Anyone still playing DDR for exercise?

msafunk
msafunk Posts: 163 Member
edited November 7 in Fitness and Exercise
I've been playing Dance Dance Revolution on and off for a few years. I started out in a dark corner of an arcade inside a bowling alley, but after I realized I was feeding the machine enough quarters to pay for two gym memberships, I bought a foam pad to use at home on my PC with StepMania.

I had to give it up for a little over a year because I was stupid and moved into a 3rd floor apartment, but now that I'm back on ground-level, I'm tearing up the dance pad with my husband.

I've gone from wheezing after a few light or standard songs, to being able to play for an hour straight on mostly heavy with a few standard here and there to cool off. I'm really proud of my progress (and so is my maniac husband, who got me into the game), but I don't think many of my friends understand/appreciate my facebook statuses about clearing ORION.78(AMeuro-MIX) on heavy.

Looking for some friends who understand and (hopefully) still enjoy playing.

OR!!! If you don't really play, but you've thought about it, and have questions, please feel free to ask! It's actually a pretty cheap and incredibly fun way to get exercise! It costs about $60 to get all set up to play in the comfort of your own living room. A quality pad is $60 on Amazon, and the PC (or Mac) game is free plus thousands of songs ranging from official Arcade songs to contemporary pop songs made by fans.

You might not start off burning a ton of calories while you're learning how to play, but once you can read the harder songs, it can be more intense than videos like T25 (which I have done), but much more fun.

Replies

  • Roberta__F
    Roberta__F Posts: 8
    I use StepMania, too! It's really good fun though I'm not very good at it yet. What do you log it as in MFP?
  • rapunzel1029
    rapunzel1029 Posts: 20 Member
    I used to play all the time-DDR and ITG. Haven't had time to do it recently, but I want to get back into it. Used to be able to play up to 13s on ITG, but who knows what I can do now.
  • jessthep1rate
    jessthep1rate Posts: 47 Member
    I used to play DDR a ton a few years back, but don't really have the space for it anymore. Dance mats and PS2 are still stored and waiting to be used again, though!! It's a great workout for me because I generally hate exercise, but find DDR fun and rewarding. And if you're able to get through Orion.78 without dying, you've already bested me!! My biggest accomplishments were "Dream A Dream" and "Candy (star)" on heavy... and "Drop Out" on light! :P If I remember correctly Orion.78 seems to be really good for your legs, mine were always screaming a by third of the way through.
  • Wiltord1982
    Wiltord1982 Posts: 312 Member
    I used to play a few years ago :D I bought the pad for DDR1 and 2 for the Wii but didn't play much due to lack of time. It's a pretty good exercise IMO!
  • dgirllamius
    dgirllamius Posts: 171 Member
    I used to love playing this. I would love to do it again but alas I live in a 3rd floor flat. The neighbours have already complained about me doing jumping jacks -.-
  • etkahler
    etkahler Posts: 7 Member
    Just played this morning actually! I do my strength training between songs in a circuit training type thing. I LOVE DDR!
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    dance central!
  • walza1394
    walza1394 Posts: 10 Member
    I play! Actually I usually do a combo of DDR mixed with Just dance. So DDR is awesome to get your heart rate up and going (especially once you work up to doing heavy or challenge mode) Unfortunately I only get to play when I'm at home because I don't have a playstation at school or any pads or anything..

    Does anyone know any simulators or a way to play just using a laptop? Thank you!
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  • msafunk
    msafunk Posts: 163 Member
    I use StepMania, too! It's really good fun though I'm not very good at it yet. What do you log it as in MFP?

    I log it as Aerobics - High Impact, but I use a HRM to estimate the calories. Last night, I tracked it for an hour with very little downtime between songs and I was burning about 9 calories per minute.
    I used to play DDR a ton a few years back, but don't really have the space for it anymore. Dance mats and PS2 are still stored and waiting to be used again, though!! It's a great workout for me because I generally hate exercise, but find DDR fun and rewarding. And if you're able to get through Orion.78 without dying, you've already bested me!! My biggest accomplishments were "Dream A Dream" and "Candy (star)" on heavy... and "Drop Out" on light! :P If I remember correctly Orion.78 seems to be really good for your legs, mine were always screaming a by third of the way through.

    I just started to clear Orion.78 on heavy last week. When I did it, I collapsed and yelled out "I DID IT!" so loud that my husband was worried that I scared the neighbors, but I didn't care, lol. Clearing that song without leaning on the bar is HARD. Even though it gets easier every time, I still save it for my last song of the night because it can get my heart rate up to 90% of Max.

    I LOVE "Dream a Dream" on heavy! It was one of the first songs that I cleared on heavy.
    Just played this morning actually! I do my strength training between songs in a circuit training type thing. I LOVE DDR!

    Ooooh! That's a really good idea! I've been thinking about adding some strength training to my workout routine. I used to do Insanity every night, which was great for my arms, but I could never get my husband to do that with me. Since switching back to DDR, my aerobic endurance has increased, but my arms feel like jello.
    Does anyone know any simulators or a way to play just using a laptop? Thank you!

    StepMania! http://www.stepmania.com/ It's free, and so are all the songs. My favorite place to get songs is http://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/simfiles.php -- there are TONS of official songs (from arcade and all the consoles) as well as lots and lots of usermade songs. The pad I use is $60 on Amazon, and is a really good quality one with a foam insert. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GHG0BA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I've had one for three years, and just ordered a second so my hubby and I can play at the same time.
  • ldhudsonjr
    ldhudsonjr Posts: 31 Member
    Used to play tons back in the early aughts, and just started playing again recently to help with my weight loss. I know this is an old thread, but I'd love to see if anyone else on here is still playing.
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
    We kept our DDR, original Xbox and RedOctane mats for yeaaaaars before we finally bit the bullet and got rid of them. Hadn't touched them in years. Now I'm sad we got rid of them, I have the urge (and the stamina) to play again!
  • tifftaffy
    tifftaffy Posts: 141 Member
    edited March 2015
    I have DDR Mario Mix for the Nintendo 64, i can play the disc on my Wii, and it uses any dance pad, which is nice. There's a game mode to play through to "save the princess" and just a mode to practice the songs. Both are great!

    I like to make it a reward to be able to play DDR Mario Mix, so I have to complete another workout before hand, like a strength training dvd or something similar before I "let" myself get some dancing in :)
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