8 Easy Tips to Enhance Your Virtual Reality Experience
Ready to take your virtual reality (VR) experience to the next level? Whether you're a VR pro or just starting out, we've got the inside scoop on how to make the most out of your time in the virtual realm. From combating lens fogging to refining your spatial awareness to punching with greater force, we've compiled eight game-changing tips for optimizing your Litesport VR workout:
1. Adjust Your Meta Quest Headset
One key to a fun virtual reality experience is a comfortable fit. Instead of throwing on your headset with its factory settings, take a few moments to adjust the headset to your unique face shape and size. Here are a few ways you can make adjustments so your VR experience is as comfortable as possible:
Adjustable strap design: You can loosen or tighten the back and top straps by adjusting the sliders toward or away from you. Play around with this till you find the right fit that’s tight enough to stay on your head throughout a workout, but not tight enough that you’re getting a headache.
Lens positioning: Use the lens adjustment wheel on the bottom left side of the Meta Quest 3 headset to change how close together the lenses are. Do this until the visuals in the headset are clear and visually comfortable to see. To change the lens spacing on your Meta Quest 2, gently adjust the lenses by shifting them together or apart. There are three lens spacing settings for Meta Quest 2.
Depth adjustment: If you have the new Meta Quest 3 you can adjust how far the lenses are from your face or eyeglasses by fiddling with the depth adjustment buttons. You’ll find the eye-relief buttons next to the lenses inside the facial interface. Hold down the button to adjust the distance and repeat to the same degree on the other side to ensure the settings are the same.
Glasses spacer: If you have glasses that are 142mm or less in width and 50mm or less in height you can use the glasses spacer for a much more comfortable experience. First, remove the facial interface foam from your headset. Then attach the glasses spacer to your headset by pressing it into place where the foam just was. Place the foam over the glasses spacer and you’re good to go.
2. Use a Fan to Cool Off & Avoid Fogging up Your Lens
Let’s get real for a second: things get hot and sweaty when you’re working out in VR. This can sometimes lead to foggy lenses, especially with the Meta Quest 2 headset where the lenses are firmly positioned with a seal around your eyes. Other headsets, like the Meta Quest Pro, for example, leave a gap that allows you to see the real world at all times. This open-air design is better for a mixed-reality experience, plus it certainly helps make things less sweaty.
But if you don’t have Meta Quest Pro or the newer Meta Quest 3 headset, there is a relatively simple solution to help clear up the fog: use a fan. The extra circulation in the air has a dual effect. Not only does it help you cool down, preventing that unwanted screen fog, but some users say that the breeze also helps relieve any potential motion sickness you might be experiencing. The fan is also useful as a positioning tool to help easily orient you to where you are in the room without having to take off your headset. Just make sure you position it outside your guardian so you don’t accidentally bump into it!
3. Wipe Your Lens With a Microfiber Cloth
You can permanently scratch the lens of your headset by wiping it with your t-shirt. Sure it’s tempting when the headset gets foggy with all that sweat from your Litesport workout (see the tip above about the fan!) but trust us, it’s not worth it. Instead, we suggest keeping a microfiber cloth handy whenever you work out.
If you purchased a Meta Quest Pro headset, you can use the care cloth that’s included in the box. If not, they’re relatively cheap to buy online. Store your microfiber cloth wherever you keep your headset or strap your cloth to your headset extension cable using a zip tie so you’ll never lose it. And while we’re talking about the care and keeping of your headset, make sure to store your headset in a completely shaded place away from windows since sunlight can easily damage the lens. We recommend a lens cover of some type to keep it safe. Head to Meta to learn more about the proper maintenance and care of your headset.
4. Secure Your Hands to the Controller
You’ll likely have sweaty hands as you progress through a Litesport workout. To avoid accidentally throwing your controllers across the room, make sure you’re using and adjusting the wrist straps attached to your Touch controllers. Still feel like you’re losing your grip? There are plenty of products out there to help keep your hands dry like liquid chalk. You could also purchase additional accessories like Meta Quest 2’s active pack with wrist straps and adjustable knuckle straps or Meta Quest 3’s Active Straps for better control.
Another option is to skip the controllers entirely and opt for hand-tracking instead. Hand tracking is a Meta Quest feature that lets you use your hands instead of your Touch Pro or Touch controllers for a fun, controller-less experience. It’s made possible by the cameras on your headset tracking your every move. Lucky for you, Litesport has offered hand tracking since the very beginning. So if the controllers are getting in your way, ditch them.
5. Draw a Big Enough Guardian
A guardian or boundary creates a safe area for you to explore virtual reality without bumping into anything. Meta recommends setting aside a 6.5 ft x 6.5 ft playspace area or larger. This should be enough space for you to work out in VR with Litesport. However, when you’re throwing punches or swinging battle ropes you want to be sure that your heavy hits in virtual reality aren’t landing on anything painful in the physical world. So we suggest making your guardian as big as possible and ensuring your workout space is free of any tripable or punchable obstacles you want to avoid like a hanging fan or meandering pet cat.
We also suggest using the passthrough feature to take a look at your real-world surroundings to double-check that nothing is in your way. With Litesport, you can also keep passthrough mode on throughout your workout. This offers better spatial awareness while making it look like your trainer is right there with you in your living room.
Plus, with the new Meta Quest 3 headset passthrough mode now offers a full-color and fully immersive passthrough experience that intelligently understands and responds to objects in your surroundings. This means that with Meta Quest 3 it’s easier than ever to interact with virtual content while navigating with ease in your very real physical world.
6. Use a Carpet or Workout Mat to Help Keep You in the Center of Your Guardian
Another tip when it comes to your guardian is to position a mat or small carpet in the center of your space. We suggest using a bath mat or a workout mat that has a different texture than the floor beneath it. This helps provide a physical indicator of where you are in your guardian, without having to take off your headset.
When you step off the mat during your workout, this small piece of physical feedback helps signal that you’ve stepped away from the center of your space. Better yet, this subtle tactile signal doesn’t distract you from your workout—unlike the immersion-breaking guardian alerting you that you’ve come to the edge and you need to back up. Nothing takes you out of the mojo of your workout quite like your headset yelling at you. With this trick, the alert will pop up way less often because you’ll be aware in the back of your mind whenever you step off the mat and away from the center of your space.
7. Use Headphones for Greater Surround Sound
Music makes your workout that much more powerful—especially when you’re boxing to the beat of a Litesport Punch Track or Mitt Drill. Meta Quest headsets have integrated stereo speakers with 3D spatial audio built in. In other words, the sound is pretty powerful and creates a surround-sound experience. However, the downside is that anyone around you can also hear the music, and any outside noise or disturbance could get in the way of an immersive workout experience.
Luckily, Meta Quest headsets have a 3.5mm audio port for headphones. This comes down to preference, but for some Litesport users, working out with headphones elevates the way they experience the music. It drowns out any interfering noises, turns up the volume, and makes it easier to immerse yourself in the workout. Just make sure to wrap your headphone wire around the headset so it’s not hanging down and easily knocked out with your punches.
8. Pivot to Achieve Greater Power
Lastly, we had to throw in a boxing-focused tip to help improve your boxing form! Even though you’re throwing punches with your arms, the movement of your legs and hips is what delivers the power behind your punch. To do this, start by positioning your legs about hip-width distance apart. Next, take a small step back with your dominant foot, while still maintaining that hip-width distance.
When you go to throw a punch, pivot by lifting the heel of your foot as if you’re crushing a grape with your toes. The heel that lifts corresponds with the arm throwing the punch. So if you’re throwing a punch with your front hand—the hand closest to the Liteshield—you’ll lift your front heel. When throwing a punch with your back arm, you’ll crush the grape with your back foot. And voilà! You’ve mastered the basics of footwork in your boxing stance.
Don’t believe us? Try this out for yourself! Stand completely still and only use your arms to throw a punch. Now, practice lifting your heel and twisting your hips while throwing a punch. Notice the difference? That’s the power of using your full body to deliver maximal force.
With these eight tips, you’ll be prepared and ready to get into the action of your Litesport workout with more comfort, better sound, stronger punches, and a safer and more immersive experience. Head to Meta to download Litesport today and get started with our 7-day free trial.