Wii Fitness!

So this Christmas, my lovely wife gave me a Nintendo Wii! I was so thrilled! Finally, I am able to play all these fun "active" games that so many of my clients have been telling me about.  I was so excited because I figured this would be a great way to get all that cardiovascular exercise that I am not always that excited about doing.

After playing through all the Wii Sports games that came with the console, I realized that all of the games, except one, didn't really get my heart rate up high enough to really burn any significant amount of calories. The only game that got my heart rate up (temporarily) was Wii Boxing. At peak, my heart rate was 120bpm and I was starting to mildly sweat, but that was after playing for nearly 30 minutes straight and I was REALLY intent on trying to beat the computer! :)   I would compare the boxing game to walking briskly on a treadmill. It's enough to barely register that I did something.

In addition to my own findings, The American Council on Exercise (ACE) also discovered that even the Wii Fit doesn't produce enough calorie-burning activity to truly help people lose weight on a consistent basis ("Test Results reported on fitness benefits of Wii Fit" ... http://www.acefitness.org/pressroom/442/test-results-reported-on-fitness-benefits-of/). ACE found the Wii Fit to be "milder than expected". Now, for people who are significantly deconditioned, the Nintendo Wii may help some. It's definitely better than sitting in front of the televesion doing nothing. However, it does not provide the same amount of cardio intensity as a standard stationary bike. It also doesn't offer the benefits of strength training with free weights, machine weights or even resistance bands.

On the upside however, the Nintendo Wii is a lot of fun! You can play with your whole family and it's not too complicated! You may be able to burn up 100 calories over the course of an hour playing with your whole family.  That's a great way to spend "Family Game Night"! :)  However, I wouldn't count on the Nintendo Wii to be your sole provider of weight loss, strength gain and cardiovascular health! If you have any questions about how to get in shape, ask a personal trainer! ;-)

"Doing wrong is fun for a fool, but living wisely brings pleasure to the sensible." Proverbs 10:23 (NLT)