October 5, 2022
Gaming can be an exhausting activity. It’s common to feel sleepy during a long session; however, squeezing a 1-minute or 5-minute exercise or stretch between breaks can help you stay awake and keep your circulation flowing. In addition, wearing comfortable clothing that can function for both gaming and exercising can encourage you to integrate physical activity into your gaming routine. VIRUS International (https://virusintl.com/) has an array of clothing that merges the gaming and athletic lifestyle. If you don’t want to look through the entire website, we have highlighted our favorites in this Raidiant article.
Let’s start talking about what stretches and exercises can help you stay awake and maintain or increase circulation.
Stretches
Stretching is encouraged to increase flexibility and prevent injuries. It can also help maintain circulation. Here are some stretches that you can do sitting down or standing up.
Heel and Toe Raises
Heel and toe raises can both be done sitting down or standing up. Toe and heel raises strengthen your ankle muscles. If you’re sitting down, have your feet planted on the floor. Lift your toes for 10 seconds while your heels are planted. For heel raises, lift your heels for 10 seconds while your toes are still on the ground. You can also do each foot individually or mix and match. Once you get the hang of this exercise sitting down, you can do it standing up; however, you may want to hang onto a stable object or place your hand on a wall to maintain balance.
Yoga
Yoga is an excellent form of exercise that provides circulation and increases flexibility. If you’re gaming and the game has a queue time, integrating a couple of yoga poses is feasible. Nike has posted their top 10 yoga poses that are easy to do while increasing circulation. Here are some of them:
Downward-facing Dog Pose
Image credit: ekhartyoga
- Start in a tabletop position with the palm of your hands and shins on the ground. Make sure that your shoulders are straight above your hands while your hips are above your knees.
- Instead of the top of your feet lying against the floor, your toes should make contact. Now, push through your hands to lift your body towards the sky, keeping your hands planted on the ground. Your hips should be the apex of this pose. If it helps, tuck your head towards your chin, looking down at the ground. Your back should be lengthened and straight. Since your toes are touching the ground, you should naturally be on your feet by the end of the pose.
- If you want to increase the difficulty of this exercise, you can lift one leg. This will force your body to compensate to find balance.
- Hold this position for as long as you want.
During this pose, it’s important to maintain a straight back and avoid locking joints.
Locust Pose
Image credit: ekhartyoga
- Lie down on your stomach with your arms to your side and legs together, and your chin or forehead on the ground.
- Your arms will always stay behind you. If you want more stability, interlock your fingers behind your back.
- As you inhale, lift your legs, chest, and arms towards the sky. If lifting both your legs and chest is difficult, start with only lifting your chest or legs. On a side note, you want to avoid crushing your neck during this exercise, so make sure that your chin is lifted slightly and stays aligned with your back.
- To get out of this pose, exhale and bring your body back to the ground.
Lunges
post
Image credit: ekhartyoga
- Stand up straight.
- Step back with your right foot enough for only your toes to be on the ground.
- Afterward, lower your right knee to the ground, checking that your hips are leveled with each other.
- Lift your chest while your arms follow as you gaze upwards or right in front of you.
- To increase difficulty, instead of lowering your knee, keep it up. This will be considered a high lunge pose instead of a lower lunge pose.
This yoga pose should be dynamic. For example, if you want to test your strength, coordination, and flexibility, you can move from a downward-facing dog pose into a lunge.
Exercises
Exercises are a fast way to get yourself up while increasing circulation. Here are some easy exercises that you can do.
Burpees
Image credit: fitnessmatters
- Stand on your feet.
- Crouch down and place your hands in front of you.
- Jump back and move your legs behind you, leaving your hands on the ground. You should end up with a plank pose. If you want to increase the difficulty of this exercise, you can do a push-up here before moving on to the next phase of the activity.
- Jump towards your hands, revisiting the pose in Step 2.
- You can stand straight up; however, if you want that extra bit of exercise, jump up to the standing pose.
Jogging or Running in Place
This is a quick way to increase your heart rate and circulation promptly. This is a great exercise if you don’t have a lot of space in your room, but you still want to build your stamina and cardio endurance. If you’re streaming, this is a safe exercise to do as well.
Planking
There are many variations of planking. You can plank and lift one leg at a time, or you can do toe taps while planking. Some exercises are based off of a plank like mountain climbers. You don’t have to plank long to reap the benefits!
How proper clothes can help your circulation flow
The clothes you’re wearing during those long gaming sessions matter as well. If you want to stay energetic, you should avoid wearing materials that don’t breathe well. You can also take it a step further (which is always a good idea when we’re talking about health maintenance!) and use materials that help the circulation flow and boost your recovery.
For example, VIRUS uses Bioceramic™ technology to create materials that increase body temperature, blood circulation, and rejuvenate vital cellular flow. This means increased muscular endurance, which will help boost recovery during and after your sessions. Throw in comfort, and what else do you need?
As you can see, there are many exercises and stretches that can increase your circulation and take you out of a drowsy slump. Be sure to check out VIRUS International for the clothing!