50 (sweaty) days of Wii Fit

Yesterday the cute animated on-screen balance board informed that it was my 50th day using Wii Fit. I bet the question on everyone's mind after seeing it in motion was "Does Wii Fit work?" and after 50 days of "using" it the short answer is "yes, it does".


For those unware of what is this Wii Fit, it's a "game" (more on this later) that comes with balance board that can measure a user's weight and center of gravity. There are four categories of exercises to choose from - Yoga, Muscle Workouts, Aerobic Exercises and Balance games. They're designed to improve your posture, tone your muscles, burn fat and improve your balance respectively. To fully understand it, nothing like seeing it in action:

If you're expecting a great and fun game with Wii Fit, then I advise you to look elsewhere. There are some mini-games included, but very short and shallow.

The Yoga and Muscle sections are completely fitness oriented, you'll only see an rather spooky on-screen instructor (they seem to have no mouths!) and he/she will perform the exercise with you. These sections are, at least for me, what Wii Fit is all about.

Wii Fit Yoga, like proper yoga, is all about stretching your body and maintaining your balance - the difference being the balance board is there to measure performance. Some of the poses I can do quite well, others are still impossible! And it is very satisfying to manage to do a pose and maintain your balance on one that you couldn't at first do.

The Muscle Workouts are more traditional exercises, involving lots of lunging and bending and some very hard press-up sequences. Do this properly and I guarantee you'll feel out of breath (I know I do!) and, if you're not used to this whole fitness thing and didn't warm-up properly, with aching limbs the next day. One piece of advice: go easy on the lunges. I wanted to unlock new stuff, so on my first day did a LOT of lunges. Result: my legs ached really bad for the next few days...

Push-up and single arm stand: you won't be laughing after 15 of these!

The highlights of the Aerobic sections are jogging and hula-hooping. Jogging is what you'd expect, except you're standing on the same place. The cool thing is that you see your Mii on the screen going along a nice park and you'll see and meet other Miis on along the way. It's a laugh to run along my friends, Jesus, Einsten, Miss Piggy even Mariah! Hula-hooping is, quite simply put, a nightmare. Yeah, one minute or so it's fun, you look silly, etc. But doing the 10-min workout (5 each way) is completely exhausting!

One of the great thing is that the software keeps track of your progress, weight and BMI. Being able to track your balance does add novelty value and provides enough motivation to play Wii Fit every day - sometimes for ten minutes, sometimes for an hour. I don't know how long I'll keep this up for, but I do know switching on the Wii is a lot easier than going to the gym. Wii Fit is not as beneficial, undoubtedly, but a lot less intimidating and cheaper.

So, what about results? After 50 or so days I have to admit that there are no dramatic changes in my body - I didn't just wake up with Brad Pitt's body (unfortunately...). Having said that, and fully aware of the limitations of Wii Fit, I do feel more fit and a bit more toned as well. My weight is more or less the same, but my body fat index has gone down. Suddenly my legs feel a bit harder, my posture's a lot better and some t-shirts a bit tighter! So, I guess it works then :) One thing I know, between sitting on the coach and a session on Wii Fit, I know which one is better for me.

Conclusion: If you go to a gym regularly, then well done, keep doing that! If, like me, you're a bit less inclined to gyms, then Wii Fit can only help you. It's definitely a case of "Doing something is better than doing nothing."