2 Days with Nintendo Wii Fit: the Balance Board is life changing
Filed under: Gaming, Hands On, Nintendo Wii | By: Daniel
Posted on: April 27, 2008 | 61 Comments
It’s only been a couple of days since we posted a first look with some hands-on photos of the Nintendo Wii Fit and Balance Board, on that day I decided to spend time everyday using Wii Fit and to see just how good it was, as the Nintendo Wii needed to get some time because it was just sitting there not being used. Now only two days later I am amazed at how good Wii Fit is, it has changed everything for the Wii and not only am I using the it to keep fit, but also my wife, daughter and son.
I can tell you first hand that the Balance Board and Wii Fit is truly life changing, I not only know I am overweight and have a high BMI but I am even learning about the way I stand and how it is very wrong and bad for my health. Last night I was waiting for my brother to arrive outside his home and I realized I was standing with all my weight on one leg and I corrected this to a better posture like it shows you in Wii Fit…things are changing already.
There has been times when I go to bed feeling fat as I have eaten late, but over the last two evenings I felt great as I spent 30 minutes on the Balance Board doing some step, press ups and even some jogging on the spot which works amazingly well. Now my whole family is not only keeping fit and working towards our own goals, but we are also competing for the top place on the scoreboard for each task. Even my mother-in-law came over and used the Wii Fit, I am also sure we’re not the only family that has had its daily life changed thanks to Wii Fit….gaming and fitness is going to change many lives and save money on healthcare costs.
If you have not got Wii Fit yet, I would strongly recommend you do so, as my mind has been changed from the view that the Wii is for kids and the PS3 and 360 are the real games machines to the Wii being in another interactive league compared to the other next-gen consoles.
In Summery: Wii Fit 10/10, best £69 I have spent in a long time.
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Meeshe. There is no sarcasm intended here at all. The only people who Wii Fit will benefit, fitness wise, are those who are currently almost entirely inactive. I’m not judging anyone other than the people who are claiming it to be some kind of fitness revolution. The only revolution that Wii Fit is bringing about is in Nintendo’s profit margins. It is NOT a serious fitness tool, any more than a Slendertone is. But a lot of people just don’t seem to want to acknowledge this.
There you go then. It is probably aimed at such people and therefore shouldn’t be compared to extreme athletic fitness anyway.
We’re not talking “extreme athletic fitness” here. Wii Fit will only tax someone who is clinically obese or otherwise physically compromised due to age or other factors. The best that the fitness expert on the BBC thought about it was that it might benefit pensioners with balance problems. IT WILL NOT HELP THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ATTAIN EVEN THE MOST BASIC LEVEL OF AEROBIC FITNESS. We’re not talking Olympic standard here, we are talking about a fitness tool that probably couldn’t help you improve the speed/heart rate/efficiency at which you could walk to the corner. It is of almost no benefit whatsoever to the vast majority of the population. Get over it.
Simon Wells take your own advice and “Get over it”.
…..
(anyone reckon he is a ex-fatty, ex-smoking gym fanatic mummies boy with no life? :p)
…..Fancy a cream cake and a marlboro Simon?
OMG someone has a DIFFERENT OPINION TO YOU Simon!!! Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!!!!
It’s interesting how you’ve become more aware of your posture. That is life-changing. I can hear chiropractors everywhere moaning already.
@Stretch
“A lot of people don’t have the facilities nearby to play tennis or any other sport.”
You’re telling me that the majority of people owning a Nintendo Wii, balance board/Wii fit, a Tv and some sort of electricity supply do not have a sports facility nearby? I do agree with some of what you said, like the whole confidence factor. But if you’re trying to imply that this balance board is the only way to stay healthy, and is also superior to an old fashioned work-out, then you are wrong.
I live in Central Africa, I live within walking/running/cycling distance of two pools, two Gyms,five football fields, two running tracks, a Sports club and an athletic centre. Even if most people dont have all that, what do you need to go out for a good old jog? Nothing at all. And I guarantee you that some jogging/swimming combined with pushups and sit-ups/crunches is better, faster and cheaper. This is nothing but a gimmic, similar to treadmills, air-walks, vibrating/electic ab massagers, etc. I wouldnt be surprised if it was programmed to tell you that you have lost weight even though you havnt.
ps Simon Wells is one of the only people here who knows what he’s talking about. Wii Fit is not going to make you “fit”. Fitness is not simply losing weight. Most importantly it it achieving a lower average heart rate when at rest. I used to consider myself fit, I was doing 2 hours of swimming seven times a week, swimming up to 7 kilometers a session and 49 kilometers a week. That isn’t including my daily land training, ie jogging and a work out of push ups and crunches every morning and night + gym 2 times a week. If you saw me you probably wouldn’t believe me, I dont have huge shoalders, bulging biceps or a six pack. This is simply what you have to do to stay fit. Due to pressure of my exams, I had to stop this practice a month ago, I’ve never been more unfit, I’m tired and concentrating is more difficult. I can sense how much more I have to breathe and how much my pulse rate has risen. There is no avoiding the hard work that exercise requires, if it doesn’t burn, its not doing anything. Go exercise people, get in a routine. I’m not critiquing, just trying to give advise. I grew up with a healthy life-style, its easier for me. You just have to focus and do it, don’t allow yourself to make excuses. I believe my training has helped me in almost every aspect, I’m more dedicated, disciplined, and healthier. I feel very sorry for people who didn’t grow up forced (thats too strong a word, encouraged) into doing some work. I know what I am capable of, and it turns out I’m actually more academically inclined, however much I want to excel in sport, most people haven’t tried.
I still find it amazing that so Simon and his acolytes fill so strongly about bashing Wii fit and any one who uses it.
As an owner, first let me say that I do not enjoy the BALANCE games and I can see little value in doing them. However there is value in the rest of the package. Anwer these questions honestly:
Is jogging exercise?
Is Taibo exercise?
Is step arobics exercise?
Is Hula hooping exercise?
Is yoga exercise?
Are pressups, jack knifes, parrallel stretches, lunges, tricep extensions, etc… exercise?
If you have have answered yes to any of the above questions then wii fit has something to offer.
Bizarrely, i suspect of the list above the only one people might honestly question would be hula hooping, yet i would chalange anyone to complete the 10 minute hulahoop session in wii fit without working up a good sweat. Add to that 10 minutes a 10 minute jog, 10 minutes of steps, 10 minutes of boxercise and a bunch of the muscle exercises and you’ve got a really good work out.
Is wii fit going to turn you into a superfit muscle bound hunk - NO.
Is it a good daily workout for the average joe (by that I dont mean couch potatoes) - YES.
Might it encourage coach potatoes off their coaches - Very possibly.
Personally, I dont want to go out and play tennis, or football, or any other sport for that matter. Not because i’m lazy but simply because I am not interested in sports. What i want is an something that makes me sweat for an hour and builds muscle tone. Wii fit and the gym provide this.
I really think that people should do their research before they make judgements - for all the doom sayers above if you cant even be bothered to try the wii fit then maybe you should at least read this article;
http://www.4colorrebellion.com/wii-fit/
P.S. Stef - unless you really wanted to be a professional athlete you were seriously over doing it. 3 hours a week or half an hour a day is the clinically recomended amount of exercise that most should be partaking in.
There’s a lot to tackle there:
1. Running on the spot is not running. Go outside and feel the difference.
2. You can’t do step aerobics without a proper aerobic step, which WiiFit isn’t.
3. Yoga and Taibo are great but are strictly for suppleness and some slight muscle toning. No-one ever got fit doing these things alone.
4. The one hour exercise you outline sounds fine. My problem is with people who are spending 20 mins three times a week balancing on a bit of plastic and then pronouncing themselves fit.
5. I’ve never heard of 30 mins a day as an exercise maximum but I’ve certainly heard it mentioned as a minimum. What is your source for this?
6. The guy in the link is kind of interesting. Looking at the pretty gentle exercise he has been doing, you’d have to suspect that the changes in his diet that WiiFit has prompted are the main reasons for his weight loss. But I’ve no problem with very sedentary people using WiiFit as a means to get off the sofa. The question is more, what do they do after the slight improvements that WiiFit will help them make? What is step two on the road to getting fitter? He’s in a little better shape but only a little.
7. The guy who does my personal training just about sums WiiFit up, I think. He has had various clients of his come up to him in the last month to say that have bought one and he always answers, “Great. And what are you doing to get fit?”
Just taken a peek back at this thread after a couple of weeks and … Jeeeeeez …… guys and gals, don’t take this thing so seriously.
Don’t imagine you are going to change most serious athletes’ view that this is nothing more than a “toy”, nor a trying-not-to-be-a-couch-potatoe’s view that this could turn him/her into the mega-fit musclebound babe magnet / slim and sexy fox of their dreams. Why not just relate your own experiences with Wii Fit and lets hope that someone from Nintendo might be reading this and looking for improvements for Wii Fit 2. 
Personally, I’ve used my Jap Wii Fit to learn a bit of Japanese (Well, OK the kids and I go round saying stuff to each other like “Sa Che Chu” and “Me no patanda” which is in the boxing game- anyone know what that might mean?)- and if I get any fitter - that’s a bonus!!