eSport Training: How Fitness Impacts Your Gaming
Last Updated on September 21, 2019 by Michael Brockbank
I like the idea behind eSport organization. It helps geeks like myself feel some of the elation jocks feel when winning the big game. The only real difference is our games are played in the virtually world. The same amount of practice and readiness goes into success in either case. But does fitness play a role in gaming? In reality, gaming fitness can be just as vital to a gamer as it is to a quarterback.
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How Fitness Affects Playing Games
While you probably don’t have to spend hours on end at the gym building muscle and endurance for gaming, exercising can be greatly beneficial. Even the right foods can play a part in the mental aspect of eSport training.
Although sufficient practice is crucial, paying attention to your body is also as important. Here is a bit of science to prove my point.
Enhancing Memory
Studies at the University of British Columbia demonstrate how regular exercise improves your memory. As a gamer, you know how vital that aspect may be. Memory is a vital piece in being successful whether you’re in a 5v5 match in League of Legends or going head-to-head in Starcraft.
Many believe this is possible due to the increase of blood and oxygen to the brain. The more physically active you become, the more elements the brain receives. And with a proper diet, you can easily get an edge over the competition by merely improving your health.
Both physical exercise and the right food enhances memory functionality. Don’t forget, gaming fitness doesn’t merely revolve around lifting weights or running a mile. The types of food you eat and the amount of physical activity you have will impact how your brain functions overall.
Keeping the Mind Clear
Exercise has been found to help reduce stress and anxiety. As a result, your mind stays more focused and clear throughout the day. This can be very beneficial as it will improve the ability to process information.
The more powerful your mind, the better the experience will be when playing games.
Gaming fitness can also contribute to improving your overall mood, which prevents rage quitting and fits of anger when things don’t go well. It’s these negative emotions that wind up influencing decisions while making it more likely to make mistakes.
It’s called, “Grace under fire.” If you’re playing a game like PUBG, this statement is ultimately true. It’s too easy to dwell on what’s going wrong in the situation and miss the opportunities. Keeping the mind clear and optimizing your focus changes all of that.
Like any other sport in the world, keeping your composure reduces the amount of problems that arise while playing.
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Eating Better to Boost Thinking
The kind of food you eat will impact the brain’s ability to process information. Regardless of what your friends tell you, caffeine is not a staple you should rely on.
The brain requires a specific balance of nutrition in order to operate efficiently. This means a healthy balance of foods will ultimately play a role in your performance both on and off the Internet.
During your training, you should include a good diet of healthy foods to boost your brain’s ability to process information. This should include:
- Eggs
- Blueberries
- Salmon or tuna fish
- Dandelion greens
- Dark chocolate – because of polyphenols
- Avocados
- Spinach – which is great raw in salads
These foods include nutrients that have been found to boost brain power, memory and overall functionality. As your brain is the primary organ used in eSports, taking care of it will directly affect game play.
This is only a short list of all the things you could be eating to improve your abilities in the cyber realm. While none of them will turn you into the digital equivalent of Albert Einstein, they will contribute to enhancing the processing power of your mind.
It’s all about nutrition and exercise if you want to enhance your performance. Sure, you could get a quick boost from sugars and caffeine. But it pales to the longevity provided by a proper diet.
I know I feel more energized for the day when I have something like eggs and sausage for breakfast as opposed to a Pop Tart and Mountain Dew. It’s the proteins that make the biggest difference especially when it comes to physical energy levels.
Building Endurance
Yes, physical endurance will contribute to how well you play in eSports. From the brain to the tips of your fingers, your body is going to use several resources. Studies show working on physical endurance can keep your mental and physical reaction time high and your level of fatigue low.
While you may not need the stamina of a marathon runner, boosting this part of your abilities will give you an edge while competing.
This is especially true if you work your brain while exercising. For instance, you could complete puzzles such as sudoku or other mind games while walking on the treadmill.
Beyond the Game
The Internet is full of case studies and scientific papers all correlating data between fitness and brain power. It stands to reason that any activity which improves the mind is going to influence how well you play your favorite game.
However, gaming fitness doesn’t just benefit eSports in general. Regular exercise and eating proper diets contribute to everything from personal image to making better decisions outside of the arena.
According to all available data, being at optimal health has potential to improve your life in almost every aspect. All it takes is motivation and determination to be fit while training for that big game tournament.
Personally, I use systems like the Xbox Kinect to keep my mind engaged while exercising. So far, I’ve lost nearly 70 pounds…and most of it due to things like Kinect Sports Season 2 and Avengers: Battle for Earth.
It’s all about working up a sweat and getting the heart pumping.
Activity and Diet Keep the Brain Going
When grinding out your favorite game or enthralled within deep competition, fitness will make a difference. Before you reach for that bottle of Mountain Dew, consider how it will affect your brain’s performance. Caffeine and sugar may give you a boost now, but it pales in comparison to a healthy body.
Give yourself and the team an edge and develop your own gaming fitness training routine.[template id=”543″]
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