THE FUTURE OF FITNESS

FROM WILD INNOVATIONS IN VIRTUAL FITNESS AND THEAT HOME TECH REVOLUTION TO THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF GROUP EXERCISE, TODAY'S (AND TOMORROW'S!) TRAINING LANDSCAPE OFFERS EVERYONE A WAY TO GET THEIR SWEAT ON

- PETER FLAX

VIRTUAL TRAINING REAL SWEAT

CAN TRAINING IN THE METAVERSE REALLY DELIVER RESULTS IRL?

MY JOURNEY TO THE FUTURE OF FITNESS begins with 30 seconds of time travel. I park my car at Venice Beach, adjacent to the most iconic Gold's Gym on the planet. I admire the sprawling yard-where big dudes in skimpy tops deadlift in the sunshine-then walk half a block and light-years away to the headquarters of Supernatural, a leading virtual-reality fitness developer.

Ten minutes later, wearing a goofy Quest 2 headset, I'm boxing on the moon. A few minutes after that, I fire off jabs and throw-uppercuts on the edge of Yosemite's Taft Point, bobbing and weaving as Drake belts out "Headlines." Working out in the metaverse is more literal than I'd imagined. Sweat trickles down my neck, and my heart rate edges north of zone 2. The sensors in the Quest's handheld controllers tell the app how quickly and accurately I'm punching. Not bad for a newbie! I throw my first crisp left-right-left combination and glance over my left shoulder at Half Dome and the 3,000-foot drop from this snowy precipice.