Spend enough time in a VR headset and you’ll encounter some familiar complaints: heat, weight distribution, glasses, controller comfort and keeping track of your surroundings. Start exercising in one and some of those issues become even more noticeable. You’re moving more, generating body heat and sweat, and asking the headset and controllers to stay comfortable and secure through all of it.
I’ve been using VR for fitness almost daily for the last few years, and I’ve tried a lot of different ways to deal with those problems. Over time, I’ve figured out what works best for me. Some solutions cost money, and others are things you might already have around the house.
Your Hands Get Tired And Sweaty: Knuckle Grips
Knuckle grips are probably the most critical piece of equipment for me, aside from the headset itself.
The standard wrist tethers included with Quest controllers will keep a controller from flying across the room, but I’ve never liked using them for fitness. Knuckle grips give me the same security without requiring me to constantly hold onto the controllers. I can relax my grip or open my hands completely and the controllers stay put, reducing strain during longer workouts.
That feels much more natural when a workout moves between punching and more open-handed dance, flow, stretching or Tai Chi-like movements.
There’s also the simple matter of sweat. The added grippiness of the material feels better in my hands once they get sweaty, and when I’m throwing punches or making fast movements, the combination of the textured grip and knuckle strap means I’m not thinking about whether a controller is about to go flying.
I’ve had very good luck with the KIWI Design G4 Pro grips. BOBOVR, Best Buy’s Insignia and others make their own versions, but the KIWI grips are the ones I’ve personally put through a lot of workouts.
Glasses Get In The Way: Prescription Lens Inserts
If you need corrective lenses, prescription inserts are a must-have for VR fitness.
I don’t want glasses on my face when I’m ducking, weaving, squatting and moving around inside a headset. They can shift, press against my face and potentially come into contact with the headset’s lenses.
Prescription inserts get rid of all of that. I put on the headset and I can see. There’s nothing else to adjust before or during the workout.
I’ve had very good luck with Zenni’s prescription lens inserts, which are made in partnership with Meta. They snap into place over the Quest’s lenses and pop back out just as easily when someone else wants to use the headset.
Zenni is far from the only option. Other companies make prescription inserts with different attachment systems, including magnetic designs. I’ve found Zenni’s snap-in design easy to install and remove, and they stay securely in place while I’m moving.
There’s also a nice side benefit I didn’t really buy them for. The inserts sit over the Quest’s actual lenses, giving those expensive optics another physical layer of protection. I still clean the inserts with a microfiber cloth suitable for eyeglasses, but having them there means I don’t worry quite as much about accidentally brushing the actual lenses while I’m wiping sweat from the rest of the headset.
My Zenni prescription lens inserts (L), snapped in place on my Quest 3 (R)
The Headset Is Front-Heavy: A Battery Head Strap
Quest headsets carry most of their hardware at the front of your face. I notice that weight a lot more when I’m ducking, weaving and moving my head quickly than I do when I’m sitting down playing a game.
I previously used a KIWI Design elite-style battery strap. For about the past year, I’ve been using the BOBOVR S3 Pro, which uses a halo-style design. Both have been substantial upgrades over the stock cloth Quest head strap.
The two designs feel different. An elite-style strap holds the headset more directly against my face, while the halo design shifts more of the load onto my forehead and around my head. I’ve worked out extensively with both and haven’t found either approach to be a clear winner. A lot of this comes down to what feels better on your own head.
What I do highly recommend is getting a strap with a battery mounted at the rear.
Yes, it provides more battery life, but that’s only part of the reason. The battery adds weight behind my head, which helps counterbalance the Quest hanging off the front. My complete setup actually weighs more because of it, yet it feels better balanced and more comfortable.
The BOBOVR’s hot-swappable batteries are another feature I’ve come to appreciate. I can pull off a depleted battery, snap on a charged one and keep going. As long as I have another battery ready, play time effectively stops being an issue.
VR Fitness Gets Hot: Use A Fan
Working out gets hot. Put a computer on your face while you’re doing it and things get uncomfortable pretty quickly.
My solution isn’t sophisticated. I use a fan.
I point a regular room fan toward my workout area and let it move air across my body while I’m exercising. It makes a noticeable difference during harder sessions, especially when the room is already warm.
The BOBOVR S3 Pro also has a small fan built into the front of the strap that blows air across my forehead. I like it, and it was one of the reasons I switched to the S3 Pro, but it doesn’t replace the room fan. I use both.
The room fan has an unexpected secondary benefit. Because the air is always coming from the same direction, I can sometimes sense which way I’m facing in the physical room without seeing it. I don’t rely on that for safety or use it instead of a boundary. It’s simply another physical cue that remains available while I’m immersed.
You don’t need a special “VR fan.” You just need moving air. Any household fan will suffice.
Sweat Gets Everywhere: Wear A Sweatband
If you’re getting a good workout in VR, you’re going to sweat.
A basic sweatband has become part of my normal routine. It keeps sweat from running down my forehead and into my eyes, and less of it ends up on the headset.
That’s really all there is to it.
I own several and rotate them between workouts. They cost next to nothing, require no setup and do exactly what I need them to do. I’d notice immediately if I forgot to put one on.
I also keep baby wipes nearby and give the headset and controllers a quick wipe after I’m finished. I clean the lenses separately with a microfiber cloth suitable for eyeglasses.
Your Facial Interface Absorbs Sweat: Replace It
A sweatband helps, but during a hard workout some sweat is inevitably going to reach the headset. That’s where an aftermarket facial interface has made a big difference for me.
The stock Meta Quest 3 and 3S facial interface uses a fabric face pad that can absorb sweat. For VR fitness, I prefer synthetic leather, which doesn’t soak up moisture the same way and can simply be wiped clean when I’m finished.
I currently use two different options across my Quest 3 headset fleet. The KIWI Design V3 has a fixed facial interface with a synthetic leather pad, while I also use the BOBOVR F3, which also uses synthetic leather but adds adjustability. Both are very comfortable, have held up well through plenty of sweaty workouts, and are easy to clean afterward.
The F3’s adjustability gives it another advantage because I can change the position of the interface to get the fit I want with my headset and head strap.
For me, an aftermarket facial interface and a sweatband work together. The sweatband keeps much of the moisture from reaching the headset in the first place, while the synthetic leather interface makes whatever gets through much easier to deal with.
BOBOVR F3 (L), Kiwi Design V3 (R), both using synthetic leather face pads
Staying Centered: A Workout Mat
It’s surprisingly easy to move around a room without realizing you’re doing it in VR.
I can start a workout exactly where I want to be, then spend the next half hour punching, ducking and moving laterally. Inside the headset, nothing has changed. In the real room, I may have gradually wandered away from where I started.
A mat gives my feet something the virtual world can’t: a physical reference point. I can tell when I’m moving away from center without switching to passthrough or waiting for a virtual boundary to appear.
You don’t need a specialized VR mat to get that benefit, but I use the ProxiMat 42″ Classic. Mine carries Supernatural branding because I bought it through Supernatural’s former online store, but it’s made by ProxiMat. The mat has tactile center and directional markers that I can identify with my feet, allowing me to find both the center of my workout space and which direction I’m facing while remaining immersed.
Like any mat, it doesn’t replace Quest’s boundary system or the need for adequate clearance around your workout space. For fitness, I recommend using a stationary boundary. I’m generally trying to stay centered in one workout area rather than move around the room, and the combination of the stationary boundary and the tactile feedback from the mat helps keep me there.
You Don’t Need To Spend A Fortune
I’ve accumulated this gear over years of working out in VR. I wouldn’t tell someone buying their first headset to immediately go out and buy all of it.
Some fixes are ridiculously simple. A sweatband costs a few dollars. There’s a good chance you already own a fan. Other problems may justify spending more, especially if you’re exercising often enough that you’re encountering them every day.
That’s how most of these accessories ended up in my setup in the first place. I had something that annoyed me, found a way to fix it and kept using the solution.
That’s become my standard for VR fitness accessories. If something solves a problem well enough that I eventually stop thinking about the problem, it has earned a place in my setup.
