EXERGAMING!

Posted by ERV on January 10, 2010
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I actually have a couple EXERGAMES for mah Wii.

I wouldnt buy a Wii for these games, but they do make me sweat when the weather/timing keeps me from getting to the gym:
Golds Gym Cardio Workout– This is basically ‘Guitar Hero’ with jabs/upper-cuts/hooks/ducks/blocks/etc. It can get pretty damn hard, and is def an underrated EXERGAME for Wii. The controls are a bit frustrating at times (you do a move, it counts it as a ‘MISS!’), but the routines that are strictly punching are great. Music is crappy, but I just turn it down to the minimum to catch the beat and listen to a couple episodes of South Park. Also, you can usually find this one around on sale for $15. Definitely worth $15.

EA Sports Active– The resistance band means you can work bis/tris/shoulders at home. Tons of lunges/squats for your legs. And a ton of cardio. The guy trainer sounds annoyed all the time (he sounds like he has somewhere else to be. srsly.) , so I go with the obnoxiously chipper lady. This ones $40, but the leg strap really does keep you from ‘cheating’ :-/

IF you have a Wii, these games are totally better than workout DVDs, just because they are interactive, and there are dozens and dozens of routines on each.

If you dont have a Wii, Id have a hard time saying EXERGAMES are worth that $200 purchase…

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Comments

  1. #1 Tyler DiPietro
    January 10, 2010

    There are plenty of other games on the Wii that justify that purchase. New Super Mario Bros is the shit.

  2. #2 Greg Laden
    January 10, 2010

    We got our Wii as a gift two years back. For exerwii-ing, we have Wii Fit Advanced (or whatever it is) just acquired, and Wii Resort, which is not exactly an exercise thing, and of course Super Mario Kart which works out the wrists and the thumb very nicely.

    I never had or played a TV based video gamme in my life before getting the Wii. When my daughter was little, I told her these tings were not available in our area so ignore the commercials. I’m glad we waited. But I’m also glad we started.

    Oh, by the way, here’s my contribution to the fitness blogging stampede:

    -/2010/01/from_fit_to_fat_to_fit_and_bac_1.php

  3. #3 eddie
    January 10, 2010

    Jenny Mcarthy?

  4. #4 Sili
    January 10, 2010

    Plus the telly, of course.

  5. #5 Lyn
    January 10, 2010

    I am ridiculously enamoured with Gold Gym’s Cardio workout. The cover looks completely lame, but it is a very rich and challenging workout and heaps of fun. I think it’s easily the best workout option for the Wii. Plus, you can unlock clothing changes for your trainer and pimp him out. I also like the way the trainers bow to you at the beginning of the lesson — it is port of a Japanese game that onto which Gold’s Gym just slapped its logo.

    I say this by the way as an avid female lifter of heavy weights! I finish off my weights routine with 30 minutes of the Wii.

  6. #6 Josh in California
    January 10, 2010

    Curse you, Tyler! You beat me to it!

    This is why everyone needs New Super Mario Bros Wii: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpcJNEWKzCY

  7. #7 ERV
    January 10, 2010

    eddie– I loved InfoManias dig at Jenny :P

    Lyn– I KNOW RIGHT?? I do this game more often than Id like to admit… my life goal right now is to get the blonde trainer to take his shirt off. That better be an ‘outfit’ you can unlock… the other guy does it…

  8. #8 Fill
    January 11, 2010

    I did the Golds Gym game almost everyday for months. Drove me a little nuts how bad the grammar and sometimes spelling was (e.g. “swing insward!”). The music sounds like midi from a child’s toy. Some icons weren’t lined up right. At least one routine appeared to lapse into another near the end like they used it as a template and forgot to truncate it. Oh, and true it doesn’t register all moves, especially the dodges. They should have done better debugging.

    I got EA Sports Active for xmas. It looked good but it couldn’t register my squats, which was the 2nd activity in the first routine I played. I eventually gave up and turned the game off, but should give it another try.

  9. #9 Yogi
    January 11, 2010

    We have wii fit and love it. I’m thinking I’ll have to get the EA fitness – looks like it adds a new dimension.

  10. #10 JustaTech
    January 11, 2010

    I love my wii fit, (now with Plus chicken-flapping action!) but it drives me insane that there isn’t an option for “why did you put on weight?” “I just came back from the gym so I drank a whole bunch of water, you rude little board!” At this point I go with “ate too fast”.

    I haven’t tried any of the other games, though.

  11. #11 Gobaskof
    January 11, 2010

    “If you dont have a Wii, Id have a hard time saying EXERGAMES are worth that $200 purchase…”

    However Mario Galaxy IS worth the purchase. And then you can occasionally use the wii fit to tell you that you are almost obese.

  12. #12 BrianX
    January 12, 2010

    Jillian Michaels: the closest thing to a dominatrix allowed to be shown in action on TV.

  13. #13 Shelley
    January 15, 2010

    I love Wii exergames! I was glad to see you mentioned the glitchiness of the Gold’s Gym game, too, because while I love playing that game I get frustrated sometimes with how often it fails to register my movements.

    I just bought it last weekend and passed my B-level exam yesterday, so I’m behind you guys. Wii Fit is AWESOME too, especially the chicken suit game.

    EA Sports Active is pretty rigorous, which is nice, but beware if you have bad knees. It’s very invested in squats and lunges and then JUMP squats and JUMP lunges so, while I can get through the workouts, my knees always hurt the next day.

  14. #14 Carlie
    January 17, 2010

    If you need another reason for a Wii, it was just announced that the Wii will be able to stream Netflix by late spring.