Wii Fit Plus was the gateway drug for me.


I remember when our friends, Becca and Ty, bought the Wii a couple of years ago. They raved about how fun it was and how much exercise they got just from playing it for an hour.

Psssh, I thought. No way is the Wii better than my PlayStation 3! But as I gained weight playing Dynasty Warriors from the comfort of my couch, Becca enjoyed the benefits of endorphins and video games.

A couple of years and tens of pounds later, I found myself playing with Derek’s cousin’s Wii. Kevin just bought Wii Fit Plus, which features aerobic activities, such as Super Hula Hoop, Rhythm Boxing and Rhythm Kung Fu.

No way is this going to be something even close to exercise, I thought. But I humored Kevin and got on the board to create my profile.

First, let me say that one of the worst things you could ever hear from a video game is “That’s OBESE!” And as my BMI climbed, my little Mii, the cartoon version of me, got chunkier. She became so chunky that her shirt revealed her pooch.

Nice.

Didn’t matter. I was gonna give it a try anyway. I tried the simple Hula Hoop activity first and found that my old hula skills assisted me in achieving a somewhat decent score. I was surprised at the end, though, to find myself a little winded.
Then I tried Rhythm Kung Fu. While it wasn’t terribly taxing at the time, my arms the next day felt like I had actually done strength-training exercises.

I played several other games, including one where I had to balance on the Wii balance board to help my penguin self get fish. I was surprised by how fast time flew by as I actively played each game. Even better, I received an estimate of burned calories after every activity. Before I knew it, I was playing games to rack up calories burned like points.
“That’s it!” I told Derek. “We need a Wii!”

The good thing about Derek is he’s a dude. And because he’s a dude, he is always up for buying video game consoles, video games, TVs and other gadgets. Makeup and clothes? Not so much. But ask the guy for the latest version of Samurai Warriors and he’s dressed and ready to go in no time.

After investing the money we used to put toward a never-used gym membership into the Wii and Wii Fit Plus, I excitedly created my profile. As at Kevin’s house, my Mii was chunky, but here at home, she provided motivation to get in shape.
And so, every morning, at around 5:30, I began exercising. I’d take my body test to see any progress and then launch into the training mode. After almost two months of Wii Fit Plus, I’ve lost 10 pounds.  My energy level has increased and my excuses have decreased. It’s good stuff all around.


The following are my observations of the different Wii Fit Plus activities I’ve done:

Rhythm Boxing: You get to punch the air like Rocky and enjoy shout-outs from your helpful coach. It was gratifying to go from “You can do better than that!” to “Nice job!” This activity isn’t bad in the beginning, but after doing this for a month every day, I admit I’m throwing randomly placed punches just to aggravate my little coach guy.

Super Hula Hoop: Awesome way to trim the waistline. Or so I’ve been told. I’ve since discovered nice big circles with your hips beat out small manic movements like a hula dancer on crack. I’ve gotten the activity up to 10 minutes, but my ADD can only handle the 6-minute version.

Basic Step: I’ve since moved on to Advanced Step, but this was a great way to discover how rhythm-challenged I’ve become since leaving music for journalism. Several times the game stopped to check on me to see if I need extra help.

Obstacle Course: This game makes me feel a little like a contestant on G4’s Ninja Warrior except that I thankfully don’t get interviewed when I fail. Still, it’s a cool activity that allows me to scurry and fake-jump calories away.

Rhythm Kung Fu: My kung fu is weak! I needed to play this one over and over and over again before finally getting decent scores. Nevertheless, even though I’m receiving good scores, I know this “kung fu” is not going to help me in a dark alley unless my attackers allow me to play weird poppy music while waiting to be randomly hit to the beat.

Rhythm Parade: Every band geek’s dream. I get to lead a band while stepping (somewhat) to the rhythm. When I don’t keep up with the music, I lose band members. This one really makes me appreciate changing my major from music to journalism in college.

Bird’s-Eye Bull’s-eye: Ever see a chicken fly? You can with this game as you flap your arms to try and land your chicken-suited Mii on the different targets. This game really gets my arms going and actually tires me out far too much for the little calories it burns.  

Snowball Fight: I hate this game and the evil Miis who always find a way to smack me in the head with a snowball. The key is to aim and dodge well. Because I can’t do either, this one is usually a wash. I only play this one if I need to burn a few extra calories to round out the total caloric burn.

Soccer: You basically head soccer balls for points while dodging panda heads and shoes. This one makes me glad I never played soccer because I can’t avoid shoes and panda heads to save my life. Just as I get my score up to a respectable level by heading numerous soccer balls, I get smacked by a panda head, which conveniently looks just like a soccer ball.

Strength training and yoga: I grouped these together because both are done with your ghostly white trainer. I enjoy these exercises and am sufficiently challenged by them. That said, it was quite disturbing when, after several workouts, my female trainer was replaced by the male trainer, who smoothly explained that my original trainer wasn’t able to make it that day. What the heck? She gets a day off? Or am I that lame that even my ghostly white video game trainer wants to slack off on our appointments?

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