Pokémon GO is secretly the best exercise app for Londoners who hate the gym

Users are inadvertently logging thousands of extra steps per day thanks to the new app which encourages users to hunt for monsters on foot
Shutterstock
Liz Connor11 July 2016

If you’ve looked at social media today, chances are you’ll have spotted users across the country making noise about addictive new gaming app Pokémon GO.

The augmented-reality app allows fans of the Japanese franchise to hunt for Pokémon on a digital map of their surroundings, physically catching all 150 monsters as they explore their environment on foot.

But aside from being hugely nostalgic for those who enjoyed the original Gameboy series, gym-phobic users across the globe are praising the app for inadvertently helping them to increase their fitness levels.

Imgur user HypnoChanger, who described himself as being “a bit overweight”, said he walked 10 kilometers (or just over six miles) in one day thanks to the app - despite not setting himself a fitness goal prior to downloading it.

Another Imgur user commented: “Similar. Close to 300 pounds. Went out for the first time in over a year today and just walked around town”

Twitter users have been quick to follow suit, highlighting the potential health benefits of downloading the popular app which launched in the US last week.

As well as keeping you informed of the Pokémon in the vicinity as you walk around - the bar at the lower right corner of the screen is a loose guide to where to look - the app handily notifies you when you hit a fitness milestone e.g. walking 5 kilometers.

And while you technically don’t have to leave the house to complete the game - you can purchase Pokécoins to buy Incense that lures monsters to your living room - users are foregoing in-app purchases in favour of going on the hunt like a real Pokémon trainer.

Of course, Pokémon GO isn’t the first app to break the traditional ‘couch potato’ gaming stereotype - the arrival of the Wii Fit has inspired a whole niche of games geared towards people who want to work out.

Get up and GO: the new Pokemon app encourages users to go out and catch 'em all
Pokémon / Nintendo

Nike’s Kinect training program, EA Sports Active 2 and Dance Dance Revolution II are just a few of the titles that have had Londoners raising their heart rate from the comfort of their homes, while the arrival of running app Zombies, Run had us all fleeing for our lives while perfecting our 10K pace.

But with recent studies showing that walking can be more effective than running, as well as lowering your risk of type 2 diabetes, Pokémon may just be the easiest and most effective way to fit some exercise into your life, without the boring and torturous feeling of committing to a gym session.

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So what are you waiting for, Londoners? The app might not have launched in the UK yet, but that hasn’t stopped clever smartphone users from discovering a hack to download it today.

Time to head into battle and fulfil your Poké trainer destiny… While walking off that morning coffee and muffin.

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