Fitness games certainly aren’t a new concept. The Wii Fit and Just Dance series, as well as Ring Fit Adventure, all come to mind immediately when I think of fitness games that aimed to get players moving. I used to work out via Wii Fit regularly throughout high school and college, but it’s been a decent chunk of time since I actively played a fitness game of any kind — on console or otherwise.
But recently, Glossbird’s new mobile game Fitment came to my attention. Released into early access on September 19 for both iOS and Android, the mobile game “aims for a cozy, accessible, and positive experience in order to help its players develop healthy habits and make regular exercise more convenient and less intimidating” through micro workouts that can easily be done in one-minute to five-minute increments.
I spent a week playing with the app and incorporating it into my own daily workout routine to get a good feel of how the game works. It’s been a neat little addition to my routine, especially thanks to its variety of workouts and the slice of self expression I’ve found in decorating my in-game room. For someone who enjoys working out and cozy games, Fitment definitely fills a unique spot for me.
Micro workouts make for easy goal setting
On starting up Fitment for the first time, I had access to 25 different exercises including crunches, neck release, shoulder stretch, and lunges. You have the freedom to turn certain exercises off that you’d rather not do (or, if you’re like me, you can rotate them out every few days to mix up your routine). I’m especially a fan of doing stretching in the morning and more cardio-based workouts later in the day!
This is the kickwalk!#workout #indiedev #indiegame pic.twitter.com/6m9hidfIu1
— Fitment! App | cozy exercise game (@playfitment) September 18, 2022
Along with the different exercises that are available, there are three workout modes to choose from: standard, sitting, and stretching. Standard involves your typical standing workouts while stretching focuses on — you guessed it — stretching! The mode that stood out most to me most was sitting. Sitting mode offers players the chance to do exercises that are adapted to sitting, like seated alternating leg lifts and chair-ups.
And once you start working out, no matter the mode you choose, you follow along with a FitBuddy on screen who shows you what to do. I found the experience of mimicking my FitBuddy’s movements similar to following along with YouTube workout videos, especially since it’s easy enough to set my phone on a surface where I can see the movements I need to be making.
While I mostly stuck with standard and stretching mode, since that’s my preferred workout style, the sitting mode is a great feature that makes these micro workouts even more accessible – especially to beginners and other individuals who are interested in getting into working out but may feel lost in terms of where to start.
But even for people who may have established workout routines already, I think Fitment makes for a complementary addition to someone’s daily or weekly schedule. It’s a low-effort, low-time way to get some movement in during the day that’s pretty customizable to what you prefer to do. And compared to console fitness titles, it’s nice to have this game easily accessible on your phone because your phone tends to be more readily available when you’re traveling or on the go.
Blending fitness with cozy game appeal
In a press release, Glossbird founder Alina Matson said: “For the Fitment game, we took inspiration from extremely popular games like Wii Fit, Duolingo, and Animal Crossing to deliver a comfy experience for people who want to introduce small and easy workouts into their busy schedules.” That inspiration is very clear right from the get-go when you start playing. Fitment workouts are led by Fitbuddies, and you have the option to decorate a room for them as you progress through your workouts.
That element of Fitment certainly reminds me the most of games like Animal Crossing, which let me play as a cute character and customize my own space. In the case of Fitment, your FitBuddy is a fitness guide who you are free to dress up and customize the more you play.
Similar to other mobile games where you are rewarded for logging in each day and completing certain activities (in this case, your preferred workouts), Fitment rewards coins that can be used to buy furniture, decorations, and clothing for FitBuddies. Additional coins can be earned by completing daily and weekly goals.
So far, I find myself really enjoying the blend of fitness and cozy game elements that Fitment offers. The core micro workout hook is a simple but fun way to incorporate some low-key fitness into your day without feeling like you have to turn it into a whole thing. And with other features set to release this fall, like the ability to set workout reminders and a social aspect where you can connect with friends, I’m interested to see how Fitment grows over the next few months. I had a lot of fun with the game so far and it seems like it’s a great fit for anyone who’d like to dip their toe into a fun approach to fitness in an easily accessible manner.
Fitment is available now on iOS and Android devices.
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