Dance Dance Revolution

Before there was Wii Fit, there was Dance Dance Revolution. It's still a great way to get in shape. This product review is by a middle-aged woman with arthritis who found out that DDR is not just a video game for kids.

"You'll need different shoes."

I glanced down at my ugly gym shoes and back at the gleaming warehouse-sized room full of chrome and mirrors, alien technology exercise machines, and skinny well-toned folks who'd just stepped off the bus from Hollywood wearing designer spandex that actually flattered them, complete with matching water bottles.

My t-shirts and sweats weren't going to cut it with this crowd. I was feeling more and more like a potato.

I left the McGym in a daze, having paid my $100 initiation fee and two-month deposit and $50 personal trainer fee and all the other things that followed in bewildering succession upon, "Hey, is there some way I could use your elliptical trainer a few hours a week?"

The next day, I marched back into Glitterati McGym and asked for my money back. Then I zipped over to Chez Target and bought a $70 dance pad and Dance Dance Revolution.

I went home. I drew all the blinds. ALL the blinds. I swapped my game console's controller for the dance pad. In half an hour I had Cindi Lauper, David Bowie, techno, rap, and insanely cheerful J-pop playing out of the speakers and was dancing around like a giddy teenager.

Well, not quite. I'm middle-aged with arthritic knees, so I had to avoid the hops at first. I'm still playing the game at the basic level. But I'm doing aerobic exercise every day for an hour, when I've been a blob for several years. It even helped me get ready for surgery -- my surgeon was incredibly impressed with how quickly I was up and about after a myomectomy!

Think Simon crossed with Twister, and you've got Dance Dance Revolution.