Wii Fit - The Big Lie...

I know, I know.... Here comes the Grinch....(full disclosure - XBox 360 owner)

First up, let me say that I love the concept of Wii Fit.  As most of you probably know by now, Nintendo  recently released a new game pack for the Wii called Wii Fit.  It includes yoga, stretching and aerobic activities, all immersed in a cool video platform designed to make people have fun while exercising.  It even includes a way to calculate, track and compare your BMI to other family members pictured to the right (motivator or demotivator for the person with the biggest BMI?  I wonder).

It's cool, no doubt about that.  Here's the problem with Wii Fit - It's caught at the crossroads of fit and non-fit, at the intersection of "I don't feel like it" and "I already knew that". 

Here's the limitation of Wii Fit.  For those individuals who are currently exercising or go on/off exercise programs, the Wii won't be at the core of what you do.  For those individuals who never exercise, it's a fun motivational starter, but not enough to get you over the hump.

Why?  Because for a 230 pounder who wants to drop 30 pounds, two things are required.  Extensive cardio and diet discipline.  The cardio side is pretty simple.  Whether you run or walk, you have to pound out a certain amount of time/intensity to burn the calories necessary to knock off the pounds.  I know this technically could be done in the living room, but there are all kinds of reasons it won't be.

Burning up the required amount of calories on the Wii?  Your significant other wishes you would go "smell it up" outside, and of course, the plates and glasses rattling in the kitchen next door aren't a sustainable item either.

Then, just as you start to approach the threshold necessary to get some results, you start HATING the cartoon folks taking you through the workout.   Who could blame you... Just look at them, having fun, squealing, but having none of the accountability that goes with an elevated heart rate.  After all, they're CARTOONS - how could they possibly understand?

So the Wii Fit is cool, that's undeniable.  Too bad the road to a fitness turnaround is lined with the required discipline to go run/walk four miles, five times a week, and eat a six-inch subway once a day for 5 years.

See you at the gym!

Comments

[Andy]

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[Kay]

I am not on the Wii Fit wagon. I feel like a person may have other issues if they have to resort to a video game for EXERCISE. Come on already, go for a walk, send your kids out to play catch (or go play catch with them). Do something but don't exercise with a cartoon character. It really just disturbs me.

[Cindy]

I LOVE my new Wii Fit. And I received it the day before my new 110,000 sq ft spa-like fitness center opened so the way I see it I should have rock-hard abs very soon! The Wii Fit is something my whole family uses and we treat it as a "game" - if my kids are playing games anyway why not make it something that keeps track of how many push-ups they can do!

[Chad A. Hanson]

You should not workout in the living room for the same reasons you should not work in your bedroom.

The living room is the place where you relax, socalize, eat junk food and watch tv. You will have a hard time un- pairing that room with theses things.

Now putting a wii fit in the confrence room for lunch time work outs might be a good motivator :)

[Makdenife@hotmail.com]

I just ordered the whole Wii fit program, the first gaming device ever for me, except for basic computer games such as chess. I am a 57 year old male, and for the first time in my life I have not been exercising r,but ultimately none regularly. I CERTAINLY DO have other issues, but few if any are more important to fitness. My body AND mind have been cratering for several years due to my exposure to defoliants in Viet Nam. Motivation while in this much agony is a problem, but the solution is not to shut down. I will see, but I feel strongly that this program may be the answer for my wife and I to get over the hump.