A Wii Bit of Exercise

Generally speaking, I'm not a big video gamer. In college I spent (you might say wasted) hundreds of hours engaged in virtual battles. After graduation, I got married, and sense then I haven't been much of a gamer. Enter the Wii, an delightful little gaming system that has offered us lots of fun and a few sweaty workouts.

When we purchased our Wii a few years ago, my wife and I mainly played sports and laughed at each other. This was all well and good, but it would hardly qualify for a journal of me being less of a couch potato. Then, last year we picked up the Wii Fit package, and quickly found ourselves addicted.

The Wii Fit utilizes a balance board to put you through various cardio, strength training and yoga workouts. It is also packed with fun balance games...I may have spent a bit more time on the games than the exercise. Who can say, really?

Fortunately/Unfortunately, Wii Fit also had a journal that would track your progress...or lack there of. Before every workout or play session, the board weighed you and judged you...harshly. The first time I ever stepped atop the attachment a tiny anime voice called out, "That's overweight!" She said it with such cruel glee that I was just waiting for her to steal my lunch money, give me a wedgie and kick my dog.

This weigh in feature could have been a motivator to work out, I suppose. It didn't really play that way for me. Instead, it became a reason to not step on the scale. I just didn't want to see my graph show any upward momentum or have that voice poke fun at me (Which it did, every single time I signed in).

To be honest, I haven't stepped atop that scale since before my wife got pregnant. It has been nearly a year, and I was just beginning to get the courage to face the anime voice when my wife read about Wii's new fitness program Wii Active. This sounded like a great chance to dodge the mean anime lady, so I jumped at the chance to pick up the new program.

It turns out, Wii Active is a whole lot like Wii Fit. Instead of a balance board, it comes with a pouch that holds the Wii remote against your left, registering the movement of your legs and you do everything from run in place to performing squats and other isometric exercises. It also offers the chance to customize your workout with activities, including boxing.

As a self professed fan of MMA, I was immediately drawn to the boxing activities. It's easy to see how these could be easy-going low-impact exercises, but I get so into it...it gets pretty high impact. You'll notice in the image on the right that my fist have gone full-on Chuch Yeager and broken the sound barrier.

At least for me, Wii Active wouldn't take the place of my regular routine, but it does offer a great alternative for those times that I can't find the time or energy for a traditional workout. I think it's important to occasionally trick myself into workouts that feel like fun. It's like I'm hiding broccoli in my own mashed potatoes...horrifying.

Wii Active does offer Wii Fit balance board compatibility. I imagine it would add new elements to the game...I just haven't gotten up the courage to try it yet.