Saturday, June 7, 2008

Gaming and Fitness: Do they mix well?

A week ago I got from the UPS guy a box that I hope holds the secret to getting me off my rear and back into shape; Wii Fit. I have been hopelessly hooked on anything that involves a controller or a mouse and keyboard for a few years, and my waistline is showing the stress. We bought a Wii for the kids, because it has many titles that can be played by 4 players, which is just over half of the amount of kids we have here on any given day. When my husband heard about the Wii Fit, he thought it might be something I would like. After all, it involves some skill, and learning a new controller, the balance board. So, naturally, when I got it, I couldn't wait to hook it up, which is why it sat for a whole week in its shipping box. I was busy! Really...

So today, while the kids were cleaning their rooms and helping clean out the pool in anticipation of the swim season, I pulled the box out from behind the easy chair and opened it up. Nintendo made sure I didn't need much thought to put this together, as it involved 4 AA batteries, 4 extender feet (because I would be using it on a carpeted surface), and a disc. Piece of cake, I was up and running in 5 minutes. Or actually, I was doing yoga. Running didn't happen for another ten minutes, but I'll explain that later.

First, it has you sync the balance board with the unit. Push red button on unit, then push red button in battery compartment of board. Having done that, the next step was to step on the board, pick a Mii, answer some height and age questions, and let the board weigh me and check how my center of balance was. I won't tell you the results (I'm still in denial), but the Fit system adjusted the size of my Mii to match. EWW! So now I am looking at this great Mii I made, twice as fat, and reading along with the narrator as she goes on to have me choose a trainer and start my exercises. I did some Yoga positions first, which had a helpful yellow circular area I had to keep a red dot inside of during the excercise, and an aqua circle that expanded when in exhaling and shrunk when inhaling. Not extremely easy, as I am carrying a bit of extra baggage now, but I did well, and earned some points toward unlocking new exercises. The yoga exercises done, I moved on to aerobics. I played hula hoop, did a step routine (which is harder than it looks!), and ran a short course which left me puffing a little. Then I ran against one of the kids in a 2 person short run. Darned kid, she kept passing the instructor and leaving me in the dust! Good thing they weren't tracking her progress!

I didn't get to the strength training, but I tried a few balance exercises. Skiing was fun, but the tightrope walk I unlocked was just not fun(probably because I fell to my death?) There was a tilt board game where you use the board to tip boards to make marbles fall through holes. It took a bit of concentration, but I finished with a whole 3 seconds to spare! YAY ME!

I may let you all in on my Wii Fit encounters as I go. I have set a goal, which the system says is a healthy one, to lose 3 pounds in two weeks. One small step in regaining my pre-children figure. Comments are welcome..cheer me on! I need all the encouragement I can get.

A comic to wrap up from Zoitz.com which really puts it all in a nutshell... I'll just link it, take a look for yourself!

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