Does Wii Active really work?

Over the years I’ve tried many ways to get fit and stay fit:

• Rowing Machine
• Treadmill
• Jogging
• Weight Lifting
• Bicycle Machine

But somehow I’ve never been able to maintain interest longer than a few weeks and therefore the hard work I’ve put in, always ends up being wasted.

A year ago, I came across a new type of exercise that seemed more up my alley way. Wii Fit was a brand new way of exercising- using the Wii to play mini-games made the process a lot more enjoyable. However, again I lost motivation – the problem I had was that once I found some games I liked, I tended to concentrate on those and then once boredom hit, then I simply let it slip – I did lose about 15lbs using Wii Fit, but put it back on in a matter of months.

So here I am a year later trying out the latest Wii game that ‘will’ get me fit.

EA Sports Active is my latest attempt to get fit, and so far it has kept my interest and is beginning to make a difference. So what makes it different from Wii Fit? Won’t I simply slip into the same habits and just chose the same exercises over and over again? Will I get bored and being playing Wii Tiger Woods golf instead? Read on for my thoughts and insights:

 You get a box that contains the following:

• A game CD
• A band that houses the Wii Nunchuk – it took me a while to get used to wearing this, and often I found it slipping down my leg during exercises, especially running – the key for me was to place it at the top of my thigh and make it as tight as possible.
• A stretchy resistance band – this is a ‘red’ stretchy band and is the same as those in most palates kits – you can replace with a different bands for higher resistance if required.

The following items are not included in the box:

• Wii Balance Board  - while not essential, some of the games do allow you to use the Balance Board – I ended up turning off this feature as there didn’t seem to be too much added value.
• Wii Nunchuck and Remote – you need both of these if you want to do the full range of exercises – I found that at times, the placement of these had to be exact otherwise you couldn’t complete the exercise – the key is to watch all of the instructional movies.

The exercises are split into different types that target different areas such as cardio, lower body, upper body etc. The main exercises are:

• Running – this aerobic exercise is generally used to warm up and cool down; however, when using Knee-ups and Step-ups, it becomes a lot more intensive and works the lower body. At times it is one of the most strenuous exercises especially when doing the step-ups.
• Squats and lunges – there are a great variety of squats and lunges that mostly work your lower body. Variations including Lunge Jumps, squat holds, squat and calves exercise, forward Lunges and backward lunges. This seems to be a very effective type of exercise and I can really feel my legs, thighs, calves and ‘butt’ muscles getting tighter and harder.
• Bicep curls etc – there’s a whole range of upper body exercises that use the resistance band to great effect. With repetitions, you begin to build up your arm, shoulder and back muscles. Some of the variations include rowing, curls and shoulder presses.
• Boxing – this is a great aerobic exercise and involves pinching various targets and bags – this is a fast paced exercise that really gets your heart beating.
• Inline skating – this is my least favorite exercise and is really an extension to the squat. It varies by making you balance on each leg, or by making you jump (it makes it interesting by performing tricks as you jump).
• Dancing – a very easy and fun aerobic exercise – this is like DDR without the pressure of getting a high score – you follow a sequence of ‘moves’ and try and replicate the dance seen onscreen.
• Baseball – simply put this is a fun game that allows you to bat, pitch and field – there’s no score, it simply gets you moving.
• Tennis, basket ball, volley ball – other aerobic type activities that involve sports and generally are designed to get you moving.

While you can select your own exercises to do, I found the best way to approach this game was to take the thirty day challenge. This provides a daily exercise schedule with each day focusing on a different area (aerobic, lower body etc.), it also gives you a rest day every three days.

The 30 day challenge sets goals, such as amount of time to exercise, calories to burn etc and gives you something to aim for – it also has inspirational videos (by Bob Greene) as you progress as well as encouragement for better eating habits and other exercise outside of the game.

What I like about this is that each day is different, and I cannot change the exercises so I can’t avoid the ones I don’t like (such as inline skating) – this variety, so far, has encouraged me to continue and I’m glad to say I’ve finished one 30 day challenge and am into my second.

I definitely feel fitter and while I haven’t lost much weight yet, I’m in no rush and feel that this program is more likely to make me stay for the course, rather than giving up like I did with Wii Fit.

There are a couple of minor problems with the game:

• Position of controllers - in some of the exersizes it's difficult to emulate the trainer, and you'll find that you don't quite get the controllers in the correct position - this causes the program to stop and tell you you're doing something wrong - it can be very frustrating at times, especially at the end of a 30 minute workout.
• Length of chord - in many of the exersizes, you are stretching - often you'll find that the wire connect the controller and nunchuck isn't quite long enough or gets in the way - if you can afford it, I'd suggest buying a wireless nunchuck.

This is a very good game for those who are unfit and are serious about improving their health. It will not benefit people who are already fit, and cannot replace a gym for the best exercise. It provides ‘lazy’ people like me the ability to get fit at home at their own pace, while not being to difficult.

Combining a thirty minute workout every two days followed by a rest day with a diet and other external activities will really make a difference to your health and fitness - however, like anything, this must be a change for life, not just for a few weeks.

It encourages you to follow a regimen, and….

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