The ideal workout for an esports junkie
Yes, pro gamers must mind their physical fitness. Here are easy ways for you, the amateur, to get started.
Searching for a competitive gaming edge, some of the world’s top esports athletes have turned to regular, old—dare we say analog—athletic training.
Think about it more and it starts to makes sense.
Just look at old photos of NBA players from the 1950s and ‘60s: spindly, spongiform, capable of capsizing under a stiff wind. Today’s average power forward, by comparison, looks like Thor in shorts.
Professional athletes from all corners have long since found that training beyond the skills of their respective sports offers benefits that directly translate within them.
It’s the same for professional gamers, it turns out. Gone are the days when even the top esports athletes could thrive purely on their mastery of the controller. Many of them are now lifting, burpee-ing, sprinting, and stretching, with positive impacts on their in-game performance.
The science
The benefits, of course, transcend the cosmetic.
A survey of esports athletes in 2019 found that a majority (80.3%) believes physical fitness boosts gaming performance. And a 2020 study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the peer-reviewed journal for the American College of Sports Medicine, found that just 15 minutes of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) performed 20 minutes prior to competition “improved the capacity to eliminate targets by 9% and increased the accuracy of the attacks by 75%.”
Researchers have identified three primary reasons why esports athletes might want to focus on fitness:
Avoiding absence due to illness or repetitive stress injuries. Esports athletes are more susceptible to certain ailments, including forearm strains and sprains, neck, shoulder and back overloads, and eye fatigue and wrist pains.
Sharpening reaction time and cognitive function. Researchers note increased evidence of the positive relationship between esports performance and improved cognition, which regular exercise is known to promote.
Building endurance and stress resistance. Citing the competing demands of esports, which require fast movements over long periods, German researchers recommend building anaerobic (burst activity) endurance in fingers, hands and arms, and aerobic (sustained activity) endurance more broadly. As for stress, scientists say exercise may help mitigate stress responses and promote better coping strategies.
The workout
A workout regimen can help with all of the above—if you design it right. According to certified strength and conditioning specialist Cody Braun, there are five key areas that gamers should emphasize in their workouts:
Stamina
Circulation
Core strength
Stress response
Counteractive movement (to combat the prolonged effects of gaming position)
Braun recommends six exercises in particular to address those last four.
1. Hip thrusts
“Gamers often notice tightness on the front side of the body as well as weakness on the posterior side of the body,” Braun says, “so it’s important to build those postural muscles for long-term health.”
Start with your feet and butt on the floor and your upper back resting against a bench.
Press your feet into the floor and squeeze your glutes to raise your hips towards the ceiling. As your hips elevate, your upper back should rock onto the pad of the bench in order to stabilize your upper body.
Reverse the motion to complete one repetition.
Repeat for three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions. To make this exercise more challenging, repeat it on one leg with the other leg hovering above the ground.
2. Low plank reach
“Gamers spend prolonged periods of time sitting,” Braun says, “which makes it crucial to build strength in the glutes, core and shoulder stabilizers, to offset those effects.”
Start in push-up position, but with your forearms on the floor and your elbows directly under your shoulders. Your body should be straight from your head to your heels.
Pick one arm off the floor, reach forward and tap your hand on the ground without allowing your body to rock or sway side to side.
Bring your arm back to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
Move at a slow and constant pace for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat for three sets.
3. Prone shoulder windmills
Another move that addresses gamer inertia, this exercise helps increase range of motion at the shoulders, which are often locked for hours into a single position.
Start by lying face-down on the floor with your arms extended overhead.
Engage your lower-back muscles to lift your chest off the floor, and tuck your chin to look down at the floor.
Lift your arms and turn your palms toward the sky, so your pinkies touch.
From here, maintain the position of your torso and keep your arms long as you sweep each one out to its respective side, finishing at your hips. As your arms sweep, you will naturally feel the need to rotate your palms down and then back up to touch your thumbs together, just above your glutes.
Reverse the motion to complete one repetition.
Complete three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.
4. Banded face pulls
That classic gamer position is murder on the upper back, which can start to round without counteractive movements like this one.
Start with a band anchored to a stable object around head height.
Grab the band with both hands and take a step back to remove any slack from the band while keeping your arms long.
With your arms held in front of your body, pull the band toward your forehead, so that your hands are framing your face, and you create one straight line from elbow to elbow.
Reverse the motion to complete one repetition.
Repeat for three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.
5. Single leg ball toss
“Due to the amount of attention and focus required in esports,” Braun says, “I find it beneficial to perform hand-eye coordination and reaction-based drills.”
Holding a tennis ball or a softer ball in one hand, stand two to three feet away from a sturdy wall and lift one leg off of the floor, bringing your knee to hip height.
While standing on one leg, toss the ball so that it bounces off the wall back to you. Catch the ball with either hand.
Make this exercise more complex by changing the angle of your toss so that you have to react in varying ways to catch the ball.
Complete 10 to 15 catches before switching legs.
Perform three total sets on each leg.
6. Humming bee breath
“Like any sport, competition can breed anxiety and stress,” Braun notes. “Some breathing exercises have been shown to calm the mind as well as the nervous system.”
Find a comfortable seated position on the floor. Close your eyes and relax your face and neck.
Place your index fingers on the tragus cartilage that partially covers your ear canal, and inhale, letting your belly fill with air.
While keeping your mouth closed, gently press your fingers into the cartilage as you exhale making a loud humming sound.
Repeat for 10 to 15 repetitions twice a day.
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