Couch Jockey to Fitness Fiend
If you’ve been a couch jockey, you will probably be fairly happy using the simple Wii Fit system and the Wii Fit games. They present a fun way to get active and begin a fitness regimen that is more game than workout.
If you’re the type that is motivated by cool stamps that you can put on your Wii calendar each time that you do your weigh in and/or balance tests this system will be sure to satisfy and help you get off the couch and doing something for a change.
However, doing only the Wii Fit board will not generate a lot of weight loss, unless you are doing a lot more, such as changing your eating habits and doing other regular fitness.
Fitness Buddy
If you’ve already been a bit active, or perhaps you have stopped going to the gym for some reason or another, consider the EA Sports Active Personal Trainer program and equipment. The package includes a thigh harness for the nunchuk, a resistance band and webbing straps in addition to the program disc.
This package is an excellent one for going from couch jockey to a fitness friend. The workouts are simple and easy to do at all levels, and offer different ways to work out during sports such as tennis and volleyball or a bit of cardio boxing or even dancing.
You can follow along with the pre-designed workouts, or you can design your own depending on the focus you want for the day.
The reason we purchased the EA Sports More Workouts was twofold. 1) the Personal Trainer program did not offer a warm-up/cool down component to the training, and 2) Personal Trainer did not offer any abdominal/core muscle exercises which we consider crucial to our training.
But I want MORE!
The EA Sports More Workouts program offers both warm up and cool down components as well as intensive abdominal and core muscle exercises at three levels, and includes low-impact options for those who cannot jump or hop.
We liked the book by Bob Greene, which teaches the principles of healthy eating and healthy living. We were also pleased that the More Workouts program offered more opportunities to do different sports in a “new environment” – an island resort where we can water ski, paddle boat, do step aerobics or just outrun the trainer.
Both EA Sports programs offer an opportunity to track other activities that you may have done, whether it’s housework, gardening, hiking, golf or just going for a walk. They also both offer you a way to track your eating and living habits to encourage healthy eating and living.
What it’ll cost you:
The EA Sports Personal Trainer program costs about $65 CDN and comes with the thigh strap and resistance band, whereas the More Workouts program costs about $45 CDN and includes the program and a book by Bob Greene which teaches the principles of healthy eating.
The dirt:
I would like to see more training gear offered for the programs, such as heavier-duty resistance bands and a way to indicate which ones you’re using for the program to accurately track calorie count. The workouts themselves tend to be approximately a half hour in length; they begin at about 20 minutes and go up to 30 minutes each. These do not seem to be long enough to do a true cardio workout which both programs tout to provide in the short programs.
I would love to see more long workouts, some for a cardio blast (40 – 60 mins) and some for a more intense focus on interval training, and more ways for those who have physical conditions that prevent them from certain movements that can replace rather than remove an action/activity. (ie instead of jump lunges, something low impact that has a similar benefit).
It all adds up
It all comes down to personal integrity and the ability to keep your commitment to yourself. These programs give you the tools to help you, but you still have to do the work. Personally, I’m pretty pleased with my results in the mirror and on the scale.