BEST TRAITS, REWARDS, AND SKILL LEVEL UNLOCKS
BY TOM "METRO" SCHLUETER
It's time to put my Sim to work and unlock the Fitness skill.
Fitness in Sims 4 is a fun way for your Sim to earn plenty of Satisfaction points via completing all the regular Fitness Whims that spawn. It's also the perfect opportunity for your Sim to get out and meet other Sims while jogging or at the gym. There's no direct way to earn money in Fitness - i.e. a Fitness career, but I will suggest a simple way to pay your bills while your Sim invests the many hours necessary to cap the skill.
Good Traits for Fitness
- Active - This is the clear no-brainer. Active Sims regularly get Energized which is the ideal emotional state to maximize skill gain for Fitness. Active Sims can also Pump Up other Sims (if you just envisioned the old SNL Hans and Franz skits, then I'm right with ya).
- Loves the Outdoors - A great trait given your Fitness Sim will undoubtedly be outside jogging quite a bit. If you opt to go the non-career route, your Sim may also spend time outdoors collecting rocks, frogs, and fishing to earn some extra money, so the extra buff is always nice.
- Bro - Since Bros can get Energized from watching Sports on TV and being Energized is a good thing for Fitness this trait makes sense. But, it's not a sure thing like getting Energized from drinking Energy Juice. Oh, yeah - female Sims can actually choose the Bro trait which is...weird.
Since Gluteus has the Bro trait he can get the Hangin' with Bros Moodlet when another Bro is nearby.
The Aspiration I chose for my Sim was Bodybuilder, the only one available in the Athletic category. The bonus trait provided is High Metabolism which makes it easier for these Sims to stay in shape. The Bodybuilder Aspiration requires you to buy a couple pieces of exercise equipment to knock out the first stage. If you're on a tight budget, complete the Aspiration component and then sell the gear. The gym has everything you need.
Unlocking the Fitness skill could not be easier - just click on your Sim and choose Go Jogging. Other options would be purchasing a punching bag or treadmill and interacting with those objects, or going to the gym. On the one hand, I miss the open world from Sims 3, but on the other hand, I do not not miss the travel time it took to get to places like the gym. Just press M to view the whole neighborhood, click on the Gym building, and poof - no loss of time and your Sim is instantly ported right outside.
As you can see below, Gluteus has lots of moodlets boosting Energized for a productive workout at the Movers & Shakers Gym in Willow Creek. He's way overdue for a shower, but his other moodlets offset that hit to keep his current emotional state Energized.
Don Lothario (wearing the hat) tells Gluteus: "Bro, seriously...showers are upstairs. Chop chop. Even the people on TV can smell you."
- 2 - Discuss Workout Techniques with other Sims (social)
- 3 - Endurance Run (treadmill); Research Workout Tips on the computer
- 4 - Box (punching bag); Heavy Lifting (workout machine)
- 5 - Make Protein Shakes (bar); No Sweat Run (treadmill)
- 6 - Show off Muscles (social)
- 7 - Hill Challenge (treadmill)
- 8 - Epic Workout (weight machine)
- 9 - Practice Fighting (social)
- 10 - Mentor (social)
Painters want to be Inspired. Tech Gurus want to be Focused. And Fitness Sims want to be Energized. The more moodlets that add to Energized, the faster the Fitness skill gain. If you have enough moodlets going on and boosting Energized, then your Sim may jump to Very Energized for even faster skill gains.
Darwin Luna mentoring Gluteus. If your Sim gets Mentored chances are they will get Very Energized because the Exercising with Insight moodlet is +2 Energized.
Darwin: "The leg pads are where you put your feet, not your hands!"
Gluteus: "I got it, Yoda. Next time when I need your help I'll ask!"
So what things can your Sim do to boost Energized? Tons of possibilities here, so I'll mention a few simple ones: Watching Sports on TV can Energize you if you have the Bro trait. Certain world items you dig up such as a Peach, Diamonds, Orange Topaz, and Simanite add if their Emotional aura is enabled. There is an Energized Potion from the Mixology skill. Researching Workout Tips on the computer is another source.
An easy way to stack the Energized emotion is to eat a High Protein Energy Meal (4 hour moodlet), take a Brisk Shower, (yielding a 4 hr buff) and follow up with Drink Energy Juice (yielding a 3 hr buff) right before a workout. Gluteus just finished his Energy Juice and you'd think he'd won the lottery.
A Short Satisfaction and Rewards Guide
When you start with a fresh Sim with 0 rewards you'll have to micromanage them a lot simply because their needs will tank on a regular basis - peeing, eating, sleeping, showering, etc. And the amount of time all of these mundane tasks take is staggering and eats into your time for fun stuff like skilling, relationship building, and exploring the world. Fulfilling lots of Whims (the 3 thought bubbles that appear above your Sim's head at the bottom left) is your simple solution to obtaining the necessary Satisfaction to purchase rewards to make your Sim more powerful and less "needy."
If you do not foresee being able to complete a Whim quickly - i.e. the same day, click the x to cancel it so another Whim can fire that may be a better choice. Many Whims can be completed in just minutes - like Enthuse About Interests, Do Push Ups, Do Sit Ups, Buy a Treadmill. Do as many Whims as you can to stockpile a lot of Satisfaction. This puts you in a position to purchase rewards early to make things so much easier. Note: Doing small Satisfaction Whims like Push Ups or Sit Ups does not trigger the Fitness skill bar to appear above your Sim's head.
My goal was to get Gluteus 500 Satisfaction by Day 2 to purchase the Gym Rat reward. This is a great reward for Fitness Sims who spend a lot of time in the gym - your hygiene will not take a nosedive, plus working out will add to the Fun bar as well. Just remember that Brisk Showers boost the Energized emotion, so even if you are not stinky, put a shower in your queue rotation to stack with other moodlets.
Making Money While Pursuing Fitness
You honestly do not need a lot of money to get by if you're just trying to cap the Fitness skill - you'll need some money to pay bills, objects will break sometimes and you may want to replace those, you can probably get by on eating a breakfast and then not again until dinnertime, you'll buy treadmills and punching bags regularly to fulfill Whims, but then you can sell them again. Bottom line: you can indeed get by on very little and not do a full blown career. One tip Carl gave me is teleporting to one section of a given world to spawn rocks and frogs, otherwise if you never travel the game saves resources and they simply are not there. So load up the park world and do some jogging and after you are finished there should be some rocks and frogs to collect and then sell.
Good Careers
If you decide to incorporate a career into the mix, then the one that initially makes the most sense because of the Energized mood state is Criminal - in the higher career levels it's no longer Energized but Focused and Confident. Healthy amounts of Fitness are required in the Astronaut and Secret Agent careers, so those would also be a natural fit.
Finishing Up
I basically had Gluteus do a similar action sequence ever day - sleep, eat a high protein energy meal, take a brisk shower, pee, drink Energy Juice, then it was out the door to the gym. He was always Energized, and depending on certain factors happening at the gym he could then elevate to Very Energized off and on. As more challenging gym object interactions unlocked, such as Hill Challenge and Epic Workout, those were my go to activities for the final push to cap the skill as they yield better results.
As the day wore on at the gym his various moodlets would run out and when he was no longer Energized I had him go to the nearby park to collect frogs and rocks for a little money, then just sent him home to start the whole sequence again.
One of the biggest sources of fun in Sims is gaining new socials and interactions as your Sim levels up a skill. At Fitness Level 6 Gluteus gains the Show Off Muscles social. If you look at the Aspiration info below he actually needs to do this 15 times as part of completing the 3rd component...
Emerson Huntley is clearly amazed (and possibly scared?) by the eye-popping flex from Gluteus' Show Off Muscles social. It's almost like she braces herself to be hit in the face!
Another fun Fitness social is Mentoring a Sim which unlocks after capping the skill. Your target Sim needs to be actively using a piece of exercise equipment. Click on the Sim, and choose Mentor. There are your typical rah rah animations you'd expect but those are interspersed with some pretty scary faces akin to a threatening drill sargeant. Just look at Gluteus' eyes and the baring of the teeth. Poor Tylor Christian...
"Mister, if you do not run faster I will ask Don Lothario to be in all remaining screenshots. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"
Given each succeeding skill level takes longer to achieve my goal was to get the Savant reward (4000 Satisfaction) to speed up the last 2 skill levels. It was the only reward aside from Gym Rat that I purchased. A quick Enthuse About Interests with..you guessed it...Don Lothario netted the last 25 Satisfaction to hit the 4000 mark and buy the Savant Reward. Yes!
Gluteus
: "I love working Out!"
Don: "OMG, you too?
I finally capped the Fitness skill on Thursday around 9 AM of Week 2. There was a 3-4 day stretch where I did not focus on doing many Whims and could have bought Savant earlier if I had done that. But, it was not a race, and I just enjoyed taking it a little slower and sampled a lot of new content.
Cooldown Set
Well, it's been a long time since I have written a Guide article. Hopefully, I was not too rusty. It's nice to get back into the swing of things with Sims 4 and I am excited to tackle another skill very soon. The Fitness skill was a ton of fun to explore, and I especially enjoyed the new animations of the socials. For a couple of years when I was a teenager I actually wanted to be a bodybuilder, so this hit home for me.
The Long Lived Reward Trait gained after completing the Bodybuilder Aspiration is a nice bonus for players seeking to keep their buff Sim around for more fun, be it a career, starting a family, or whatever your heart desires.
Reference : carls-sims-4-guide
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