Using the Wii is a good way to exercise - it's fun, it's effective, there's no excuse when it's raining and you don't have to have a smashing work out outfit, as there's no embarrassing gym to venture out to. But just what exactly do you do with your Wii to get the most out of it, aside from the Wii Fit and more updated Wii Fit Plus, there are loads of other games that can help you to lose weight while having fun
OK fair enough the Wii costs money - an initial outlay and no doubt once you've bought your Wii you'll soon be wanting the Wii Fit - but I bet it costs less than a gym membership, that people subscribe to and inevitable try to avoid using - at least the Wii is in your own home so you can get on it whenever you like, wear whatever you like and either exercise in the privacy of your own home or invite some friends around for a fun evening of games, laughter and enjoyment - it's entirely up to you!
So what are the most effective games for weight loss on the Wii? Well fortunately when you buy the Wii, it comes with Wii sports as standard, which includes Baseball, Tennis, Bowling, Golf and Boxing. You invent a little virtual you called a Wii Mii and cleverly this little you can also turn up on some of the other games you play on your Wii. If you are going for weight loss, then I should use the Tennis and Boxing more. Both games can be played individually or with others.
Boxing is the most active game on the Wii Sports discs, and it may be best not to get too carried away with it to start with, at least until you're used to it anyway. Then the beauty of the Wii really kicks in - you do tend to get carried away and rather than watching the clock in the gym, before you know it, you've done you're 30 minutes. Boxing is in fact the perfect game to lose weight; in 15 minutes you can easily burn 120 calories. It's rather good for stress relief too - you can even make a Mii of someone you don't like and use them as your opponent.
Tennis is the second best game to help lose weight. It's not necessary to run around the living room, but does give an effective workout. You can even use a few tricks to make it more of a workout that usual. For instance, when setting up the game you can also choose to play as one of the opponents as well as yourself, mind you, once again it's best to master it first before you get too carried away.
Once you've got this mastered, it's not long before you'll want more - it's just addictive which I guess in exercise circles is a good thing - just as long as you don't go from one extreme to another and over do it.
The next stage would be to get that Wii Fit on your Christmas list and hope that Santa can find you one before they all sell out....again!!!
When you purchase your Wii Fit board, it comes with a Wii fit program designed to help keep track of your progress in weight loss and management. You can set goals and follow graphs on how well you're doing.
The original Wii fit program is a good starting place, but it's probably better to upgrade to Wii fit plus whenever you can - this has everything that the original has and more. There are more games, which are the fun part. It still has the personal trainers but you can now integrate the two into different workouts. This also adds to the fun as you choose to mix everything up so you never know what they're going to throw at you next.
Apart from the obvious Wii fit programs; there are other gym style programs such as Golds Gym Cardio Workout, My Fitness Coach andEA Sports Active. They even have a version of The Biggest Loser in which you get over 88 different exercises to help you reach your ideal weight.
There are also many games you can play that also can help with weight loss. Some double as workouts, but in a much more entertaining way, such as We Cheer 2 in which your Wii Remotes double as virtual Pom Poms as you step out into the limelight as a cheerleader. Where as Samba De Amigo has your Remote and nunchuk doubling as a pair of maracas as you samba your way to fitness
If it's more of a regular game play style you prefer, there are also many active games you can play that can help with weight loss. Wii Sports Party is sports related game with a bit of a difference. The games are more beach orientated, the sort you would find when on holiday, it includes things like Volleyball, Badminton, Croquet, Mini Golf and more, and if you want something even a little more out there - how about Wii Guinness World Records, now this is where the crazy games really start. You virtually travel the world competing in record-breaking stunts such as fastest time to shear a sheep, and fastest time to crush watermelons. I seem to remember some bike record bringing me out in a sweat too. Even crazier and more of a party style fitness game is Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party - now these guys have invaded your TV and it includes loads of different games that are of the rather active nature.
Sonic and Mario have even got in on the act with Sonic And Mario At The Olympic Winter Games in which you can compete in real Winter Olympic events.
I've tried to include here a selection of games that covers both serious weight loss, weight management and just plain fun weight loss. There's no doubt about it, the Wii has revolutionised the way we work out. It makes it easy to understand, easy to manage, easy to keep track of.
If you have a Wii, you should definitely get the Wii Fit, not only does it give you access to many more games, for both weight loss and just plain gaming, but you get a naughty little virtual Wii Fit board running around inside your TV giving you encouragement, fitness tips and sometimes even a telling you off - all to help keep you on track. Oh and the best part - you get a virtual party on your birthday - maybe on that day you can eat a little tiny cake!!!
Also check out today's Daily Recipe - what could it be? Yum Yum!!
