What counts is how it feels during the set
Rhodes and Kates went through the published research on this in a 2015 systematic review, and 24 studies met their criteria. When people felt better during moderate exercise, they tended to be more active in the future.
Mood after the workout had no such link. Feelings during and after exercise also did little to predict whether people intended to exercise again. They did line up with how people expected future exercise to feel.
- How you feel during the workout ✓Linked to more activity later
- How you feel after it ·No link found
Doing it because you like it lasts longer
A 2012 systematic review by Teixeira and colleagues looked at 66 studies on why people exercise. Across them, the more a person’s reasons came from themselves rather than from pressure, the more they exercised.
The two inner reasons played different parts. Valuing the result, such as health, tended to predict starting and the first stretch more strongly. Enjoying the activity itself was the better predictor of sticking with exercise for the long run. Feeling capable also went with exercising more.
Predicts more stronglyPredicts less strongly
Game elements move people a little more
Points, levels and challenges added to everyday activity have been tested in real trials. A 2022 meta-analysis by Mazeas and colleagues pooled 16 randomised trials with 2,407 people and found a small to medium effect on physical activity.
Gamified programmes also beat comparable programmes without game elements, though by less. About 14 weeks after the programmes ended, the effect was very small to small, but still present. In the seven trials that counted steps, people took around 1,600 more steps a day, with evidence the authors rate as low quality. One of the authors worked for a company that makes gamified health programmes.
- All 16 trials, during the programmes0.42
- Against similar programmes without game elements0.23
- About 14 weeks after the programmes ended0.15
The same 20 squats as a fight
In Pushgard the phone camera counts your reps, and every counted rep is a hit on the monster in front of you. A set stops being a number you push toward and becomes a health bar you’re draining.
Try it: drag the reps. Both sides get the same squats. On the left you only get a count. On the right, a monster worth 20 reps loses one health with each rep and drops on the last one.
Switch on the rage potion and every third rep in a row hits 1.5 times as hard, so the same monster goes down after 18 reps. Without a potion, the rage hit lands on every fifth rep in a row, and how much harder it hits depends on the hero’s gear.
Monster down on rep 20
A monster worth 20 reps of a hero without gear. Pauses between reps of 6 seconds or less.
Keep the chain going and the clock running
Rage counts reps in a row. A pause longer than 6 seconds breaks the chain, and the count starts again from one. Finish off a monster and your next 5 reps hit 25% harder, which pulls you straight into the next one.
Each fight has a clock too: 45 seconds plus 6 for every rep the monster is worth, so 165 seconds for a 20-rep monster. That’s short enough for one fight between other things, the idea behind exercise snacks. Fights run on squats as well as push-ups, and the push-up counter page shows how the camera decides which reps count.
- 1
- 2 s 2
- 3 s 3
- 2 s 4
- 4 s 5
- 8 s 1
- 2 s 2
- 3 s 3
- 2 s 4
- 2 s 5
Rage hit Pause over 6 s: the chain starts again
