Wii Exercise: EA Sport Fitness
Ranked #8,803 in Games, #418,247 overall
EA Sports Active - Will it Get the Results?
I fell off the wagon when it came to the Wii Fit. I tried to keep it up, but I felt so discouraged by a lot of the little nuances of the game, such as making me weigh myself everyday and proceeding to tell me, everyday, that I was obese.
While I know that I'm not obese (I openly admit I'm overweight) and while I know that the reported 120 Lbs it wants me to weigh is beyond ridiculous with my body type, it doesn't make it hurt any less. In fact, there was an entire week where I was using Wii Fit that I stopped eating almost entirely, because I was starting to see myself as a big, fat cow.
A bit of background on me before I go on. Before getting out of shape (mostly with use of the Wii Fit), and before I started college, I was a body builder. I lifted weights, drank whey and protein, the whole nine yards. I got up to 240 Lbs before I quit; it was a lifestyle I wasn't willing to keep up anymore. Let's face it, I like cake, and being a body builder doesn't allow you to like cake.
I'm 5'3" and when I started using the Wii Fit I weighed 150 Lbs. When I stopped using it I weighed 170 Lbs, and no, it was not muscle.
Needless to say, it's probably best that I stopped. In my search to see if anyone else had been as put off and even damaged (not eating is bad for you, if you didn't know) by Wii Fit as I had been, I ran across a review of the as yet unreleased EA Sports Active.
The reviewer reported there was no weighing, there was no locking you out of exercises until you did the previous ones repeatedly until both boredom and fatigue sat in. No, the reviewer stated that the game immediately got into the "30 Day Challenge" and started him out with some boxing that got him sweating his butt off.
Well the Wii Fit was a big flop for me, but could this be my fun, little miracle exercise that got me back in the exercising loops?
After winning a little bit of money on Redgage I decided the winnings would go toward the EA Sports Active game.
While I know that I'm not obese (I openly admit I'm overweight) and while I know that the reported 120 Lbs it wants me to weigh is beyond ridiculous with my body type, it doesn't make it hurt any less. In fact, there was an entire week where I was using Wii Fit that I stopped eating almost entirely, because I was starting to see myself as a big, fat cow.
A bit of background on me before I go on. Before getting out of shape (mostly with use of the Wii Fit), and before I started college, I was a body builder. I lifted weights, drank whey and protein, the whole nine yards. I got up to 240 Lbs before I quit; it was a lifestyle I wasn't willing to keep up anymore. Let's face it, I like cake, and being a body builder doesn't allow you to like cake.
I'm 5'3" and when I started using the Wii Fit I weighed 150 Lbs. When I stopped using it I weighed 170 Lbs, and no, it was not muscle.
Needless to say, it's probably best that I stopped. In my search to see if anyone else had been as put off and even damaged (not eating is bad for you, if you didn't know) by Wii Fit as I had been, I ran across a review of the as yet unreleased EA Sports Active.
The reviewer reported there was no weighing, there was no locking you out of exercises until you did the previous ones repeatedly until both boredom and fatigue sat in. No, the reviewer stated that the game immediately got into the "30 Day Challenge" and started him out with some boxing that got him sweating his butt off.
Well the Wii Fit was a big flop for me, but could this be my fun, little miracle exercise that got me back in the exercising loops?
After winning a little bit of money on Redgage I decided the winnings would go toward the EA Sports Active game.
Contents at a Glance
EA Sports Active
EA Sports Active
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 05/26/2012)
Used Price: $8.97
Have you got the game yet? I'm loving my time with it.
Gripes
The cord between nunchuk and Wii remote causes a lot of problems.
Gets caught beneath breasts and on face during arm lifting exercises.
Flails pretty wildly during exercises such as dance where you need to swing your arms.
Gets caught on the knee during leg lifts.
Poses a particular risk to navel and facial piercings.
There aren't very many exercises that incorporate the Wii Balance Board. I think a lot more could and you'd get that much more out of the workout. Some that do include the balance board, sports especially, don't seem to utilize it very well.
The daily eating chart only monitors a few things, such as number of meals, sugar intake and vegetables eaten. No attention is paid to fruits, carbohydrates, proteins, etc.
The remote tracks your movement by... movement. Whenever the remote or nunchuk vibrate, sometimes even the slightest bit, it will think you're moving. This can cause variety of things:
Easier to cheat and not do exercises. You'd be surprised how many people might be tempted to just shake the remote and trick themselves this way.
Even the slightest movement will make the game scold you for incorrect movement.
Bumping the nunchuk while it's on your leg is really easy to do. The game will pause and scold you each time you bump it whether you really moved or not.
If your form is really tight you may not shake the remote enough for it to register that you did the movement. It will scold you. Give the remote and nunchuk a shake if it seems stuck.
Some moves seem to have a hair trigger and others have to be shaken almost violently to register
The resistance band provided STINKS! I suggest doubling it up before you even put it together properly, but even then it wasn't enough for me. I use free weights now, which have their own set of problems.
There aren't very many exercises that incorporate the Wii Balance Board. I think a lot more could and you'd get that much more out of the workout. Some that do include the balance board, sports especially, don't seem to utilize it very well.
The daily eating chart only monitors a few things, such as number of meals, sugar intake and vegetables eaten. No attention is paid to fruits, carbohydrates, proteins, etc.
The remote tracks your movement by... movement. Whenever the remote or nunchuk vibrate, sometimes even the slightest bit, it will think you're moving. This can cause variety of things:
The resistance band provided STINKS! I suggest doubling it up before you even put it together properly, but even then it wasn't enough for me. I use free weights now, which have their own set of problems.
Wii Exercise Equipment
Tips and Tricks to EA Sports Fitness
Give the remote a shake if your character isn't reacting to what you just did. This will tell the game you have moved and cause the character to do the move properly.
When doing sports, the game only has you do it to one side. Well, this is bad, especially since it focuses heavily on the right side of the body, which is already dominant in most people anyway. To offset this, do sports exercises like volleyball serving, basketball, baseball and tennis two times. For the first time, do it on the right side. For the second time, hold the nunchuk and remote in the opposite hands and do the exercise in reverse. This will work both sides evenly.
During Dance with the Wii Balance Board you can burn a lot of extra calories. Be sure to constantly move your arms and always step on and off the balance board. Even though you are not being told to do that, the game will register it and count the extra calories.
During Dance with or without the Wii Balance Board, you can burn extra calories by moving your arms constantly. Try to follow a set rhythm, even if it's what you set and not what the game sets, as that will give you the best burn.
When doing sports, the game only has you do it to one side. Well, this is bad, especially since it focuses heavily on the right side of the body, which is already dominant in most people anyway. To offset this, do sports exercises like volleyball serving, basketball, baseball and tennis two times. For the first time, do it on the right side. For the second time, hold the nunchuk and remote in the opposite hands and do the exercise in reverse. This will work both sides evenly.
During Dance with the Wii Balance Board you can burn a lot of extra calories. Be sure to constantly move your arms and always step on and off the balance board. Even though you are not being told to do that, the game will register it and count the extra calories.
During Dance with or without the Wii Balance Board, you can burn extra calories by moving your arms constantly. Try to follow a set rhythm, even if it's what you set and not what the game sets, as that will give you the best burn.
Are You Getting Results?
Have you been using EA Sports Fitness? What are your results, if any?
Do you enjoy your time exercising or is it too stiff and rigid for you?
Do you have trouble getting motivated to do the work out?
Let me hear from you.
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SPhilbrick Nov 25, 2009 @ 7:51 am | delete
- Interesting views on your experience with Wii. I know several people that used Wii Fit and didn't like the nuances that you speak of. I use the sports interactive games, but as you say... they are one sided and to be honest, it's pretty easy to use the controllers without a whole lot of body motion. :-)
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by prettyevil
Tara Swadley graduated in May 2010 with a BA in English-Creative Writing. She has minors in law and ballroom dance.
Tara is the proud owner of two pe...
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