Deflabbify

Working out with the Wii Fit

Written by admin on June 5, 2008 – 2:45 am -

On Memorial Day we went over to a good friend’s house. There were a lot of kids there and eventually we congregated around the Nintendo Wii. They’ve had the Wii for a while but they had recently gotten the Wii Fit, which is a balance board and scale that is meant to be stood on. Sensors detect how evenly you are bearing your weight both left to right and front to back.

We played with the Wii Fit and had a blast. So much so that we shelled out the dough to get the Wii console and the balance board on eBay.

I had been reluctant to just get a Wii. Sure that’s exercise and my arms were tired after playing baseball with it, but those games were exercising a very limited muscle group. It didn’t seem like that kind of exercise would be worth the money.

Not so with the Wii Fit. The yoga and strength training exercises kick my butt! They’re tough. I’m really sore afterwards! They’re tough for my friend who’s in way better shape than I am. Yes, it’s a video game — and not a cheap one — but it’s a video game that I’m hoping that will keep my interest long enough for me to see some deflabbification.

Here are a few specific reasons why I think it will:

• I’m very competitive at video games. I’m not competitive at team sports, and never really was, but man, get me in front of a video game, and you’re my worst enemy. That, and I get pretty frustrated when I’ve done better before at a particular exercise or balance game. I’ll try several more times until I’ve given it a good shot at beating my high score. Meanwhile, I’m exercising, which is the whole point, right?
• It’s graduated. They make you ease into things pretty slowly by unlocking easy activities first. The game encourages you not to overdo your workout.
• No additional work to record progress. It keeps track of how much, how often, as well as how much you weigh.
• It covers a lot of territory. Stretching, balance, strength training, aerobic workout — it’s all there.
• There’s a neat reward system. The more you use it, the more games you get. Each exercise gives you “fit credits” that drop into a futuristic piggy bank — which I respond to well, considering I also write on personal finance.
• It will be a long time before I beat these games. Some games you can finish, or you get good enough at them that they’re no longer a challenge. This will be challenging for me for a long time.
• The games are fun. Frustrating at times, but it’s almost always because I don’t have good enough control over my body’s movements to do well. Overall they’re a blast to play.

Here are a few things I need to watch out for, though:

• I’m very competitive at video games. I have to watch that I don’t break the thing. I’m serious!
• It is possible to cheat the system. But isn’t that possible with just about anything? I’ve used it honestly so far and need to continue doing so. I’m only fooling myself if I cheat.
• I may lose interest. At this point I just need to take it for the exercise it is and keep at it. Hopefully this will be easier if I’ve developed the habit of exercising by then. I don’t see it getting old within the next couple of months. And hopefully I’ll be down around ten pounds.

Anyway, this is going to be a fairly big part of my exercise program. I’ll keep you posted.

Related Posts

• Hundred Pushups, Week 3, Day 1 This one was tough, and I thought I may have pulled a muscle in my right arm doing it. Powering through sixty-four pushups isn't a good thing to do if I injure myself in the process. Week 3, Day 1, Column 1 (based on my exhaustion test result of 19):......
• My three year old daughter is a great coach She works me hard! During dinner tonight she asked me to "do boxing" on Wii Fit. This is the Rhythm Boxing cardio workout. She really likes the fast punching at the end, and informs me that I'm "going to go fast later." Then, she wanted me to run the Island......
• Silver Fit Bank, following dogs, and taking it easy I just crossed the 20-hour mark in Fit Credits on Wii Fit. My Fit Bank got an upgrade to silver. It's all shiny and stuff. Tonight I put over an hour on Wii Fit because my wife found out how to take different routes on the Island Lap run. We......
• Cracked out Wii Fit for the first time in a while And it didn't even make a snide comment at me!  Probably was speechless because it thought I was dead. Thirty-one minutes of Wiixercise:  11 minutes of Hula-Hoop® (no, there's no video), 13 minutes of rhythmic boxing, a couple games of soccer ball heading, one round of table tilting the balls......

Related Websites

• Cardio and Strength Training for Weight Loss Usually when people think of exercising for weight loss they think of cardio, but not strength training. However, for good health and for quicker weight loss, your exercise routine needs to include both. Why Cardio is Important Cardiovascular exercise (cardio for short) is an exercise or physical activity that improves the efficiency......
• Former Fat Guy Rob Cooper On Fitness I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Rob Cooper, the Former Fat Guy, about his natural weight loss experience. We covered his fitness, nutrition, and mental health. He is an inspiration to all, he once weighed nearly 500 lbs. 500 POUNDS! It took him only two and half years......
• I Shouldn't Be Giving Wii Tennis Tips (and some links) This weekend, I got to spend a little time with a good friend and we enjoyed a tasty beverage. I wanted to show him my Wii (that sounds dirtier than it should) and perhaps play a game of Wii Tennis and/or Wii Boxing. We both got a couple of surprises.......
• Remington's Great American Bird Hunt (Wii Game) November 12, 2009 - SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Mastiff, a leading publisher of interactive entertainment, today announced that Remington Great American Bird Hunt for Wii, the latest in its popular series of outdoor action games, is now available in retail stores throughout North America. With an arsenal of authentic Remington......

Posted in Wii and Wii Fit | 1 Comment »