Questions on the physical fitness of eSports competitors

Researchers at the German Sports University have discussed the results of their timely study on eSports players, given the soaring popularity of the new online gambling vertical with the key millennial demographic.

The researchers concluded that professional competitive players in eSports tournaments that can last for many hours would benefit from putting in time to achieve peak physical fitness, something conventional athletes do all the time.

Giving examples of the stresses and strains of playing eSports at professional level, lead researcher Professor Ingo Frobose said players needed a high level of hand-eye coordination as they controlled the game with a combination of keyboard and mouse commands that can run to 400 movements a minute – almost four times that of a normal player.

Not only that…the actions are asymmetrical and require the use of both hands and different areas of the brain, the professor points out…that results in race car driver-like cranial activity, combined with super-high pulse rates equivalent to those of a sprint race or longer term marathon…and most eSports “athletes” do not prepare their bodies for such stresses, he claims.

“In terms of their fitness, many of our test subjects are simply average citizens, and average citizens worry me. They simply aren’t fit,” Frobose observes regarding players who are often called upon to play for up to 12 hours in a day.

The professor’s advice for eSports professionals who want to prolong their careers is to participate in a proper physical training program and control their diet.

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