Getting Fit with Wii

Wii Fit uses a unique platform peripheral called the Wii Balance Board. The software can then calculate their body mass index (BMI) when told the user's height. The game has about 40 different activities, including yoga poses, push ups, and other exercises. Furthermore, Wii Fit allows its players to compare their fitness by using Wii Fit's own channel on the Wii Menu.

Wii Fit tracks a user's "Wii Fit Age" through a body test basing the result on the user's current age, weight and athletic ability.

Activities

Training on Wii Fit is divided into four categories: yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance games. The activities provide a core workout, emphasizing controlled movements rather than overexertion. Activities include:

* Yoga - Work on your balance and flexibility with Yoga poses and activities
* Strength Training - Put your strength to the test with muscle-toning exercises
* Aerobics - Get your heart pumping with fun, interactive Aerobic exercises
* Balance Games - Get into the action with fun, balanced-based games

New activities can be unlocked by gaining "Fit Credits", which are accumulated in the "FitBank", a small piggy bank dedicated to keep track of time spent on Wii Fit. Minutes of Fit Credits are equal to the number of minutes doing an activity rather than the number of minutes of overall game play. At certain stages, new yoga poses or muscle workouts are unlocked based on the total time spent working out. Being the best at an activity with a 100% score, or playing an activity a certain number of times unlocks more rigorous versions of that activity.

Although this is thought of as a party game and a showcase for the impressive and natural controls of the wii, I think this little game can get you into shape. If you take advantage of the "Wii Fitness" and the "Wii Training" sections of the game you will workout your shoulders (tennis, boxing, baseball), tone and strengthen your core (bowling, boxing, tennis, baseball), cardio (boxing), and a lot more.

For 30 minutes a night, if you played boxing and tennis rather than watching tv you would probably burn around 100 - 130 calories. Albeit that is not a lot, but it's a whole lot more than you burned while watching TV and eating popcorn.

This "game" is basically an interactive workout video with digital people. You start off by undergoing a 30 minute physical challenge. Basically you take measurements of body, perform some light workouts and then Mya (your personal trainer) will recommend a long term goal (weight loss, strength building, etc) and you set a schedule then start the workout.

You begin with the ability to workout in 3 different areas with a limited music selection. Your first 5 consecutive (according to your schedule) workouts awards you a "Bronze Medal" and you unlock a new workout location and a music genre. To encourage you to follow your schedule you can unlock locations and music after consecutively working out. But the further you go more workouts are required to unlock the next stage.

The interaction is great. You start off each workout by selecting a location, target a region to tone/strengthen/increase flexibility, and picking the music. Next you tell Mya how you feel about working out today. If you tell her you don't feel like working out she will encourage you more through out the workout. After each section of the workout your personal trainer Mya will ask if it was too easy, too hard, or just right. Based on your input she will change your next workout accordingly.

Due to the level unlocking, the changing intensity, and the variety of workouts this is a great exercise routine. These are just the basics. The game can have multiple profiles so everyone in the house can work out and track results, you can have group workouts, and you can get credit for working out not using the program. It's a feature packed inexpensive workout routine.

Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009 makes use of the Wii Balance Board and the Wii Remote in a series of 11 different user-selectable activities with varying intensities (light, medium, and hard) and durations (between 10 and 60 minutes). The game also includes unlockable fitness, diet, and lifestyle tips from Jillian Michaels herself. As with the Wii Fit, the player also is able to keep track of their progress (calories burned, etc.) over time. Unlike Wii Fit, however, the game features a competitive mode where two players compete simultaneously against one another - with the winner being the one who has burned more calories at the finish.

Workout Types

There are four types of workouts in Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009:

* Weight Loss
* Strength Training
* Intervals
* Hill Climb

Each workout type consists of varying activities, such as traversing an obstacle course, using a hand car, rowing, log jumping, jogging, and hitting a virtual punching bag, among others.