Dance Dance Revolution for weight loss?

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Heeey my lovely gamers!

So I figured I'd ask in this group because you guys are the people that would know! I absolutely hate going to the gym, I'd much rather stay at home and do exercise there. I've seen a couple forum posts about losing weight with the game Dance Dance Revolution! (I only have Hottest Party and the Mario Mix for wii....sort of sad right?)

Has anyone lost/is currently using the game to help lose some pounds? :D If so, what is your routine you do? If not, do you think it'd be a good idea to try? I'm leaving for college in September and it would be much easier to have that as my cardio or something instead of a gym,

Thanks for your input!

Replies

  • dsuppa1997
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    any kind of movement like that will burn calories, but you'll need a more rounded workout if you really want to get in shape. You could always look into resistance bands as well(can get a set for under $20) that way you can workout out in the comfort of your own room.
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
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    Anything you do is better than doing nothing - when I started out here I just walked and played Dance Central on the kinect - and if you are just looking to drop some weight that will work fine.

    Eventually, if you start caring about things like body composition and shape and what not, you'll want to add strength/resistance training. It would be better to start now, but do what you are comfortable with right now - any movement is good movement.
  • Dedatress
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    I actually just bought bands yesterday :)
  • Dedatress
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    any kind of movement like that will burn calories, but you'll need a more rounded workout if you really want to get in shape. You could always look into resistance bands as well(can get a set for under $20) that way you can workout out in the comfort of your own room.

    I actually just bought resistance bands a couple days ago and have exercises for them :)
  • sweetsungirl
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    I used to play Wii boxing in my living room...standing up in boxer stance (bouncing back and forth between lead foot and rear foot) throwing uppercuts, jabs and hooks into the air. It totally worked! After 45 mins, I would be drenched in sweat and exhausted!
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
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    I used EA Active 2 for the Wii early on in my exercise routine. It did help me get to a certain level of fitness. I do still workout at home, though I don't use the Wii for that anymore. You don't need a gym to get in shape. :smile:
  • dsuppa1997
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    I used EA Active 2 for the Wii early on in my exercise routine. It did help me get to a certain level of fitness. I do still workout at home, though I don't use the Wii for that anymore. You don't need a gym to get in shape. :smile:

    Yeah EA Sports Active is a great starter for getting into a full on excercise routine. I had it for the Kinect and it came with everything you need to get started.
  • TheAshpie
    TheAshpie Posts: 62 Member
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    I've heard great things about the game, and it definitely helps you burn off extra calories. I haven't tried it myself, but my sister loves it. I have tried Wii Fit and Biggest Loser for the Wii. I loved the Biggest Loser and it also had strength training extras to help build muscle!
  • xxmangexx
    xxmangexx Posts: 13 Member
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    I worked at an arcade for about a year and what was center stage DDR! I actually played the crap out of this game and lost a good amount of weight at the time. Burned about 30 lbs and was a respectable 190 at the time.

    I would also see plenty of other people that would come in for 30-40 minutes a day just to excercise on ddr. We had some machines in the front and back. It was quite popular and it worked. Not to mention there was a Subway right next door to get a sandwhich after too.
  • CannibalisticVegetarian
    CannibalisticVegetarian Posts: 1,255 Member
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    I haven't been able to hit the gym like I really wanted this summer due to my unstable work schedule, so I've been sufficing my workouts for an hour (or something 90 minutes or more) of DDR. It's still exercise technically since it's some sort of activity, and though I didn't lose as much as I would have hitting the gym, I can say that without a doubt that DDR has helped me lose a little though.

    My repertoire consisted of doing all the speedy songs that i knew on Standard mode. I'm not very good at the game, so standard is a workout for me. ^__^;

    After an hour or so of hopping around and turning like so, you're going to work up quite the sweat.

    Oh! Also back in college, I had a friend who claims that he lost 40 pounds doing nothing but ddr for an entire summer. He mainly plays challenge and heavy mode, but you get the point. It's possible.
  • VelvetKey
    VelvetKey Posts: 193 Member
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    I credit DDR: Mario Mix with me moving from a size 22 to a size 16 (not quite sure how that translates into pounds; 260-210?). Until I packed up the game to give it back to it's owner, I played it almost every day anywhere from 30-60 minutes. I went from playing on Normal to now playing on Very Hard.

    Something that I added once I felt that the simple cardio was not enough: I have 3 lb. hand weights, and between the song ending, seeing your score, loading the next song, and waiting for it to start (approximately 30-45 seconds of dead time in which your heart rate starts to go back down) I would do a set of 10 with the weights.

    Then when I knew I wanted to start toning more, I started trading off every other day with Leslie Sansone's 5 Really Big Miles DVD, which includes exercises with resistance bands, as well as just plain walking/dance-type steps.

    The only way exercise works for me is for it to be fun and still challenging (now that I've maxed out the mojo-meter in JD3, I find it hard to want to play...) and DDR fits that bill. (Super Hard is still waiting to be conquered!)