wiiFit - worthIt?

PeeTeePee

Hi,

Qucik question. Is the WiiFit worth getting for someone who is reluctant to go to the gym? Or what about one of the other consoles perhaps, PS3, XBox?

misskitty69

I love my wii fit, not that I use it as much as I should. I use the Wii fit plus and do step aerobics., S few of the other games have the fun factor too so its less like excersise. Go for it

polar135

I love it because my kids can take part with me. I normally use it as a warm up before i do a outside run, or a elliptical work out.

umachanxo

I don't have it myself, but a friend of mine uses and loves it!

dusk1977

I love the wii fit and only realised just how much when we had to send it away for repair last week, I do wii step, jogging, hula hooping, boxing and also enjoy all the fun games and yoga and strength moves. As someone who doesn't go to the gym it works wonders for me.

jakejacobsen

we love ours and use it, Just the other day I put my HRM on burned over 400 cal in a hour I was surprised it was a great work out. We use WII Fit plus and Biggest Loser

wellbert

Wiifit is very low impact/low intensity. Most of the exercises are very 'halting' in nature or have very short durations. Probably the only 2 exercises on it that will get your heart rate up amount to stepping on and off the balance board, or running in place with the wiimote in your pocket. Oh, and the hula hoop if you can do that.

I found I burned more calories just walking for the same amount of time. YMMV.

zippo32

One of my in-laws completely rejected her Wii fit when it told her she was fat...................
Her report

UsedToBeHusky

I have Wii Fit, but I didn't stick with it. The exercises don't burn a whole lot of calories, but they can be fun. I don't have an Xbox kinect but I could see how that system would give you the most bang for your buck in terms of exercise.

UsedToBeHusky

Wiifit is very low impact/low intensity. Most of the exercises are very 'halting' in nature or have very short durations. Probably the only 2 exercises on it that will get your heart rate up amount to stepping on and off the balance board, or running in place with the wiimote in your pocket. Oh, and the hula hoop if you can do that.

I found I burned more calories just walking for the same amount of time. YMMV.

I found the strength training exercises and the yoga poses very helpful.

pholbert

I use my wii fit more now that the weather is getting colder. Plus I have gotten other workout games for it such as ea sports and just dance. I find it to be a helpful tool. Wii fit you can walk (stepping up and down) while you watch tv.

april_beth

i have the wii fit and the xbox kinect. if youre going to spend the money, go for the kinect. the games cost the same amount of money but the kinect has more "bang for your buck" so to speak in terms of the calorie burnage. we dont use our wii that much anymore which sucks cause it was so freakin' expensive and we go thte kinect in a study me and my daughter are participating in and also right now the xbox kinect is having a big sale - and not just on the dreaded black friday...just totally for the holidays.

Kimmer2011

We got a Wii Fit Plus last winter and it was very helpful when it was too cold to walk outside.

amberl10

Wii Fit is fun but you won't burn many calories doing it because each exercise/game is only a couple minutes long at most unless you do the running. I love my EA Sports Active for Wii much better. They came out with a More Exercise for EA Sports Active and I intend to get that one after Christmas.

KaraMiaCafe

My sister has lost over 70 lbs playing wii fit, wii sports, wii zumba and just dance. I started playing Just Dance for 45-60 min every day a month ago and I've lost 9 lbs so far! Wii or xBox Kinect is worth investing it... for those who like to play instead of "exercise", like me... it's a great way to get moving and have fun! I have wii fit and wii fit plus also... love them both... but because I have always loved to dance.... Just Dance 1, 2 and 3 are the best choice for me. I play all of them... zumba too! You might try seeing if you have a friend or neighbor that has it and will let you give it a try and see how you like it before buying.

cclark1203

I would invest in the Wii Active 2 program instead. I find it very challenging and there is a 90 day program that you can do that starts from a beginner fitness to advanced. You can also make your own programs. I designed a 50 minute boxing/aerobics/strength program for myself that burns high calories and boy is my face red when I am done.

CaptainSwab

The wii fit isn't that great for calorie burn.

In stead I would go for walk it out for the wii. That game is fun and you are constantly walking.

Or the just dance games are awesome if the person you are looking for is into rythem games.

CALake

I agree that it's not that great of a calorie burn. But it is a lot of fun, and if you're not going to go to the gym it's definitely better than sitting home watching tv. Plus, you can get your kids, spouse, friends into it with you because it's a lot of fun to play.

Felbsies

Does the wii calculate calories burned and/or heart rate? How do you know how much you are burning?

tcdawley78

It depends on your fitness level... When I first got wiifit, I was very inactive, and I set up a routine (it let's you stack exercises so you don't have that pause between each one), and it really got me up to a more active level!! I lost 100+ lbs, and switched to the biggest loser on the kinect... WAY more intense!! I would never have been able to handle where I am when I started... But, the biggest loser DOES test your fitness level, and sets your program based on that, so it would probably be a lot less intense if I couldn't handle it... I also have the biggest loser for the wii, but don't like it as much... Also, kinect adventures is fun, and definitely gets you sweating!! :-D

thecrossfitter

To be honest. No. But that's just for me and my opinion. This won't be true for everyone.

I have one, because a friend gave it to me. I think it's rather expensive, and while it's certainly better than sitting on the couch and playing another video game, I'm not sure it's worth it.

Why do I think this?
Because this is free:
http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

HOWEVER. If you enjoy it and stick with it and use it, then go for it! I think a key is to find something you like and enjoy that will also let you push yourself. If the Wii Fit will do that for you, then more power to you! I will never hate on what someone else finds to do that produces fitness results! I hope you find what works!

tseecka

WiiFit is good if you're jut getting started, you REALLY hate working out/going to the gym, or you need to begin with low intensity workouts.

I found it was good for helping maintain weight, but not as much for trying to drop pounds. The hula hoop and free running exercises were super helpful in getting me moving again--when I started I could barely do a "basic run", and now I can do a full 30 minutes.

If you're looking for something with higher intensity and more bang for your buck, for the Wii, I would HIGHLY suggest EA Sports Active. I got it for my dad for Christmas last year. He does it three or four times a week, and that along with a 20 minute jog outside every morning has resulted in him losing a ton of weight. He loves it, and he's always exhausted by the end of it, so it's definitely a good workout.

princessbakura

Honestly, I don't think it's worth getting. I have it, but it takes forever to burn a significant amount of calories

cbuggin22

Does the wii calculate calories burned and/or heart rate? How do you know how much you are burning?

Yes it calculate calories burned. I'm not sure how accurate it is. It does not calculate heart rate.

I have the wii fit and I really like the free run or free step. You can change the channel and do it while watching a show or listening to music.

tseecka

Does the wii calculate calories burned and/or heart rate? How do you know how much you are burning?

Yes it calculate calories burned. I'm not sure how accurate it is. It does not calculate heart rate.

I have the wii fit and I really like the free run or free step. You can change the channel and do it while watching a show or listening to music.

I believe the WiiFit uses METs + your age and weight to estimate the approximate calories burned.

PippaJo_

I like it because I have to use my brain for the games at the same time as my body. That makes it more fun for me than just a mindless slogging away at an exercise.

No, the calorie burn isn't *as* great - and it's true that the games are short, and there's a start/stop aspect to them. This could be a plus if you're totally out of shape and need that little break between games, though. You aren't going to get a good sustained burn going.

But what I like is that after each game, it clinks little 'coins' into the bank, and lets you know how many minutes you've been at it, and how many calories you've burned. The low number per game is kind of disappointing, but on the other hand, if you just want to rack up "a few more calories" - it's pretty motivating to just play the game again. I often find myself going longer than I'd planned, because I might have 160 calories burned, and I think - hey, I can make it to 200, just a couple more games and I'm there!

And maybe I don't want to go all out on a particular day - maybe I've already worked out, or taken a walk or something, and I just want to shave off 40 more calories. The Wii Fit is great for that.

amberl10

Does the wii calculate calories burned and/or heart rate? How do you know how much you are burning?

With EA Sports Active it shows calories burned. With Wii Fit it shows calories burned for that particular game/exercise. Then it goes away and I could never find where the running total was so I'd do a few games and keep writing it down so I knew what my total was.

cclark1203

Wii Fit is fun but you won't burn many calories doing it because each exercise/game is only a couple minutes long at most unless you do the running. I love my EA Sports Active for Wii much better. They came out with a More Exercise for EA Sports Active and I intend to get that one after Christmas.

I was doing the Active program and then bought the Active 2. If you enjoy the active you will really like the 2. It has program you can design and a heart rate monitor. Many of the programs you don't have to use the controller which sometimes is a pain. Plus I noticed with the Active there were times that no matter what I did with the bar, etc. it wouldn't register, it would seem to freeze up. I don't get that much at all with the 2. It has a 90 day 3 phase program you can do also, or you can design your own or have a trainer design something for you. Overall for the money, I believe this is a good buy.

runiechica

Wi fit and Wi fit plus are good...I like Wii active the best though. Felt more like a real workout.