Pretending to be your D&D character makes working out a lot more engaging
04.01.2024 - 18:24
/ polygon.com
Going into 2024, I’m doing something I never thought I’d do in my life: I learned how to love working out.
Skeptics like my yoga-instructor sister may not believe me, but it’s true! I spent a lot of 2023 actually looking forward to planning workouts and heading to the gym. I used to get massive anxiety at the idea of working out in a public place, but now I confidently move from the machines to the free-weight racks, without second-guessing about whether I belong there, or whether I’m doing something wrong.
All it took was a small hack: I started pretending I’m one of my D&D characters whenever I work out.
Even before I made this connection, I did try to put a bit of a nerdy spin on my workouts to make them more enjoyable, whether it was going to the gym in an N7 tank top or titling my cardio playlist “training for the hunter exam!” Watching Haikyuu!!! helped me appreciate my time as a competition swimmer more than I ever had before, and I’ve generally been more open to fitness as a hobby now that I’ve realized it doesn’t have to be in polar opposition to my nerdier interests.
But what really solidified my newfound passion for working out — an enthusiasm I’m carrying into the new year — was a little light roleplaying. I don’t head into the gym in full LARP gear, but when you regularly tap into the headspace of a character who’s physically fit enough to shoot an arrow at a homebrew monster while running up the side of a wall, making the connection between D&D and physical activity comes easier.
It started simply enough. While doing a low row at the gym, I glanced in the mirror and saw that the way my arms moved kinda reminded me of pulling back a bow’s drawstring. Disclaimer: I’ve never actually shot an arrow, so this comparison could be completely off. Regardless, I thought it looked pretty cool.
“Just did an Araiya (pull) day at the gym,” I texted my cousin, referring to one of my D&D characters, a ranger who primarily wields a longbow. She was delighted, and we quickly realized that her character — my character’s twin sister, a sword-wielding fighter — had skills that mapped nicely to a push day of chest and tricep-focused exercises.
We started updating each other on our gym progress, usually by saying simple stuff like “planning an Amaiya day,” or “this Araiya day left my back so sore.” We’d both previously pored over Steve Huynh’s Manual of Gainful Exercise, a fitness guide with routines written for D&D character classes, trying to see whether we could feasibly pull off our character subclass workouts. So the association was already in our heads.
Then my cousin started assigning different types of exercises to our other characters. (We each play two in this campaign; it’s a long story.) Then,