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Virtual reality offers alternative for exercise

If you're self-conscious about people watching you work out at the gym, virtual reality might just have a fix.

If you're self-conscious about people watching you work out at the gym, virtual reality might just have a fix.

Mariah Hasson uses virtual reality to begin her workout.

The goggles take her inside a game that lets her shoot arrows at targets and squat to get away from others all while burning calories.

"Even when you squat you are in a different position so you're working out different muscles constantly," Hasson said.

It's the latest fad in the fitness and Wyandotte Athletic Club is the only gym providing it. Tim Donahay is a virtual reality fitness coach.

"When you're in it, it doesn't feel like you're exercising, it feels like you're playing a game and it's fun," he said.

A heart monitor measures the player's vital signs. It's a far cry from pumping iron or running endless miles on the treadmill.

"When you're on the treadmill, when you're on the bike when you're lifting weights, you're very aware of it. It feels like exercise but in virtual reality that's not so," Donahay said.

Hasson said she chose virtual reality exercise because she wanted a workout that was more private.

"If someone is a little bit uncomfortable with how they look or something like that, this is such a safe plan for them to come to experience something that is going to make them want to come to the gym," she said.

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