It's called Wii Fit - not Wii Thin

It's called Wii Fit - not Wii Thin

At the start of 2008, Wii-Fit was released combining technology and exercise, and became an essential purchase for many families. But this combination of exercise and technology is a tricky one. Technology's faddy-ness and our inability to sustain exercise means that Wii-Fit is likely to start gathering dust.

To properly understand why Wii-Fit turned from saviour of our fitness goals into a handy plant stand we must start with the first principle of why we bought it in the first place. Fit gamer Luke Pyper suggests that "most people are not too concerned at how much they weigh, don't care what their BMI is". They are however "driven by the promise of a trim, attractive body without all the flabby bits". The problem here is that, while the effort is required immediately, the results won't be seen for some time.

Pyper pragmatically says, "The gaming aspect of Wii-Fit is just not engaging enough. Before long you have unlocked all the activities and all you are left with are some graphs to keep you going."

But you can use Wii Fit to get fit, wth a few useful tips.

Tip 1: Be accurate.

We have all heard the stories of people being upset by Wii-Fit's overweight (or even obese) classification of them. We have seen the investigative TV reports taking Wii-Fit to people's houses and proving the balance board gives inaccurate weight readings. If Wii-Fit cannot weigh you correctly then how can we trust and be motivated by the graphs it generates?

Pyper points out that Wii Fit should always be on a hard flat surface. Carpet is a poor surface for scales and therefore for Wii-Fit. As well as getting Wii-Fit setup on a hard surface, for real accuracy you also need to use it the same time each day. Ideally this should be first thing in the morning, once your body has had time to recover from the previous day's exertions and get itself into balance.

Tip 2: Be prepared

Pyper suggests that before we even step onto the board for the first time we write down a plan. As he puts it, "decide when you can use Wii-Fit as part of your daily routine. It may be half an hour before you go to work or an hour when you get home. Exercise raises your metabolism, so try to fit it in before you eat, so less of the food turns to fat."

Tip 3: Get real

Take some time to read the game designer's advice for their product. They say that Wii-Fit will not make you fit, but it will make you aware of your body. To get Wii-Fit to work as a fitness and weight loss tool you have to work on your lifestyle and calorie consumption too. Pyper suggests that we "keep a count of the calories we eat, a doctor, dietician or personal trainer can help work out how much this should be". Along with watching our intake we should "take the healthy option with all our other activities, use the stairs instead of the elevator, or wash the car by hand instead of in an automatic car wash".

Tip 4: Get ready

Before doing any exercise or sport it's important to get our bodies ready. We need to tell it to prepare for some hard work and vigorous movement. If you have ever played Wii-Sports Boxing from a cold start you can probably attest to the strains and muscle pulls suffered the following day. This is a problem for Wii-Fit too because nothing stops even the most determined fitness fanatic in their tracks like an injury.

Happily, Wii-Fit provides a range of activities from the sedate to the down right energetic. Pyper suggests that "even if we love playing the heading or hula hooping to work up a sweat, we must first get our body ready". "Do some warming up with gentle stretches before hand" he continues, "or better still use the Yoga activities in Wii-Fit to do this for you".

Tip 5: Get fit not thin!

Weight loss is only a secondary response to exercise, and shouldn't really be our primary driver. General fitness is the first way our bodies react to regular exercise and this, rather than weight loss, will be the first change we notice. The problem though is that Wii-Fit does a poor job of measuring fitness. Our Wii age will bounce around with little regard to our exercising efforts. "A better way to measure fitness" Pyper says, "is to go out for a walk, a jog or a run once a week and get yourself out of breath. Then time how long it takes to regain normal breathing."

Conclusion

There are no easy answers when it comes to exercise, but with this advice you should have a much better chance of persevering with Wii-Fit and using it really as a fitness aid and not just as a faddy gimmick.

Your comment:
Your name:
Your email address: