The Wii Fit can transform seemingly boring and tedious physical activities into a fun filled interactive game. Adults and children around the globe are enjoying exercising by using this video game platform. The standard couch potato may see some weight loss and an improvement in health, however there are questions as to the Wii Fit’s value for athletes or regular gym goers. The following article will quickly review some reasons to include the Wii Fit in your exercise program.

Wii Fit: The Fitness 101 Starter Kit

The Wii Fit would be a good activity for the entire family to get involved and make changes to their lifestyle. Brothers and sisters or husbands and wives could compete against each other.  The Wii can be a great way to help children and teenagers start becoming more physically active. Naturally, there are some gamers who do go outside and play, but a lot of them stay glued to the television set or the computer screen during their free time. The Wii Fit provides a fun way to get your blood pumping and heart beating faster without thinking of it as exercising.

This gaming system allows a person to simulate aerobics, yoga, and basic strength training movements in the comfort of their own living room. The Wii Fit also stimulates sporting activities like snowboarding by using the Wii Balance Board. Wii Fit has a built-in fitness tracker that logs your progress on various movements and provides instant feedback. There are easy ways to set goals such as comparing your Wii Fit age to your actual age to determine your fitness level (Vella).

Rehab Injuries

There have been instances where the Wii Fit has been used as a rehabilitation device for people going through physiotherapy. People have utilized this video game to regain function in their limbs after surgery and practice their balance and coordination skills (McDuff). If a person gets hurt, but still wants to exercise then some of the activities on the Wii Fit could be used to help recover or to stay active.

The Fitness Stats Are Misleading

This system also measures statistics like weight and Body Mass Index (BMI). For many people, the weight and BMI can be misleading due to the amount of muscle they are carrying. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you gain muscle, but your fat stays the same you gain weight and are unaware that your body fat percentage has actually decreased. In the same manner, if you are a bodybuilder and have lots of muscle your BMI can say that you are overweight or obese when you are actually fit.

Is The Wii Fit Worth The Investment?

The investment is not a very large one at around $100 and if it will get the user off the couch it would be a valuable addition to their lifestyle. However, if the user is an avid gym attendee or spends lots of time doing physical activities already then the benefits will probably be marginal. Though, it could be used as a family activity that brings everyone closer together.

Most people do not keep a log of their progress in the gym so the fitness tracker provided by Wii Fit could provide a valuable benchmark to track progress. However, there are free alternatives online like www.fitday.com that can be used to track what you’ve eaten, accurately calculate calories and count the calories that have been burned.

As far as training, everyone has to start in kindergarten, but as a person learns and grows they have to have more of a challenge that a real gym workout provides. Beginners will find Wii Fit challenging, but they have got to grow up sometime and use more advanced methods to continue to make huge improvements to their bodies.

I’d rather spend the money on some protein powder and BCAAs, but some people will find a lot of value in this video game system.

References

McDuff, Richard. The Nintendo's Wii Fit is Making Physical Rehabilitation Easier. http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...le.html?cat=19

Vella, Matt. Wii Fit Puts the Fun in Fitness. http://www.businessweek.com/innovate...520_180427.htm

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