Then flip the hand to point downwards and do the same. Finally make as tight a fist as you can and open the hand as wide as you can a few times.
• Why: Finger stretches alleviate finger fatigue and promote finger dexterity, helping fend off tendonitis but also make your fingers more likely to reach the button you were going for.

4. Child’s Pose and Cobra (Yoga Poses):

• How to (Child’s Pose): Kneel on the floor, sit back on your heels, and stretch your arms forward, lowering your chest toward the floor. Hold for a few deep breaths, we’re doing another in a second.
• How to (Cobra): Come forward out of Child’s Pose bringing your body flat face down and push your chest up, arching your back. Make sure to un-tuck the toes here, and then go back to child’s pose once more.
• Why: These yoga poses help improve posture and relieve neck and back pain by stretching and strengthening the spine. Just be mindful of who your party members are before you tell them you were doing yoga while AFK.

5. Push-ups:

• How to: We are doing only a few reps here, in fact I want this to be no more than 50% of what you could’ve done. This is known as “Greasing the Groove” in fitness circles (unfortunately GtG and not GG), and really helps perfect technique without necessarily taxing the body too much, especially considering we are doing these every 30 mins. If regular pushups are too difficult, do them on the knees for a few months, you’ll get there before you know it!
• Why: Push-ups strengthen the upper body, including the shoulders, chest, and triceps, enhancing overall posture and preventing slouching.

6A. Pull-ups

• How to: Find any horizontal bar to hang off, those bars that hook over the door frame (not the ones that expand inside it) are surprisingly sturdy most of the time. These are too difficult for 90% of people, so bring a chair and support yourself with your legs, eventually dropping to just one leg and later bringing the legs off the chair entirely at the top of the rep to lower yourself down as slowly as possible. GtG here again, so even if you could do more, cut it short and save your energy.
• Why: Pull-ups target the upper body and back muscles, promoting better posture and reducing the risk of upper back discomfort.

6B. Inverted Rows

• How to: If pull-ups really aren’t an option, inverted rows are a close second place and can technically be done under your desk (if it’s sturdy enough). Lay underneath and grab onto the edge of the desk, pull your chest up towards your hands, squeezing your shoulder blades together until your head touches the surface or you run out of space, lower all the way back down until the arms are straight and the shoulder blades are separated. Having the knees bent here makes this substantially easier, GtG as with Pull-ups.
• Why: Inverted rows actively counteract your typical forward slouch by targeting the muscles responsible for pulling the shoulders back and opening up the chest. The perfect counterbalance to a push-up.

7. Walk:

• How to: Don’t pretend you’ve forgotten how… Maybe we’re just walking to the kitchen to fill up with water, walking to the window to open it slightly for some fresh air, or walking to the lounge to ask what your family member was yelling at you 10 minutes ago when you were in the thick of it.
• Why: A short walk, no matter how small, improves circulation and reduces stiffness, counteracting the negative effects of prolonged sitting during gaming sessions.

8. Hydrate:

• How to: Drink… water… It’s basically free, and your body and brain need a lot of it to function optimally.
• Why: Staying hydrated is essential for overall health and can help maintain focus and energy levels while gaming.

With this workout at your disposal, you possess the weapon to fight back against the most common of gaming-related injuries. By slowly introducing these movements into your gaming routine, you’re not only upgrading your health and fitness, but probably even improving your gaming abilities, by coming back with more focus, well hydrated and having gotten the blood flowing a little, all in just a few minutes.

If your character is going to level up and get more powerful, you might as well do the same.