Wii Fit, Nintendo's latest innovation for the Wii gaming console, gets the gamer off the couch.
Wii Fit is one of Nintendo’s latest releases, and one of the most anticipated releases in console gaming this year. Wii Fit was released in May 2008 to mostly positive reviews.
The Wii fit package consists of the Wii Fit game and the Wii Balance Board. The Balance Board is essentially a controller that you stand on, and it looks very much like a bathroom scale without the display. It has sensors in it that measure weight and balance across the board, and it uses this information to provide feedback on the screen during the exercises.
When a user starts up Wii Fit for the first time, he uses one of the created Miis to represent his account. The setup includes entering the user’s height and birth date, and the system weighs the user to determine his BMI, or Body Mass Index. BMI is stressed over weight in Wii Fit, although weight can be displayed if desired.
Wii Fit Activities
There are four types of activities in Wii Fit:
- Yoga – Yoga poses are performed on either the Balance Board or the floor, depending on the pose. The yoga activities stress balance, and feedback is provided to the user during the pose to show how steady or unsteady he is. A score is generated for each pose based on how balanced the user was while performing the pose. Form for each pose is explained well.
- Strength – Strength training activities use body weight to work various muscle groups. While the overall focus of Wii Fit seems to be on core muscles, the Strength Training exercises do contain some arm and leg exercises, such as a Push-Up/Side Plank combo, and lunges. Scoring is generated by accurate repetitions, which are recorded by the Balance Board, or in some cases the Wii Remote (such as for Triceps Extensions). While these exercises are great for the beginner, someone who has been weight training may find them too easy.
- Aerobics – The aerobic exercises are meant to get the user’s heart pumping. Activities include step aerobics, hula hoop twirling, and running in place while your Mii runs a cross-country circuit. The aerobic exercises are fun, but are very short in duration. Longer step routines would be a great downloadable addition to the Wii Fit aerobics section
- Balance – The balance section is not as physically stressful as the other three sections, but the activities do get the user’s mind/body reaction time working. Many of the activities are amusing, such as heading soccer balls, where a mis-timed lean can mean getting socked in the head with a flying cleat or a panda head.
Tracking
Daily body tests allow the user to track their BMI over time, and the user can set goals for weight loss that are tied into the calendar system. Graphs are available to track weight, BMI, activity, and even a breakdown of the types of exercises performed. On a daily basis, the time spent exercising is deposited into bank, and as credits are deposited, new activities and difficulties are unlocked, rewarding the user for continuing to use Wii Fit.
Review
The Wii Fit is a great way to get people off of the couch and interested in exercise. Its reward and tracking systems are motivating. It is not meant for hard core exercise vets, who would get more out of a 5-mile road run or a weight training circuit. The Wii Fit software does not have any pre-set routines, so the user must decide what to do next, and flip between menus to find another activity. Since the Nintendo Wii is connected to the Internet, downloadable additions to the program are certainly a possibility.
