Video games and exercise

[Feba]

Video games have been involved in exercise for a very long time, at least as far back as the NES (and possibly farther, although I haven't really done a bunch of research on the situation)

Do you use video games to help you work out? Have you? Would you ever? Which ones worked, which ones didn't?

DDR: Personally, even the weaker settings of this tend to tire me out quickly, but it is definitely a good workout. From everything I've seen, it's probably the single best video game series/style for weight loss.

Wii Sports: It's not nearly as grueling, but the Boxing mode is still fairly fun, and if you really get into it you'll work up a sweat dodging and punching. Tennis to a lesser extent as well. I kinda wish Nintendo would release a Wii Sports channel (possibly through Wiiware) so you could play it without having to fumble with the disk. Although I suppose that's somewhat ironic, too lazy to walk over to the shelf, but you can exercise.


Those are the two main ones I've played, but there were some others; unfortunately I can't remember them specifically. Still, there's plenty of room for video games and exercise to work together.

And on a slightly different subject, is anyone really that upset about Wii Fit's 300/330 lb. weight limit? I mean, I saw someone complaining that they had picked this up, and were upset that they couldn't use it. The thing that gets me, though, is if you're that large you're either A- titanic, or B- Muscular to the point where you could snap the balance board like a twig with your pinkies. I would personally label myself as a "Giant Fatass", and I'm still very far under 300 lbs. Not to mention the fact that at that point you should probably consult a doctor before you use any sort of exercise program.
______________________________
I love reading customer reviews sometimes.

Taken from Amazon.com:

This Wii Fit doesn't replace the real thing. It is a video game meant for little kids, disabled, and retards. If you want to be fit and active experience the great outdoors/gym and save your eyes by staying away from the glaring screen. Get some fresh air and stay away from the radiation emitted by these electronics. How pathetic that these toys now are the hip

I bought this item expecting an amazing and innovative title, but was sadly disappointed.
There's no storyline. And the worst thing is that it completely lacks action. Not once was I allowed to shoot anyone or slash with a sword.
This title is all talk no action.
The kids grew so bored with it that they hit their cousin with the board.
I honestly can't recommend this to anyone.

Finally, an able thinker who understands!!!! I agree this is a boring game of " retarded and idiotic exercises". Waste of time and money. Better to just chase squirrels and grasshoppers outside. I guarantee you , you will lose more weight.

And the best one of all:

The same reasons you don't use that gym membership are going to haunt you if you buy the Wii Fit - you're too fat. You're too old. You're too awkward.

I'm 48, fat, and trying hard to get in shape. I exercise a LOT, and was pleased to get the Wii Fit; I thought I'd found a new exercise to keep my enthusiasm up. Instead, every single time I stand on the thing, it announces in a cutesy, childish voice, "That's OBESE." The first time it did it, I was okay; I'm not an idiot. I know how overweight I am and figured it was recording my stats in its memory, where it would brood them until it had some useful information to offer.

But the second day, it pointed it out to me again. Did it think perhaps I was suddenly going to loose the fifty pounds? Or maybe the twenty-five that was going to put me at the (oh how joyous) "That's OVERWEIGHT" stage? Did it think I needed a reminder?

On the third day ("That's OBESE!"), I weighed more - and it actually forced me to select why I thought I'd gained weight from a list of eight items, none of which was "Just drank a massive pot of tea so quit your whining." Then I was treated to a lecture on eating. There's not much you can tell a fat person about eating; I KNOW I should balance my meals and avoid snacking. Thanks for the hot tip.

The Wii Fit offers you your "Wii Age," based on your weight, height, real age, and ability to balance. On the first day, it told me I was 62. I got a little lecture. By the second day, I'd sussed out the balance tests and made it to 38; at that point the Wii told me "you're still in pretty good shape." That "still" is so condescending, isn't it? Methinks we've got a slight bias towards youth and slimness... just like in the average gym.

When I first did the balance tests, the machine actually mocked me. "I see balance isn't your thing. Do you find you trip when you walk?" This is offered as a smile; but it's the smile of a taut twenty-something who has no idea that one day, age will be visiting him or her, too. Time will catch up to the heartless, ageist programmers... in the meantime, I'm going to take my Wii Fit out to the driveway and crush it beneath the wheels of my obese van. It has insulted and demoralized me for the last time. And the exercises didn't even challenge me - so while it was insulting me, I wasn't even breaking a sweat.

If you don't see why that's funny, go back and read the entire thing from the beginning. It's the first hand account of a descent into madness.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Video games and exercise

Retards? Radiation!? Storyline?? Slashing? Shooting?? Chase grasshoppers!!? Offended by a game!!??

...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Thanks, I needed that after digging the goop out of my basement for 3 hours!

[Kailea]

Re: Video games and exercise

wow.... people are morons ;p

I know half of those comments HAVE to be joke posts... because if they where even half serious...... *sigh* wow


I have tried it myself and have to say it make doing some of the excercises fun and entertaining

[Balfree]

Re: Video games and exercise

this is why i dont read reviews, theyre probably written by sony or microsoft ^^

on your question..

i never played DDR not on a real machine anyway, not even with those huge pads you step on that you can connect to your console.

at my gym though, they have a machine for people to play while exercising, its a set of sensors and weight measuring contraptions glued to the floor, its kind of an improved wii fit system, some of the games include jumping for joy to see how far you can reach (then it compares your jump to that of a cheeta, a monkey, and an elephant O_o), a game where you run in place like an oddball to see how fast you are with your legs, then it compares you to some random animals again to make fun of you, i suppose, and lastly the other interesting game is one where youre asked to do a set of movements that you would usually do if you were working out, say lifting a barbell.. or doing a squat.. it then measures you and tells you if youre doing it wrong or not, which is actually useful for beginners.

... its not really a video game but people use it for funtimes.

[Feba]

Re: Video games and exercise

If anything, they were written by Nintendo, to try to show that you need to be batshit crazy to dislike Wii Fit.

[Balfree]

Re: Video games and exercise

If anything, they were written by Nintendo, to try to show that you need to be batshit crazy to dislike Wii Fit.

or dat.

[Armando]

Re: Video games and exercise

I have never used DDR deliberately as a means to lose weight, but that's because to play at the intensity I like to play (Heavy mode, 8-9 foot songs,) foam pads don't cut it. I used to wreck a pad a month that way. If I had the money to buy a steel pad, I'm sure I could lose weight that way, though - I can go at it for well over an hour, and I'm good enough at it that I can play songs fast enough that they'll make me sweat buckets and make my legs hurt eventually.

I don't think any other game comes close to the aerobic workout DDR can give you once you get good at it, but if I had to pick a runner-up, I'd give it to Wii Boxing.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Video games and exercise

As always, I find it amusing that people actually expect some epic storyline to every video game they pick up. I've seen the videos for Wii Fit, you'd have to be an idiot to write off the game for not telling a story. Not all games need a storyline, ksrsly.

Also funny someone would get mad at a game for sassing them. I guess I should be angry at Razhel for ridiculing my repetitive tricks in SSX or get upset at John Madden for dissecting one of my plays in the latest Madden game.

[Feba]

Re: Video games and exercise

Armando, have you looked up some DDR forums? There are VERY good guides out there for taking some plywood, a foam pad, and a bit of elbow grease and making your own 'hard' pad that can be very high quality at rather low cost. They go from "attach foam pad back to plywood slab, wrap pad in plastic wrap, call it a day" to more elaborate projects (some of which look VERY sleek), but they're all supposed to be great improvements.

[Kailea]

Re: Video games and exercise

Armando, have you looked up some DDR forums? There are VERY good guides out there for taking some plywood, a foam pad, and a bit of elbow grease and making your own 'hard' pad that can be very high quality at rather low cost. They go from "attach foam pad back to plywood slab, wrap pad in plastic wrap, call it a day" to more elaborate projects (some of which look VERY sleek), but they're all supposed to be great improvements.

yeah I had one with a zipper, that let you take the foam out the middle, I just replaced the foam with some plywood, and bam much better. Also had a metal pad myself, bought it from Red Octane, about 4 years ago.... just died on me last week -.-

[Armando]

Re: Video games and exercise

Feba: Yes, I've heard of those. There was another reason why I hadn't done anything about it - for the past two years, I've been staying at an apartment for college. The incessant banging sounds would annoy the fuck out of everyone else, I'm sure (especially since I was in the top floor of the building.) I'm moving out to my grandma's house so my parents can afford to buy me a car, and I started working last week, so maybe now I can finally get a decent replacement.

I did have a steel pad at one point. Took like a month to arrive. It had a small crack in the plastic on one of the arrows. I didn't want to wait 2 months to send it back and get another one, so I just went ahead and used it. Over the course of a couple of months, the crack kept getting bigger 'til it finally split the plastic clean down the middle. After that, the panel would often not register correctly. The plywood-backed home-made versions sound nice, but damn I really liked the steel one...

Sorry to hear yours died too, Kailea.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Video games and exercise

One of my long time gaming friends had an overweight son. I used to text and chat with his son on occasion and took him to the arcade when they came to town. The boy absolutely loved the DDR machines so I bought him some games and pads. Well, as you all know the pads really don't last long but his dad built him some using guides off the net. The boy ended up losing 57 pounds mostly from doing DDR and not drinking soda. (That boy drank about 2 gallons a day whenever I was around him!) I've also heard of other people that used DDR to help with weight loss. I say do whatever it takes and if Wii Fit works for you then go for it.

[Armando]

Re: Video games and exercise

(That boy drank about 2 gallons a day whenever I was around him!)

Holy shit.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Video games and exercise

I know...it made me nauseous. He'd get super size or big gulps and drink 7 or 8 of them a day. He also had a 64 oz insulated cup like you buy at the gas station for coffee. He'd buy 2 ltr bottles and use that cup during the day. /puke

[Murphie]

Re: Video games and exercise

I was at KFC with a friend today getting him some dinner, and they had 1/2 Gallon Drink cups. A half gallon! That's ridiculous.