Dev Blog: Bust a Groove with Eorzean Aetherobics

Greetings everyone, this is Zhexos from the Community team. 

Today we released a surprise video, Eorzean Aetherobics!

You may be wondering, “Why an exercise video!?” With many of us working from home during the last couple of years or simply preferring to stay indoors, we thought it’d be nice to have some simple and easy-to-follow stretches for short breaks during work or prolonged gaming sessions. 

There may be plenty of other exercise videos already out there on the internet, but we felt that some of our Warriors of Light may be more motivated if we used movements and music from FFXIV.

So 80% of the “why the video was created” was to motivate us to move our bodies, 19% being that it will be beneficial for our health while we enjoy it. The remaining 1% was because we just wanted to do something fun for everyone! 

Follow Along at Your Own Pace! 

You may struggle with some of the more difficult movements, like the Manderville Dance or squats. Just remember that there’s no need to follow along with the video perfectly; these movements are mostly just for fun and to keep our bodies moving! 

Feel free to adjust the movements in any way that works best for you, whether that may be focusing on the upper body movements or doing smaller moves instead or skipping the difficult movements entirely! 

That also means you don’t have to follow the entire routine; if a specific movement gives you an especially good stretch, you can focus on doing that one for the whole duration! 

Personally, one of our favorites is the “Show Off” movement. I struggle to keep up with the on-screen instructor, but kneeling and stretching those arms wide really helps with your shoulders, spine, and hips, which feels great! 

Arranging the Moves for a Better Stretch
In making Eorzean Aetherobics, our team in Japan worked together with RENAISSANCE INC., who operates many sport clubs and health programs in Japan.  

The goal was to choose movements that were easy enough to memorize while also providing a good stretch, but it was difficult to achieve both with some of the movements. The final version ended up prioritizing easy-to-remember movements from FFXIV, but here I’d like to share some adjusted versions that might give you a better stretch. 

Point 
In the video, this movement just extends your arm forward, but facing your palm upward can help to relieve your arms after using a PC for a long time.

Show Off  
The video shows the character facing forward while extending their arms to one side. We can improve the stretch by turning your body in the direction of your arms, as well as extending your arms further apart.

Yol Dance 
In the video, we showed the character taking little hops, which can be replaced by adopting a wide stance and shifting your weight from side to side to get a better stretch on your hips. 

There are More Exercise Examples in FFXIV! 
We have plethora of emotes and animations in FFXIV, and there were many candidates for the video that were ultimately dropped. 

Lookout 
This would’ve been a great exercise for stretching your neck and upper body, but there is one critical problem: you can’t follow the video if you’re looking away! It’s still a nice exercise, so here are some photos to demonstrate the movement.

Ball Dance 
The rhythm for this one is pretty difficult, but if you think you can keep up with the beat, give it a go! 

Ritual Prayer 
This was a candidate for loosening your shoulders, but Cuff-a-Cur won the position in the video. If you feel the Cuff-a-Cur movement is too intense, you can swap it with this instead. 

We also had other candidates that were job-specific, like black mage’s Meteor (LB3) or monk’s Riddle of Earth. I’m sure there’s a lot of other emotes and animations that could provide a good stretch! 

We hope Eorzean Aetherobics will help motivate our Warriors of Light to keep their body active and stay healthy for the journeys ahead!

– Zhexos 
Community Team