I Think My Wii Fit Laughed at Me

Yesterday, as I stood in front of the house working on my new garden beds, I saw the UPS truck turn into our subdivision. I jumped up and down like a kid at Christmas yelling “He’s coming! He’s coming!” Alright, I didn’t know for sure if he was coming to my house, but he was in the neighborhood and that was enough to make my heart beat faster. But when he finally turned onto my street and stopped in front of my house, I knew my long-awaited package had finally arrived. I couldn’t stop giggling as I opened up my new Wii Fit.

DH and my MIL were both watching as I hogged the unit for it’s maiden voyage. I tried almost every activity and watched my piggy bank of time increase and new games open up. Yes, I called them games because that’s exactly what it felt like. It was fitness, it was exercise, I was sweating and had an increased heart rate… but I was having so much fun that I lost track of the time. I racked up an entire hour of activity which doesn’t count the down time for reading the menus, deciding what to try and watching demos….and to top it off, my legs are sore today!

The Price:
t’s currently in the neighborhood of $90… if you can find it.
Overview:
When I first fired up the Wii Fit, I was asked to do a general fitness test. It asked some personal information, weighed me and calculated my body mass index (BMI). After doing a few balance activities, it determined that I’m fat, out of shape and operating at the capacity of a 52 year old. It took my cute little Mii character and plumped it up. At about that time, I weighed my options and calculated how far my pudgy 52 year old body could toss the thing across the room. If you haven’t checked my profile lately, I just turned 38. Maybe this was an okay investment after all. If it is going to help me get in shape, how bad can it be? I selected a personal trainer, marked my starting point on a calendar and got to work.

As a reference, I work out regularly at the gym. I’m well aware of the fact that I have some balance deficiencies. I constantly battle that weakness during my Cardio class at the gym. I even know which of my legs is more reliable and the Wii Fit confirmed it. Thankfully, it also acknowledged that strength training is my strong point.

Activities:
There are four training modes – Yoga, Strength, Aerobics and Balance.

Each starts with a small number of available poses, games or activities. As your Mii logs time on the system, you are rewarded with new ones.
Some examples of where you can start are:

• Yoga – Deep Breathing, Tree pose and Warrior
• Strength – Push ups with side plank, Lunges, Single Leg Extensions
• Aerobics – Hula Hoop, Basic Step, Basic Run and 2-person run
• Balance – Soccer Heading, Ski Slalom, Ski Jump and some funky labyrinth thing called Table Tilt.

The Wii Fit is comical though – When I logged on around 10pm, it said something to the effect of “It’s late. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for bed?” And when it decided I had poor balance, it asked “Do you find yourself tripping when you walk?”

At the risk of making this any longer, I’ll refrain from detailed babble with respect to the activities. Feel free to ask any questions you may have and I’ll be happy to respond either in the comments or in another post.

If you have a Wii already, this is an excellent addition to the console. It’s entertaining and a great way to exercise. If you are looking to change gaming consoles and are weighing your options between systems, be sure to look into the Wii Fit. It may sway your decision.