Exercise Video Games (like Wii and DDR)

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  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
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    I say throw in body weight squats and lunges. Holy crap, can't tell you how much of a difference I already see, just two weeks in. I do it only 2 days a week and I know it's just me losing fat (not gaining muscle) but my legs are slimmer and I can feel my muscles much more easily beneath my skin. That and pilates. I swear pilates is my golden ticket. I enjoy it, I like doing it even while it hurts a little (pushing through the last 2 reps after doing all my squats and lunges can get a little tense haha), and I have always felt crazy strong and tall after I'm done with even a short little video. The one I did today was 10 minutes but it is 10 minutes of watching my legs look all sexy and awesome so I love it!

    I also love just Dance! It's super fun and I giggle the whole time because I'm sure I look just awful but it's too much fun to stop.
  • Peregrymj
    Peregrymj Posts: 34 Member
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    Pikashel wrote: »
    Same here! What are your favorite songs and what level do you play on? :P
    I usually play standard, don't really have a favorite song, just a huge stack of PS2 DDR games I picked up from the thrift shop awhile ago. So much cheesy 2000s pop...
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    Pikashel wrote: »
    Maybe it's an excuse but I feel like I am too heavy right now to just jump into running. If I do I probably won't go very far lol. I was able to do the elliptical for 10 min last week. I'm going to gradually increase the duration and frequency..but probably very slowly. I think I'll add squats and lunges too. Pushups...I was never able to do push ups, even when I was 70 lbs lighter.

    Which games did you play?

    When I started running, it was all I could do to run for 10 minutes, and I felt like I was going to die. If you can go out and run 10 minutes today, that's seriously impressive. And in those days I couldn't even go a mile in that amount of time. But I wouldn't be able to run any further if I hadn't gone through that part.

    With that said, my knees hurt after I ran back then, and I didn't run terribly often because of it. You shouldn't be afraid to try it if you want to, but on the other hand, your fears aren't entirely unfounded and you should take it very easy if you do.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    I do Just Dance games maybe once a week. I usually dance for 30-40 minutes. It is fun.
    My main source of exercise is walking 30-60 minutes a day plus doing workout videos from You Tube. I'm using a playlist rotation from Jessica Smith right now. http://jessicasmithtv.com/plug-play-weekly-youtube-workout-rotation-playlist/
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    I used to play DDR a lot as a teenager and it's part of what helped me go from 190 pounds to 119 pounds back then. I recently went on a three day trip with my 8th grade students as one of their chaperones and on the resort there was a DDR machine. I decided to play for the sake of nostalgia and according to my Fitbit Charge HR I burned 194 calories playing for 44 minutes. I'm 5'3" and 111 pounds; I was playing most of the songs on Standard and a few on Heavy. Anything that keeps you moving is a good exercise!
  • lauraesh0384
    lauraesh0384 Posts: 463 Member
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    I play DDR a few times a week. I don't play specifically for exercise. I just love playing it and it's an added bonus that I get my steps in. I've had days where I played for 1-2 hours. I play on light since my feet can't keep up with the arrows on standard or heavy. Not to mention I live in a 3rd floor apartment. I make it a bit more challenging by increasing the speed of the arrows to 1.5 or 2.
  • Nikki10129
    Nikki10129 Posts: 292 Member
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    Omg, whenever I play Just Dance I'm so out of breath it's not funny, it's also great to get a friend to play it with, you end up egging each other on and working harder than you realize/normally would playing alone! As for other strength things to do at home, you could try either following a you are your own gym program (there's an app for like $2, it has a lot of variations of common exercises to help you work up to the most intense version, variations I had never though of! So you can't do a push up? That's ok! Do one on an elevated surface! Still too hard? That's ok, let's try them on the wall first!) or try some yoga, can't recommend Yoga with Adrienne enough on YouTube! She's got some fantastic videos!

    You're already doing great! There's something about Wii games that can make you work a little harder to beat your score!
  • LoveEpifanie
    LoveEpifanie Posts: 37 Member
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    Just Dance is definitely my favorite work out. I have so much fun with it, I forget that I am exercising.
  • sharkizord
    sharkizord Posts: 1 Member
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    I've been thinking of getting the Wii for the UFC training game
  • Pikashel
    Pikashel Posts: 61 Member
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    sharkizord wrote: »
    I've been thinking of getting the Wii for the UFC training game

    If you're just starting to exercise I think it would be a great motivation. I just got Wii boxing (even though no one plays this anymore probably). And my arms got so tired airpunching. It was a lot of fun.
  • Pikashel
    Pikashel Posts: 61 Member
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    lauraesh0384 wrote: »
    I play DDR a few times a week. I don't play specifically for exercise. I just love playing it and it's an added bonus that I get my steps in. I've had days where I played for 1-2 hours. I play on light since my feet can't keep up with the arrows on standard or heavy. Not to mention I live in a 3rd floor apartment. I make it a bit more challenging by increasing the speed of the arrows to 1.5 or 2.

    I can only do 30 min of DDR right now because I play on med/hard. 1-2 hours is a long time! I wonder how many calories it really burns.
  • sky_northern
    sky_northern Posts: 119 Member
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    Pikashel wrote: »
    mysticatgal1 wrote: »
    I liked it but never felt like it helped as much as I wanted. I did better just jumping into running with a c25k app and repeating days if I wasn't ready for the next intensity. I used to hate strength training but now I love it and muscles will help in the long run. I do pushups, squats, lunges and other items also. You have a great start but don't be scared to just jump into running.

    Maybe it's an excuse but I feel like I am too heavy right now to just jump into running. If I do I probably won't go very far lol. I was able to do the elliptical for 10 min last week. I'm going to gradually increase the duration and frequency..but probably very slowly. I think I'll add squats and lunges too. Pushups...I was never able to do push ups, even when I was 70 lbs lighter.

    Which games did you play?
    Research C25k, Galloway run/walk method, etc. You don't have to run very far at once. If you really want to run, you probably can. I ran Galloway method when I was over 300lbs.
    But there is nothing wrong with not running, it's whatever activity your will actually do that is important.

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