I'm a Wii bit sore and a Wii bit tired as well.

[kandrathe]

My wife found a sweet deal on a Wii Fit package the day before Thanksgiving. She heard from a PT (physical Therapist) that the balance games would be good for dealing with my sons neural processing developmental delays (mostly aural, and executive processing which is another long story). Needless to say my wife and I have been spending some hours after the kids go to bed reliving our GS ski racing days. We keep one up'ing each other on the ski jump as well (currently she is 312m and I am 320m for two runs). I've also lost 2 pounds in the last week! Gads I'm sore. Should a video game system make you sweat and develop muscle tone?

I think Wii Dig Dug will allow you to transform the remote into a shovel.

[DeeBye]

Wii Boxing gave me a shoulder injury:(

[kandrathe]

Wii Boxing gave me a shoulder injury:(

I know I'm going to hurt myself trying to get faster than 94 mph fast balls too.

[eppie]

I know I'm going to hurt myself trying to get faster than 94 mph fast balls too.

No you won't....you have to use some rapid short movement (no in the least resembling a real pitching movement) to get to faster pitches. Of course this is less fun.
I hear they are working on a new much more sensitive remote, e.g. the golf games should be great when using that one.
I play mostly sitting games (except for tiger woods golf) and they wont wear you out so much, but we were thinking about getting a wii fit because it is dark at 3 PM here so running after work is not great anymore. Do you have any idea about if this thing gives you good excercise?

[Bolty]

Do you have any idea about if this thing gives you good excercise?

The common joke about the Wii Fit is: you can pay ~$90 for something that you'll never use, and that beats paying ~$50 a month for a gym membership you'll never use.

Jokes aside though, the Wii Fit can give you good exercise if you follow a regimen with it. Do the strength training and the aerobics daily for considerable periods. I found some of its exercises amazing when it was clearly using muscles my WoW-addled body hadn't used in a LONG time...and I'd feel it afterward. Just like a gym membership though, you have to keep at it for it to be effective, and keep trying to beat your scores. It helps if you have a family member owning your face off at some of the games to give you motivation.

It has lower-impact exercises too that you can just do whenever. For example, Free Step, which you turn on and then switch over to watch TV. The Wii Fit board tracks your steps on the board (like a Stairmaster) and will give you a score after 10, 20, or 30 minutes of the activity. Since I almost never watch TV, I don't get much use out of that unless I'm watching sports.

Some of the games are more "fun" games than others, and naturally the ones that give you the best workouts aren't those. You're not going to get a workout from the Ski Jump, for example. The game tells you it develops balance, but....eh, I don't see it.

The ultimate benefit of the Wii Fit is that it tracks your weight change and makes you think about your daily activities. It still doesn't have a "play too much WoW" button as a potential answer to "why the (bleep) are you gaining so much weight, fatso?" This I need. :)

-Bolty

[Tal]

I know I'm going to hurt myself trying to get faster than 94 mph fast balls too.

Flick the wrist Mr. Kandrathe.

[Tamorrax]

I tried the Wii Fit briefly at a friend's house. The yoga instructer was quite condescending, which perfectly replicated my experience of being in a yoga/pilates class with people who see you as some kind of lard-laden lesser being.

In that sense, the Wii Fit is very much like going to the gym.

[DeeBye]

I hear they are working on a new much more sensitive remote, e.g. the golf games should be great when using that one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_Motion_...MotionPlus

It's not a new remote. It's an addon for the existing one and will be bundled in with the sequel to Wii Sports in spring 2009. I saw some video demonstrating it and it looked really accurate.

[kandrathe]

The common joke about the Wii Fit is: you can pay ~$90 for something that you'll never use, and that beats paying ~$50 a month for a gym membership you'll never use.

Jokes aside though, the Wii Fit can give you good exercise if you follow a regimen with it. Do the strength training and the aerobics daily for considerable periods. I found some of its exercises amazing when it was clearly using muscles my WoW-addled body hadn't used in a LONG time...and I'd feel it afterward. Just like a gym membership though, you have to keep at it for it to be effective, and keep trying to beat your scores. It helps if you have a family member owning your face off at some of the games to give you motivation.

It has lower-impact exercises too that you can just do whenever. For example, Free Step, which you turn on and then switch over to watch TV. The Wii Fit board tracks your steps on the board (like a Stairmaster) and will give you a score after 10, 20, or 30 minutes of the activity. Since I almost never watch TV, I don't get much use out of that unless I'm watching sports.

Some of the games are more "fun" games than others, and naturally the ones that give you the best workouts aren't those. You're not going to get a workout from the Ski Jump, for example. The game tells you it develops balance, but....eh, I don't see it.

The ultimate benefit of the Wii Fit is that it tracks your weight change and makes you think about your daily activities. It still doesn't have a "play too much WoW" button as a potential answer to "why the (bleep) are you gaining so much weight, fatso?" This I need. :)

-Bolty

I concur. I at least log on once a day to do the Body Check, even if I don't "train". My wife and I have set a goal to lose 1 pound per week for 20 weeks. We are tied for weight loss so far, even though she has racked up twice the time on it that I have. The ski jump will burn your quads if you crouch in the ski jump stance. Same with the ski racing, where if you are in the crouched stance for the races you will get quite the quadriceps burn. If that doesn't work, there is the old stand by ski racing training I used to do, which was to put a pillow on the floor and repeatedly jump over it sideways (simulated deep powder jumps).

[kandrathe]

I tried the Wii Fit briefly at a friend's house. The yoga instructer was quite condescending, which perfectly replicated my experience of being in a yoga/pilates class with people who see you as some kind of lard-laden lesser being.

In that sense, the Wii Fit is very much like going to the gym.

And, when the Wii Fit program is doing its "measuring, measuring, measuring" I always hear it saying "snickering, snickering, snickering".

[Concillian]

The common joke about the Wii Fit is: you can pay ~$90 for something that you'll never use, and that beats paying ~$50 a month for a gym membership you'll never use.

I thought the common joke was:

Q: Does the Wii Fit really help you lose weight?
A: It has for me, I've been walking all over town for a month trying to find one in stock, and I've lost 10 pounds already!

I got a Wii recently for my wife. I'd like to get the Fit, but I refuse to do what is necessary to get one (camp a store on shipment day or buy a bundle of junk I don't want, effectively paying 1.5x the price). Anyway, you can use DDR or outdoor challenge as a reasonable (albeit lower quality) facsimile.

[Taem]

Anyway, you can use DDR or outdoor challenge as a reasonable (albeit lower quality) facsimile.

Alright, while I may not have played Wii Fit yet, I have played a LOT of DDR, and I'll tell you if you play on Difficult or Expert mode, you will shed pounds like nobodys business. It's extreemly difficult at first and most people just feel like they "don't get it," but in reality, like all sports, it just takes a lot of practice to get good at DDR, the type of patience most gamers can't afford. DDR isin't for everyone, but IMO, you can get an insane amount of exercise from it, much more than any of the wii sports stuff out there. However, I prefer Stepmania and two custom built metal DDR pads.

[Nystul]

My youngest nephew got a Wii (but not Wii Fit) for Christmas. It looks like a lot of fun for certain things. But I must admit I was surprised to hear my sisters talking about the exercise he was getting standing in front of the TV swinging the remote around. One sister is a nurse and the other teaches PE. This is a kid who plays organized sports, rides bikes, skates, bounces around on the trampoline, and eats like there is no tomorrow. I'm not seeing it. I joined him for a couple games and got less exercise than I would playing the piano.

I always laugh about things like Ab Lounge commercials, because anyone who has the discipline to do situps for even 30 seconds a day doesn't need the machine and anyone who can't do situps for 30 seconds every day will not use the machine more than a couple times. The key to any workout big or small is actually doing it. If it takes a video game to provide that competitive edge, then so be it. It's kind of depressing though, especially for people under the age of 70 or so. :P

[Taem]

My youngest nephew got a Wii (but not Wii Fit) for Christmas. It looks like a lot of fun for certain things. But I must admit I was surprised to hear my sisters talking about the exercise he was getting standing in front of the TV swinging the remote around. One sister is a nurse and the other teaches PE. This is a kid who plays organized sports, rides bikes, skates, bounces around on the trampoline, and eats like there is no tomorrow. I'm not seeing it. I joined him for a couple games and got less exercise than I would playing the piano.

I always laugh about things like Ab Lounge commercials, because anyone who has the discipline to do situps for even 30 seconds a day doesn't need the machine and anyone who can't do situps for 30 seconds every day will not use the machine more than a couple times. The key to any workout big or small is actually doing it. If it takes a video game to provide that competitive edge, then so be it. It's kind of depressing though, especially for people under the age of 70 or so. :P

Try this game: Active Life: Outdoor Challenge

I was definitly sweating and at one point out of breath playing this game with my kids. The best part, some of the exercises are sitting, so your not always standing the entire time, nor do you have to frantically mosh your feet on the dancepad ala DDR. This game is a great hybrid exercise simulator IMO.

EDIT - they had it on sale at Costco for $49.99 which we got the kids as an Xmas gift.