Wii Games: Fitness Guru for 2010

Who knew three years ago that Wii games would become known as a fitness guru? Well within my family and circle of friends that’s what happened this year at Christmas. It seemed that every home I visited everyone was setting up their virtual images and getting ready to enter into the boxing ring, play a mean game of tennis, or talking about what Nintendo Wii has set up for their exercise routine.

So this week’s HubMob topic of toys seemed to be a good place to share my experiences and research more of the Wii games prior to purchasing the product. I asked my family if they still consider the Wii video games to be an electronic toy and they all said yes. The reason given was that even the exercising was fun and challenging because one can automatically see and track your progress.

On Christmas day, I watched my niece boxing like a little champion because she had decided that she wanted to attain the goal of seeing her avatar name as a professional expert. It requires a 1000 points and she was at 700 points before she had to stop from exhaustion. After writing the article, Raising a Heart Healthy Child and stating that children need to play and become more active; I was happy to see that even small kids appear to love the Wii games. I think you will agree that the below video proves just that....

Whether you want to just play the games or if you want to follow the fitness guru routines you will have to purchase a Nintendo Wii console to run your video games. One family member purchased the Wii Sports while the other opted to purchase the console shown. Make sure you pay attention to what you are buying in order not to duplicate purchases.

For instance the Wii console pictured here has the Wii Sports video included in the package.The four products to the right will give you enough equipment to participate with ease in most of the games. At the beginning of each game segment you will be told which piece of equipment like the Nunchuk or the Wheel can be used.

Within this hub it my intentions to focus on the numerous fitness video games that works with the Wii; in all honestly, I am intrigued with this new electronic toy and the potential impact it might have on getting couch potatoes up off of the couch and back to moving and exercising. Especially since my previous article on Virtual You Protection Steps describes how the virtual reality of becoming an avatar within games tends to trick the mind into not being able to differentiate between the virtual world and real life.

My research revealed that Wii Fit has already attracted millions of new players to it virtual fitness world. Wii Fit Plus has a range of new features and enhancements to help players keep their workouts interesting by including more exercises and balance games that are fun.

Players can customize workout routines or choose 20, 20, or 40 minute workouts based on an individual’s needs. The great thing is that you can choose specialized workout routines that focus on your individual fitness goals or certain target areas. For instance if an individual could perform waist trimming exercises one day and butt shaping exercises the following day if they choose to do so. Please note that if you already have the balancing board you will only need to purchase the Wii Fit Plus DVD.

My Fitness Coach was release in December a year ago. The personal virtual trainer provides motivation, gives advice, and of course demonstrates the moves. One can access almost 500 exercises for strength training, flexibility, cardio fitness, and more. The My Fitness Coach video shown to the right is more like an aerobic DVD and you cannot use the Wii Balance Board.

My Fitness Coach 2 accesses about 80 exercises for losing weight, and lowering your cholesterol in an effort to get you ready for the swimsuit season. It adds the balance board support and uses actual video trainers instead of avatars for demonstrating the exercises. You can personalize goals; choose your length and frequency. After setting up your routine, there are about 130 recipes, shopping lists, and weekly menus that you can use to improve eating habits.

Jenny’s McCarthy’s new videogame is designed with the active working mom in mind. You Shape has almost 500 exercises with Jenny being your workout buddy whose scenery, 75 music tracks, and 100 motivation animations can be changed to keep the exercises fun and motivational.

It comes with a camera that will take a video scan of you and then you can exercise with your hands free. And of course you can personalize a unique plan to you based on a fitness test that you will conduct.

EA Sports Active claims to have been the first real Wii workout. It has a six week challenge that will take you through gradual increasingly difficult workouts and has more than 80 preset individual workouts.

It has a workout journal for you to track your workouts. It is also claiming a 4.5 out of 5 rating. There is also a 30-Day Challenge that I believe was the first version of this videogame. EA Sports Active Like Ubisoft’s You Shape has it’s own interactive website as well. There are also accessories like a leg strap, and resistance band that can be purchased to enhance your workouts.

The EA Sports Active More Workouts helps to keep your workouts fresh by adding 35 new exercises and by giving you the option to work out with a buddy however the EA Sports Active exercise accessories are not included.

If you are looking for hardcore workouts with different virtual terrains this is the one. Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 allows you to train one on one with Jillian in your home with your motion being tracked by the Wii Balance Board. Jillian offers a wellness team blog and a website that tells success stories, support group, and weight loss food section.

This interactive program allows users to plan their routines for up to six months and offers cardio and strength training with most exercises being perform on the balance board.So if you are looking for a Biggest Loser type of training program, mostly likely you will want to try this workout plan.

Anja Rubik, the world’s #3 Top Model, and yoga practitioner and a 3D Yoga guru will guide you through performing a multitude of Yoga poses and you can get feedback immediately through the balance board and or the Wii remote.

You can get to know the Yoga philosophy while strolling through the temple and you can follow special targeted training schedules while practicing within four scenic tranquil surroundings. It is unfortunate however that the Wii Yoga reviews have not been good. One viewer wrote that they felt like it was a missed opportunity to be a great video.

Personally, I felt the instructional avatar (3D Model) was bad with this video and not as agile as some of the other yoga exercises in the Wii fitness videos. I loved the tranquil music however; I think this one I would definitely have to try before buying. If I were to make a decision based on my research alone this is not one that I will be purchasing.

UPDATE: Nintendo and the American Heart Association (AHA) Join Forces to Promote Healthier Living.

The American Heart Association (AHA) has teamed up with Nintendo of America to support physically active play to encourage a healthier lifestyle. A study conducted by AHA conducted revealed that the average American spends 8 hours or more a day in a stationary or sitting position. Their survey concluded that 40 percent of individuals stated that exercising is not fun; with nearly 70 percent of Americans not getting the recommended levels of weekly physical activity.

Since 2006, Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus products have been inspiring its players to participate in various exercise activities while having fun. The American Heart Association has launched an online information center to encourage individuals to learn the benefits of physically active play at www.activeplaynow.com .

So let’s get moving America let’s get informed, get active, become healthier, and get empowered…

As with any personal fitness routine you should check with your doctor to ensure that the plan you have chosen will meet the requirements of your fitness routine. As you can see by the Wii video games that I have shown you within this hub; Wii has attempted to find a fitness regimen for everyone. Because of the overall cost of the Wii and the videos that you might choose, I would suggest that you do your research as I have done prior to making a decision.

Again, this is only some of the fitness games, I'm including more to the right and at the bottom of this hub. If you know someone who has some of the Wii games on hand I would suggest that you try them out or go to a display at a store and watch them in order to choose the one that suits you.

Based on my research, I think my initial investment will be the Wii Sports and then the Wii Fit Plus. It is my belief that the fun of the sports will get me up and moving toward the serious workouts. In the past I've easily gotten bored with the mundane routine of doing the same exercises over and over again. The virtual activities of Wii should make one loose track of time and also monitors progress which should be encouraging to anyone with a competitive nature. I'd like to know what you think, if you have some of the Wii fitness games or any other Wii games, please share your experiences in the comments below...