I have never felt so much satisfaction winning a video game before. As the credits rolled across the screen, playing the theme music in a lively piano variation, I watched all the worlds I had jogged through (or squatted, flew or boated through) with a huge sense of pride. Level 200. 30 hours 17 minutes of exercise. I won Ringfit.
As Tipp, the androgynous exercise demonstrator, threw confetti, my son was suitably impressed. “30 hours of exercise! But then why are you still…” He walked over and poked my squishy belly. Nothing like a kid to bring you down to earth. No, I had not become toned with abs to compare to Abdonis (a character in the game).
Still, I felt an achievement like that deserved recognition. I’ve been seeing a lot of ads for virtual races popping up, where people achieve a distance goal and then get a trophy in the mail. I decided to make my own trophy to hang up, to remind me to keep exercising every day, whether I lose weight or not. To show I’m fighting against the “dark influence” that can make me fear my flaws and become evil.
I sewed my Ringfit character in felt. The face, being so small, was really fiddly and didn’t come out as well as I would like, but at least it is recognizable as Ring.
