EE Unveils Gaming Intensity Fitness Training Workout

EE has teamed up with British fitness expert OBi Vincent and British esports organisation EXCEL ESPORTS’ Performance Manager, Ewen Bufton, to release the UK’s first ‘G.I.F.T.’ (Gaming Intensity Fitness Training) workout, a bespoke fitness routine created to improve the performance of gamers.

The workout, demonstrated by gaming influencer and twitch streamer, Sunpi, has been developed in association with EE’s Full Fibre broadband, which with an ultrafast gigabit connection, provides the speed, reliability and low latency needed to create a seamless online gaming experience, where even milliseconds count. So EE wanted to offer gamers the ability to help develop their own personal gaming power and stamina with a workout experience just for them.

The new EE Full Fibre G.I.F.T. workout has been designed to help gaming fans achieve their full potential, as new research from EE reveals that Brits are spending on average 7 hours each week gaming, with almost two thirds (63%) experiencing fatigue during their gaming sessions. The average time that gamers have continued gaming without a break was three hours.

Despite this, Brits rank physical fitness last in gaming performance essentials, behind gaming equipment, a reliable broadband connection, and screen size. Yet, 39% of Brits do agree that ‘every second counts in gaming,’ with over a quarter (26%) looking to increase their gaming stamina and four in ten wanting to improve their decision-making skills or make faster decisions during their gaming sessions.

To help boost understanding on the connection between fitness and optimum gaming performance, EE collaborated with Vincent and Bufton to demonstrate how building even simple exercises in your routine can be pivotal to help gamers reach their true potential, helping with concentration levels, avoiding injuries and speed of decision-making.

The EE Full Fibre G.I.F.T. workout is designed for all fitness and gaming levels and can be completed in just 15-20 minutes. The G.I.F.T. focusses on ten key areas of the body important for gaming, including moves like “The Finger Flexer”, “Gaming Grips” and “Back in the Game”. As well as targeting the wrists, grip work, neck strength and back, the workout is also geared up to improve general stamina.

OBi Vincent, fitness expert and EE Full Fibre G.I.F.T. workout lead, said: “Gamers don’t often realise how much of an impact physical fitness can have on their performance. By completing this simple workout, and ensuring you have seamless gameplay through EE’s Full Fibre broadband, you’ll be putting yourself in a great position to improve your gaming performance.”

Ewen Bufton, EXCEL ESPORTS Performance Manager, comments: “Physical fitness can actually make all the difference in a split second of a game, and this is something I work on with all my professional esports teams. As well as reducing the risk of injury and stress levels, it can help improve concentration levels, something that’s imperative for gamers. It’s been great to work with EE Full Fibre and OBi to create a workout that’s accessible and beneficial to all gamers and all fitness levels.”

Matthew Hughes, Director of Broadband at EE, adds: “We’re always looking to introduce innovative ways of helping our customers reach their full potential. Whether that’s directly through our products, with EE Full Fibre providing the best online gaming experience, to collaborating with experts like Obi and Ewen to create something completely different, with our new gaming fitness workout, created to help gamers of any level perform at their best.”

In addition to maintaining tip top physical condition, Bufton also stresses that mental wellness is also a crucial asset to any gamer looking to perform at the highest level. EE’s research has revealed that over half of UK gamers experience feelings of stress whilst playing, so to help combat this, Bufton offers 5 x top tips on how to stay mentally sharp when playing online:

1. Take regular breaks: At least five minutes every hour. Using this time to stretch also helps reduce chance of aches and pains which can distract you while gaming.

2. Practice meditation and deep breathing: When going into a competitive game, relaxing your body and mind by incorporating and practicing these methods into pregame routines helps you remain calm and focused.

3. Stay hydrated: Even a 1% drop in dehydration causes effects on your performance. Drink at least 200ml of water every hour for 8 hours of the day. Start the day with a room temperature glass of water, this helps boost metabolism and is a great way to start the day hydrated.

4. Increase exposure to natural daylight: 10 minutes of daylight within the first hour you wake greatly increases alertness and helps you maintain a good circadian rhythm. 10-30 minutes of sunlight at midday sunlight helps you get Vitamin D and maintain healthy neuromuscular and immune function.

5. Eliminate distractions

For those wanting the ultimate in home broadband connectivity to help their gaming, EE’s Full Fibre broadband brings with it the strength to connect 100 devices at once with an ultrafast gigabit connection.

The EE Full Fibre G.I.F.T. workout has also been released following this year’s BAFTA Games Awards, where ‘Unpacking’ was crowned the 2022 winner of the EE Game of the Year Award – the only award to be voted for by the public.

EE Full Fibre G.I.F.T workout – a step-by-step guide:

1. Neck Rotations

2. Shoulder Rotations

3. Shoulder CARS

4. All in the Wrists

5. Wrist Rotations

6. Finger Flexers

7. Gamer’s Glute Bridges

8. Back in the Game

9. Thread the Needle

10. Glute Fibre Flexes

11. Superman

12. Gaming Grips

13. Air Squats