Monday, January 25, 2010

Wii Fit



So my blog posts have become a bit more infrequent, but I’m attempting to change that over the coming weeks. There’s been so much happening in my life, but there hasn’t seemed to be any time to write about it. So this blog post is one step toward changing my current blogging trajectory.

So, for starters, this one’s not so deep. (Be warned though, a few I have in mind for the near future will be). I wanted to take a minute to introduce you to my new trainer, Wii Fit.

Now you may be giggling a bit as you think “How on earth could a Wii game do anything for increasing fitness, let alone serve as a trainer?” Well, let me tell you, I was a bit of a skeptic too, but here’s what happened to me.

Over the Christmas holiday, I visited my best friend in the whole world, Willie. His family has a Wii Fit, and using it combined with a change in diet, Willie has lost over 20 lbs since October. As a skeptic, I decided I would give the game console a try during the four days I spent with Willie and his family. And do you know what I found out—I was actually sore and tired after working out with the Wii as my trainer.

When I returned to Morgantown, I realized one of my roommates had a Wii Fit complete with balance board, and now our whole house (as well as a few friends) have started using the Wii for working out.

What are the benefits? Well, aside from a solid core body workout and a series of functional exercises and balance games, there are a few. One of my biggest problems with developing a consistent fitness routine is that my schedule is erratic. Wii Fit helps me make sure I get a workout in, even if it is late at night or early in the morning. The weather doesn’t impede me either because I do my workouts in the house. Beyond all of this, each time I work out, I see a score that tells me how I’m doing in the area of balance and development of strength as I do the exercises.

And, I can do this with my friends and roommates even though we all work out at different times. I can see how my roommates are progressing, and I can attempt to beat their scores and set goals with them. We can monitor each other’s workouts and trainings, and give each other a little accountability and encouragement along the way too.

And beyond all of those benefits, I’ve found my posture, core muscle strength, balance, alertness, and diet improving as well. Wii Fit has made exercising fun, and has allowed me to join a few friends to set short term weight loss and fitness goals for the new year as well.

If you have a Wii, I highly recommend using this program to increase your balance, posture, and core muscle strength and have fun while you are doing it.

Regardless, I hope you are setting and achieving some great goals as we are ending our first month of 2010.

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