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Last Updated: May 28th, 2009 - 13:15:19 |
I’m not really an athletic person. The most athletic thing I’ve done is play lacrosse in the sixth grade. Sometimes I have spurts where I work out for a whole week and then, for weeks, I’m a couch potato. So when we got the Nintendo Wii and the “Wii Fit” video game, I was excited but a little hesitant to see what this video game would “say” about my physical fitness.
“Wii Fit” is a video game made to enhance the way you exercise, by helping you improve your balance and the way you move. The game comes with a balance board that reads movements you make on the board. Those movements are not only reflected on the screen but analyzed. You have the option to create a Mii, a Wii character, by selecting your facial features, hair color, height and weight. Once your Mii is created, you are ready to go through a series of measurements to obtain your Body Mass Index to check if you’re underweight, normal, overweight or obese, as well as analyze your balance.
This analysis is not for those whose feelings are easily hurt because if you’re overweight, you’re Mii gains weight automatically and the game tells you, “you need to lose weight.”
Luckily, my BMI was normal. Anytime you stand on the board, a voice goes “Oh!” in a baby voice that sounds as if it’s surprised at how heavy you are and as if you’re hurting it. That can get annoying because it does it all the time. It also measures your posture and your center of balance. At first, my balance was slightly to the right. In one test you have to stand on one leg and make sure a red line stays linear on the black line. When I did this balance test, my red line was all over the place and the little mousy voice told me I was unbalanced, which I already knew.
Once you have completed all of the required tests you are presented with your wii fit age. Your fit age is based on your actual age and balance test. You watch on the screen as the drums roll and you and your mii anxiously wait for the results. Then a huge green number comes from the top of the screen as if it is falling out of the sky. Now this is where the process gets funny. The first time I received my wii fit age it was 35, which is 18 years older than it should be. I have worked very hard to reduce my fit age, which is now 23 but still higher than my actual age. I watched a few people do the test and some had a fit age that was the same as their actual age or younger. My 25-year-old cousin who does yoga every day had a wii fit age of 22. Others were like me and had a fit age that was way older then their actual age. One 20 year-old man had a wii fit age of 50 and his excuse was that he hadn’t worked out in a few days. As a result, his Mii received a cane.
When you finish the body test, you are encouraged to make a goal for yourself to either lose or gain weight. If you cheat the game will “know” and bust you by indicating that you have gained two pounds instead of losing two pounds. Once you have finished the body test, you are able to begin training, which includes, yoga, strength training, aerobics and balance games. My favorite thing to do is the yoga. The first time I did the tree pose, it called me a couch potato but I earned one star. The next time I did it, I was labeled unbalanced but I still earned 2 stars. After doing it a number of times I was able to earn a yoga instructor.
Here’s a bit of advice: never do the yoga with someone who does it everyday because this will affect your self-esteem. The first time my yoga expert cousin did it, she received four stars, while I thought I was doing something by earning two. At one point, I was doing one of the yoga positions and it told me I wasn’t strong enough and that I had to work up to this position. I was a little frustrated with that comment.
After I did the yoga a few more times, I felt better and I felt more energized and stronger. So I would definitely recommend “Wii Fit” as a way of working out. Even though it may tell you that you are fat, out of shape or that you have the fit age of someone twice your age. The game is certainly a reality check and not for those who are easily discouraged or have thin skins.
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