Wii Fit testimonials

[Skykid]

Does anyone actually know if Wii Fit actually works as a fitness device? If I wanted to get 'fitter' for instance, I can't think of a better method than by playing video games - but before I shell out something extortionate for the whole shebang I'd like to quell my fears that this is a gimmick which isn't going to do any good at all.

Anyone had any experience (or know anyone who may have had positive experiences) with Wii Fit?

[Icarus]

Going for a jog in the morning is far more effective and cheaper than buying a keep-fit gimmick.
That, and making sure you are on a healthy diet.

[D]

I can't think of a better method than by playing video games

In case you were serious.
There are lots of non-video games that are more fun than video games
Not everything you do has to involve a console now does it?
I went squashing yesterday, pretty cool actually. and my whole body feels beaten up, but I feel fresh and have that priceless achievement feeling!
Instead of trying romz in mame people should try all different sports!
That and/or build a gym in the attick.

[sven666]

a swedish magazine (or was it online?) did a rewiev over a week or two a while back, nothing really special just an average untrained guy doing 1-2hours a day on it.

the result seemed to be mostly backache and sore joints if i recall correctly, nothing peticularly impressive healthwise.
my guess is going for a short jog every other day is far more effective.

if youre hellbent on getting fit while playing games just invest in a prop cycle arcadecab mate.. thats damn good excercise!

[Icarus]

I went squashing yesterday, pretty cool actually. and my whole body feels beaten up, but I feel fresh and have that priceless achievement feeling!

What were you squashing? An elephant?

[Aru-san]

Wii Balance Board is too exploitable for the logical to keep using in the long run. In some cases, movements on screen are based on how much pressure your feet (or hands...or butt) are putting on the board more than what your upper body movements are, as proved by playing Soccer Heading for about 70 times. However, this exploit CAN be used as an advantage...such as hula hooping, skiing, snowboarding, and focusing whilst sitting down. Most of the exercises aren't really that exploitable if you don't intentionally take advantage of the limitations of the Balance Board, like for instance:

Doing push-ups and sideway planks:
- More pressure to the balance board when pushing down.
- Less pressure to the balance board when pushing up.
- Take off pressure from the side that is not being planked and put more pressure to the side being planked.

Wii Fit's good until you find a better alternative. From experience, real-world examples such as jogging, bicycling, rollerblading, and various sports (excluding golf or any other sport that has you idle for extremely long periods of time) are better alternatives AFAIK.

[Skykid]

Thanks for the advice Aru-san.

I do agree with you guys, real out-there excercise is the better alternative. But I work shit hours and I'm lazy as hell.

[Ruldra]

Wii fit doesn't seem to be helping much this guy.

Now, this dude is very satisfied with it.

[Icarus]

This is the only good reason to get Wii Fit.

[Ex-Cyber]

Wii Fit's good until you find a better alternative. From experience, real-world examples such as jogging, bicycling, rollerblading, and various sports (excluding golf or any other sport that has you idle for extremely long periods of time) are better alternatives AFAIK.

Golf is only idle because of golf carts. If you don't use the carts, you have to walk to where the ball landed, walk to the next hole, etc. while lugging your equipment.

Anyway, in my experience the main problem with "real-world" sports / fitness activities in general is that you need a (usually large) place suitable for the particular activity that you want to do, and if it's not close/cheap enough it's hard to do it regularly. I don't mean that you need a special "rollerblading course" to go rollerblading or whatever, just that it's surprisingly easy to screw it up. I would not recommend that anyone rollerblade in my neighborhood unless they really want to meet an orthopedic surgeon. Likewise, biking in most cities is far more dangerous than it ought to be (the law usually says "share the road", but Newton's second law says that's a bad idea for the cyclist).

[honorless]

Doesn't seem wise to choose Wii Fit over DDR for a basic workout, unless you've got some kind of injury that needs to be treated lightly. Not only is the latter cheaper and easier to obtain, but it's far more strenuous (and thus more effective).

If you're looking for upper body strength training specifically, Boxing on WiiSports would be more effective than the "rhythm boxing" Wii Fit offers.

Add a few pushups and crunches if you like. Buy yourself a hula hoop and a jump rope from a sports store for less than £10, and use them while you're watching a movie or TV instead of slouching into the couch.

The rest of Wii Fit is yoga and balance exercises, which I'm not sure you're so interested in anyway if your goal is to "get fit" (i.e. weight loss, strength training or cardiovascular/aerobic improvement).

[Frederik]

I was spending some time thinking about the pros and cons of the Wii Fits concept, but then I realized that it really isn´t about whether or not the Wii Fit actually will make you fit - it´s rather a pretty obvious cash-in on peoples bad consciousness who want to sort of better their lifes but don´t really feel like putting any serious research and effort into it and rather trust a videogame to take care of that.

[jpj]

Anyone had any experience (or know anyone who may have had positive experiences) with Wii Fit?

a friend of mine lost half a stone by changing some eating habits and doing some exercising for an hour a day on wii fit.

obviously it's not gonna do as much as doing a 10k run every morning, or what have you. but the pros are that it's a lot cheaper than a gym membership, and it's trying to make exercising a bit more enjoyable and "ease" you in a bit more than a proper regime. the stats and stuff are pretty cool, and help you keep track of your progress

are you developing bitch-tits?

[malik11]

There are lots of non-video games that are more fun than video games
Not everything you do has to involve a console now does it?

Apparently it does for the Japanese. They already have games that are about TV shows that are about playing games that are about fantasy (.hack).

If you want to exercise without being monitored by software, they say the best tool you can have is a wrist-bound heart-rate monitor.

[maxlords]

I lost over 10 pounds in 2 weeks with Wii Fit. Seriously. Most of that was probably water though. I find the yoga and strength training nice, the rest is pretty much worthless. I do maybe a half hour a day...but I've been laying off cause I'm lazy and injured myself at work (repetetive stress from factory work). I'm going to get back into it in the next week or two...had kept up a half hour a day for about 2 months and it was pretty nice. I'm too cheap for a gym membership and have no one to squash

I would recommend real sports if you have friends to play em with . All my buddies are at work though and I commute so far they're too lazy to come visit

[Skykid]

I lost over 10 pounds in 2 weeks with Wii Fit. Seriously. Most of that was probably water though. I find the yoga and strength training nice, the rest is pretty much worthless. I do maybe a half hour a day...but I've been laying off cause I'm lazy and injured myself at work (repetetive stress from factory work). I'm going to get back into it in the next week or two...had kept up a half hour a day for about 2 months and it was pretty nice. I'm too cheap for a gym membership and have no one to squash

I would recommend real sports if you have friends to play em with . All my buddies are at work though and I commute so far they're too lazy to come visit

Well, there's a nice firsthand report. I suppose it has some effect if you stick with it.
I bought a couple of tennis rackets - me and the lady had every intention of heading down to get freebies off of the courts before 10am every morning. But suddenly the UK is so damn cold I can't even get out of bed! So I reckon the tennis is off for about eight months.

I don't usually get home from work until about 9:15pm, so gymming is difficult. I had a membership for a year, but it was such a hassle and so boring after a while that I packed it in when the contract was up.

I think I'm going to give this Wii Fit thing a shot. A stone and a half is the goal.

[maxlords]

Yeah, it's definitely not for everyone. But if you fit into the small niche of people who don't really want or have time to go to the gym, have a Wii, and don't mind doing the exercises at home...it's not bad at all. Regular sessions WILL make a difference, unless you're already in really good shape. Some of the excercises in combination leave me sweating.

FYI I'm 6', 230 or so. Weight measurement fluctuates a bit on the Wii Fit measurement system, and it always tells me I'm obese because it doesn't take into account your height, just your weight. I'm a fairly broad shouldered, large-chested guy too. Not fat really....just not skinny That should give ya a bit of an idea. Hope ya like it!

[Specineff]

DDR works better for me.

[maxlords]

Just got my first DDR game too. We'll see how it goes.

[Arvandor]

I've lost 40 pounds over the past year by not playing Wii Fit! Or DDR!