Space Marines and Steps: How a Canadian Bodybuilder Got 10,000 Daily Steps Playing Warhammer 40,000

This news grabbed my attention because, as someone who’s seen “gamer lifestyle” memes a million times, it’s rare to see a practical, no-nonsense approach to mixing gaming and fitness. Canadian bodybuilder Derek Brodersen isn’t waiting for some “future of VR fitness”-instead, he’s getting his steps in while clearing out Tyranids in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, all thanks to a cheap treadmill in front of his TV. It’s simple, kind of brilliant, and honestly pretty inspiring for any of us who have told ourselves it’s “one or the other.”

• Brodersen racks up 10,000 steps a day while playing Space Marine 2-no “fitness game” required.
• This isn’t about chasing trends-he’s just leveraging a treadmill, not buying gym membership gadgets.
• His setup challenges the stereotype that you can’t be fit and be a hardcore gamer.
• If you’re short on time or motivation for exercise, this is a real-world hack worth considering.

Forget Gimmicks—Just Walk and Game

The gaming industry is full of “revolutionary” fitness solutions, from Ring Fit Adventure and VR boxing apps to fitness trackers that promise to get your heart pumping. But most of them have their own learning curves, require extra purchases, or, let’s face it, end up gathering dust. What Brodersen is doing feels refreshingly low-tech. He’s not strapping on motion sensors or swinging a plastic sword—he’s literally just walking on a treadmill set in front of his TV, controller in hand, while he tears through Warhammer 40K’s virtual battlefields. It’s exercise baked directly into your existing gaming habit—no new games, subscriptions, or tutorials needed.

The Gamer Stereotype, Shattered

This story hits a nerve in gaming culture: the persistent stereotype of gamers as lazy, sedentary, or uninterested in physical wellness. Sure, gaming sessions often mean sitting, but the pandemic basically obliterated the old lines between “gamer” and “regular person.” Everyone turned to games for stress relief, social connection, and even a sense of normalcy. Meanwhile, the accessibility of at-home workouts (and a lot of us buying home gym equipment we barely used) flipped conventional wisdom upside down. Brodersen, a bodybuilder, is far from alone—there’s a rising number of fitness-focused streamers and gamers who lift between raids, or squat between matches. His setup just offers the most no-nonsense evidence: you literally don’t have to choose. If you want to move more, park a treadmill near your gaming setup and get to it.

Why This Actually Matters to Gamers

What excites me is how practical this is for the rest of us. You don’t need to overhaul your life, commit to an expensive gym, or buy some dedicated “gamer fitness” product. A basic treadmill—manual or electric, used or new—can turn those hour-long RPG sessions into real, cumulative movement. It’s perfect especially for games that don’t demand lightning-fast reflexes all the time. If you’re grinding in an MMO, exploring in an open-world adventure, or working through a backlog of lengthy single-player campaigns, you can rack up steps without even thinking about it. Brodersen himself managed 10,000 (a standard fitness target), and casually joked that his next goal could be 40,000. Nobody expects you to hit that—especially not on, say, Sekiro’s boss runs—but starting with a few thousand while gaming is entirely doable, even for the least athletic among us.

I also appreciate that Brodersen’s approach doesn’t pretend to be a total substitute for dedicated workouts. He’s still hitting the weights—this is just bonus activity. But for everyday gamers who want to break up sedentary time, or who feel guilty about spending hours in front of a screen, this setup is a revelation. And let’s be real: if your game backlog isn’t shrinking (whose is?), at least now you can tell yourself those long sessions are doing your body some good.

Looking at the Bigger Picture

Could this become a trend? Maybe—if enough of us get over the initial weirdness of gaming on foot. The mainstreaming of standing desks and under-desk pedals in work culture tells me it’s not outlandish. In fact, this is probably as “old school” as it gets—arcade DDR, StepMania fans, and those ancient Wii Fit boards got people moving ages ago. But this time, there’s no novelty minigame; you’re just playing what you’d play anyway.

There’s something democratizing about this approach. Anyone can try it, no matter the genre—shoutout to all the turn-based tacticians and 4X strategists, who might finally get some activity in during those long planning phases. It’s also a real answer to the defeatist “it’s either fitness or gaming” mindset that’s been around for way too long in the community.

TL;DR

A Canadian bodybuilder’s treadmill gaming sessions aren’t about flashy tech—they’re a legit, affordable hack for integrating movement into your favorite hobby. Whether you’re a hardcore Space Marine or a casual RPG explorer, there’s zero reason you can’t get your steps in while gaming. The real question: what game in your backlog could you walk through next?