Is The Wii Fit A Substitute For Traditional Fitness?
The new Wii Fit was released May 21 in North America for the Wii console. I had the privilege of trying it out with CBC News at Six to find out if it really is a substitute for traditional home training and going to the gym.
The game was surprisingly detailed, containing weight, BMI and body fat analysis. As well as posture, balance and co-ordination tests. The game includes strength and cardiovascular training as well as a yoga component.
Pros of Wii Fit
-Wii Fit corrects your posture. The weight and motion sensing balance board instructs you to stretch your leg back, for a proper lunge. Or to put more pressure on your front foot for the warrior yoga pose. This is Wii Fit’s biggest advantage over traditional home exercise videos. You could be doing something wrong for ages and never have someone to show you otherwise. The Wii lets you know, right away!
-If you have ever tried working out at home without a trainer, you know the workout doesn’t last long before you get bored and give up. The Wii Fit game was definitely entertaining! You could spend a lot longer playing the fitness games than you would working out by yourself.
-This game is a fantastic option for kids and teens to get active and stay fit. It’s a lot of fun and it gets you moving. Of course, parents can play too and not only have an awesome time with their kids, but get in some exercise themselves!
Cons of Wii Fit
-The biggest downside to the game is there is not enough sustained activity for it to be effective. You would have to play a lot of different exercise games to accumulate 30-45 minutes of activity. Most games were from 2-5 minutes.
-The game starts you off with a few basic exercises. The idea of Wii Fit is to master the exercises, to unlock more challenging routines. This is not a problem for beginners but the advanced crowd would literally be playing around, until the harder exercises are unlocked.
-One thing that really stood out to me, was that aside from body weight exercises like squats and push ups the game has no weight bearing exercises. With no equipment like dumbbells to train your muscles there is no chance the Wii Fit would be able to help you put on muscle mass.
-The cardio component has a step class, that you can participate in. I found that the Wii balance board was too close to the ground to receive an effective cardio workout. Also the basic choreography was actually quite difficult. You end up spending most of your time figuring out where your feet go next, and less time getting your heart rate up.
The Bottom Line
Nothing can beat a run outside or weight lifting. The game would make a great supplement to any fitness program. It would also be a great way to get people that don’t like exercise in to enjoying fitness.
My opinion on the Wii Fit is that while it was a ton of fun, it’s not going to replace traditional training anytime soon.
By: Kaleena A Lawless
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The game was surprisingly detailed, containing weight, BMI and body fat analysis. As well as posture, balance and co-ordination tests. The game includes strength and cardiovascular training as well as a yoga component.
Pros of Wii Fit
-Wii Fit corrects your posture. The weight and motion sensing balance board instructs you to stretch your leg back, for a proper lunge. Or to put more pressure on your front foot for the warrior yoga pose. This is Wii Fit’s biggest advantage over traditional home exercise videos. You could be doing something wrong for ages and never have someone to show you otherwise. The Wii lets you know, right away!
-If you have ever tried working out at home without a trainer, you know the workout doesn’t last long before you get bored and give up. The Wii Fit game was definitely entertaining! You could spend a lot longer playing the fitness games than you would working out by yourself.
-This game is a fantastic option for kids and teens to get active and stay fit. It’s a lot of fun and it gets you moving. Of course, parents can play too and not only have an awesome time with their kids, but get in some exercise themselves!
Cons of Wii Fit
-The biggest downside to the game is there is not enough sustained activity for it to be effective. You would have to play a lot of different exercise games to accumulate 30-45 minutes of activity. Most games were from 2-5 minutes.
-The game starts you off with a few basic exercises. The idea of Wii Fit is to master the exercises, to unlock more challenging routines. This is not a problem for beginners but the advanced crowd would literally be playing around, until the harder exercises are unlocked.
-One thing that really stood out to me, was that aside from body weight exercises like squats and push ups the game has no weight bearing exercises. With no equipment like dumbbells to train your muscles there is no chance the Wii Fit would be able to help you put on muscle mass.
-The cardio component has a step class, that you can participate in. I found that the Wii balance board was too close to the ground to receive an effective cardio workout. Also the basic choreography was actually quite difficult. You end up spending most of your time figuring out where your feet go next, and less time getting your heart rate up.
The Bottom Line
Nothing can beat a run outside or weight lifting. The game would make a great supplement to any fitness program. It would also be a great way to get people that don’t like exercise in to enjoying fitness.
My opinion on the Wii Fit is that while it was a ton of fun, it’s not going to replace traditional training anytime soon.
By: Kaleena A Lawless
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