Monday, May 19, 2008

Wii Fit!

Back in early April, we bought a Wii game set, together with the Wii Sports and Wii Fit software. I had seen some commercials for Wii Fit, and somehow, it seemed fun, especially the balance games.

Well, I LOVE it! It turned out to be much more interesting than I expected. I like the balance games, but also the yoga, muscle exercises, and especially the aerobics. Before we got it, I was sceptical about the muscles exercises (what can you do
I guess some Wii games have been available in the U.S. for awhwithout weights) andthe aerobics (what can you really do in the living room, with than small board), but it turns out that you can do quite a lot. I still will go to the gym to lift weights, but the Wii is good for days when I don't have time to go to the gym. The balance games can also be a way to relax in-between stints of working at the computer.
I guess some Wii games have been available in the U.S. for awhile, but Wii Fit is just going on sale there now. The New York Times has an article about it.

I'm surprised to find that one of my favorites is the boxing aerobics. Somehow, it is really fun to punch at the screen, and it works up a sweat.I set it at the advanced level, which is a 10 minute workout, but it is so fun that sometimes I take a short break--drink some water, and do a balance game--and tehn come back and do it again. (Note: Wii Fit is set up like many video games--when you first start, you can't try all the activities. You only get to have some of them after you have spent some time with it. You don't get to do the boxing until after you have done some of the other aerobics first.)

Probably the funniest thing is the "zazen". I guess that it is probably called Zen Meditation or something like that in the English version. It's offered as one of the balance games, and I guess it's meant to be more silly than anything else. You sit on the board without moving, looking at the candle on the screen, while your hear noises in the background meant to distract you. If you move, you get whacked! I've tried it a few times, and once I was really distracted, by a friendly cat rubbing up against me to be petted. I had to laugh, and I got whacked!

Anyway, I love Wii Fit, and I am hoping that in a few months or so, there will be a second edition with more exercises and games.

There are lots of Wii Fit videos on YouTube, including this parody. It's not quite doing nothing; "Leaning-side-to-side" and "sticking-out-you-leg" are not at all as easy as this suggests!

The Wii Sports is kinda fun too. It has bowling, baseball, tennis, golf, and boxing. Masashi has used this a lot more than I have, but we recently bought a second control so that we can play against each other. We've just done the bowling so far, but I have teased him about wanting to try boxing!

1 comment:

Kiara said...

In every news that a certain game set helps in the enhancement of individual's way of life, I am always delighted. I haven't tried using Wii Sports or this popular Wii Fit. Are these in form of Download Games? I would like to try them myself.