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Can Games Like Dungeons & Dragons Make You Healthier?

  • Writer: Garrett Kriegseis
    Garrett Kriegseis
  • Jul 16
  • 3 min read
Dungeons & Dragons Makes You Healthier
Can D&D Make You Healthier?

At first glance, this might seem like a joke. How can games like Dungeons & Dragons make you healthier? They definitely don't roll in the same party. One happens with friends, sitting around a table arguing about the mathematics of dice rolls and eating snacks, while the other happens at the gym with sweat, blood, and chalk.


But what if you can bring the very mechanics of RPGS that make them so addictive - creating custom characters, fighting mobs, defeating bosses, and leveling up - and bring it to fitness to help you with finally staying consistent with your fitness plan? Well, let me tell you, you can do that, and I have created it with Mythic Gains. That's the entire premise behind Ascended Fitness! Better yet, it works better than most programs I have ever seen.

Character Sheets As Intake Forms

When there is a new client that joins in Mythic Gains, we don't start with the typical goal weights, body fat percentages, or any of that. Instead, we do something more fun. We create a character by starting with race, class, and backstory.


You are NOT just someone trying to lose 20 pounds. You are now a Half-Hill Giant Monk thats reclaiming their strength and endurance after being exiled. Or you can be a Warforged Wizard that is seeking clarity after a major burnout spiral. See? This is can be both fun and effective!


When you create your own avatar, you externalize your goals. You turn your goals into a story that you become more invested in. Then when you tie in your progress to the narrative momentum, you become much more consistent. You have more investment.

Why Gamification Fitness Works

There are some small research studies in behavior psychology that actually backs this all up too in a way.

  • Progress Bars (XP Systems) can help keep people motivated.

  • Quest structures help break down the feeling of being overwhelmed by tasks and turn them into achievable goals.

  • Character development assists in fostering identity-based changes ("I AM someone who trains")

  • Choice and agency boost adherence (just like choosing subclasses or building your spellbook)


If you compare that to the usual generic Excel/PDF Program and a severe guilt-trippy meal plan, it just doesn't even come close.

From Campaigns to Consistency

In Mythic Gains, you receive a personally designed 12-week training arc that we end up playing out like actual campaigns. If you want to build Strength, then you'll be training in the Iron Keep, battling against your old PR's as bosses. Better yet, you can keep your character and move them into a new campaign. Do you want to boost your endurance now? Welcome to the Shadowed Caverns , better pack some potions!


Each workout earns loot and XP. Each meal helps heal. Each week progresses the story. We all skipped a workout before. But this time, if you skip a workout, then you may be ambushed by some Hobgoblins, or fail a dice roll against a Boss!


Through framing workouts as quests and equipment, nutrition as health and recovery, and setbacks as story beats, the process can become something people want to stick with. It's just not something they grind through until it gets boring and they end up quitting. Again.

What Does This Really Mean?

This is not just some gimmick. It is a call to adventure. This puts people, especially the ones who feel excluded in typical gym culture, into a world where they can play and win.


Games know how to grind. They like to build stats. You fully understand the value of strategy and being consistent. You just need a system that speaks this language and puts it into health & fitness.


When health & fitness become a game worth playing, amazing things can happen:

  • Habits Form

  • Transformation Sticks

  • Confidence builds

Dungeons & Dragons Can Make You Healthier


RPGs won't make you healthier by themselves. But the principles they bring, if applied correctly, can absolutely do that.


If you are ready to roll for initiative on this health journey, then I got a campaign waiting just for you.




 
 
 

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