With the introduction of the balance board for the Wii, two "games" ahve successfully come to market in the fitness space. The "Wii Fit" and "Jillian Michael's Ultimate Fitness". Jillian Michaels is one of the trainers on The Biggest Loser.

I have both of these games, but have never really tried them out. Has anyone tried them? If so, are either of them effective?

Thanks

I have the wii fit - My lady spent about 2 months last christmas searching for it. When she finally got it home I wanted to check it out. Bear in mind, I'm a fitness enthusiast, I work out daily and have very specific goals. One of which is to get my target heart rate up to 138 when exercising.

The wii fit was nifty in the way it tracks your progress and the exercises can be fun, but they failed to get me into my training 'zone'. Once the novelty wore off it wasn't very effective.

Having said that, if someone is currently sedentary and wants to start off exercising, this is a great way to do it. It starts you off slow and guides you nicely.

Summary - Great for beginners, not effective for folks that are already training. There are MUCH better tools available for home workouts.

Just my opinion of course, like anything else, you get out of it what you put into it.

best of luck

I wouldn't use wii fit as a way to get fit. But if you have kids who love playing video games it's better that they move, even if the intensity is rather low. (thought I guess the intensity depends on what game they are playing)

The thing about a Wii is that it's fun. It will start you down the road to fitness but it will only take you so far. I haven't tried Jillian's game yet and Wii Fit is somewhat limited in how far it takes you, but it does get your tail out of the seat and makes you move, so it can't be all bad. The weight tracking features and other tracking available are nice. In answer to you question, is the Wii Fit effective, yes if it makes you start down the road to fitness, but it should be just a part in a fully designed routine if you want to go all the way on the road to overall fitness.

It is a game.

Bingo!

Concur!


Instead of the WiiFit, we bought our kids the Outdoor Adventure and it incorporates all sorts of exercise in the form of games: the kids are sweating, exercising and getting physical without even realizing it...and the novelty has yet to wear off. From running, jumping to all sorts of stuff. Very clever too! On one game they're in a mine-cart and they have to stand on one foot and lean to the side (core work!) and on another game they have to row.

Kids WILL spend time playing video games, may as well get them some activity at the same time. As for the WiiFit...I've heard mixed reviews. I'd have to figure it's good for a common vegatable looking to get in better shape, but it can't compare to a real trainer and solid weights/machines.

Btw....Outdoor Adventure features a large mat and comes at a fraction the price of WiiFit

the Wii Fit is more of a springboard to real exercise. it won't hurt, but its not gonna do it on its own.

the yoga game might be a good way to warm up/cool down or stretch the next day after weights...