Started Working Out with Wii Fit EA Sports Active
Tonight I started my first workout using the EA Sports Active
Started with Wii Fit
I have been using the Wii Fit “game” that came with the Wii Balance board for about three weeks now and I had been pleasantly surprised with the flexibility and additional strength I have achieved using the program. However, I knew something was missing and that I could get a much better workout using something a little bit more robust and even more of a workout! Don’t get me wrong, the Wii Fit is pretty good in terms of overall exercises but it definitely emphasizes flexibility and balance and not necessarily strength and cardio.
Bring on EA Sports Active
However, with all these games on the Wii I did not think I would get a really good workout. By the time I was done with the first workout on the “30 Day Challenge” I was soaked. I worked up a great sweat and felt like I did a very intense workout.
The program takes you through a workout program that includes a mix between cardio and strength exercises. The pace is constant and the program exceeds at moving your heart rate up and down. Since it was my first time using the program there were a lot of videos explaining in detail (sometime too much detail) which was a bit of a time waster, but as I progress through the program I suspect these videos will not come up again.
With the EA Sports Active package you get a huge elastic band that helps with the strength exercises as well as a leg band that allows you to put the Wii Nun-chuck into so that the program can track your lower body movement. While you hold the controller in your hand, the system does a pretty good job of tracking your body movements. The elastic bands seems really cheap and I actually would prefer one that provides more resistance as for some of the exercises I think that over time the resistance will be too little for me. I may look for a stronger elastic in the future.
Overall , I am looking forward to working through the program and seeing what results I can achieve. Of course I will keep you updated.
Running Using My New NikePlus (Nike+)
I was in Berlin this past weekend and made a new purchase to include in my digital weight loss toolkit. It is the Nike+ and I did my first run with it at lunch today. So far I have to say that I am impressed.
How the Nike+ System Works
To best describe the Nike+ would be to break it down into its three separate components. The first component is the little shoe fob that fits inside of a specially designed Nike running shoe. The fob fits into a little cutout under the liner of the show so that you would never know it was there.
The next item is the iPod itself. Depending on your version of iPod you may or may not need a tiny plugin chip that clicks into the same spot where you plug your iPod into your computer. Most new iPods (iTouch, iPhone, Nano) has the software and receiver built right into the iPod so this adapter is not needed. An image of both of these are included to the left – the receiver is on the left and the fob that goes in your shoe is on the right.
The third item is not so much of a physical device, but a specially designed website at NikePlus.com. On the site you can review your prior runs and set goals, or training programs for specific goals such as running a half-marathon. I liked the website – it it very aesthetically pleasing and it will be fun to see my progress over time. The image in the header of this post shows a screen shot of my first run.
To make the system work, you simply put the fob in your shoe, go into the Nike+ settings on your iPod and activate it. The system does the rest, walking you through the set up. When you connect your iPod to your computer, it recognizes that you now are using Nike+ and asks if you want to send it to the Nike+ website. I did and ti worked fine.
My Experience and First Run
As I said, I did my first run with the Nike+ today over my lunch break and it was nice to use. I set up just a quick 4K run right on my iTouch, hit start, and away I went. Every half-kilometer (I am in Europe) a ladies voice came on to tell me how far I had gone. As I got closer to the end, the same voice began telling me how far I had left. I guess this is supposed to be a psychological thing (i.e. not long now!).
Area of Improvement
The one thing that was glaringly obvious to me was that there was no way to trasnfer a workout or training program (say a half-marathon training program) over to your iPod. You need to actually go to the site to see what your next training session will be and then enter those details into the iPod Nike+ app. I think this needs to be an area of focus for Nike if this thing is really going to be effective as a training tool
Will I Continue to Use It
I like the Nike+ and will continue to use it for the foreseeable future. I am actually going to set up a training program for a 10K this weekend on the website and work towards that. That should allow me to really run the system through its paces and then report back on how it has done in keeping me working towards that fit and healthy lookin’ body.
