Wii Fit (Wii)

Our Wii Fit was brought as a birthday present for my 9 year old brother, although to be honest it was probably more of a gift to us!!

What is a 'Wii Fit'?

Before explaining what a Wii Fit is, I will explain the equipment you will need for it. The Wii Fit works on a Nintendo Wii - the Wii is a games console, which uses a handheld remote for interactive play (simulating tennis etc). In addition to the games console you will need a Wii Fit balance board. This can be used with other games such as skiing etc but will initially be purchased with the Wii Fit software. The Wii fit balance board is a rectangular board, which the user stands on, and it links up wirelessly to the Wii and is used to improve health through balance games, muscle and yoga poses and aerobic exercise games. The Wii fit balance board measures and monitors weight, centre of gravity etc and feeds this back wirelessly to the Wii console plugged into your television.

Therefore, Wii Fit is the software, which enables you to use the Wii balance board to improve your health. The Wii fit is simply a disk which when inserted into the console will allow you to set up a profile. This profile will include a cartoon animation version of yourself called a "Mii" which you can create using an inbuilt program on the Wii. You are then asked to record details about your name, date of birth and height. The program will do some initial tests such as weighing you, telling you your BMI and giving you some balance tests. The software then offers a variety of games, activities and features, which I will explain in sections.

Daily Body Test

Each day that you load the Wii Fit software it will ask if you want to do a body test. It will then ask you how heavy the clothing is that you are wearing (you are given three options of light, heavy or other which allows you to input the weight of them). The body test tells you to stand on the board with your legs apart while it weighs you and monitors the position of your centre of gravity. It then shows you how your centre of gravity has moved during the weigh-in in comparison to where it should be! You then move on to the weight screen where you see a vertical scale showing sections marked as underweight, ideal weight, overweight and obese. A slider will move up the scale to show where you are on it and your BMI is shown on the screen. You can press a button to see your actual weight too and it will also show you your previous weight and BMI. The next screen shows you a graph of how your weight has increased or decreased. You will then be asked if you want to end your testing here (if your in a rush) or to do the balance tests. It will then give you two balance tests - these can range from balancing on one foot on the board for a given amount of time and it records your stability, or shifting your centre of gravity to given points or various other balance tests. Based on all this test information you get allocated your Wii Fit age. This decreases as you get stronger at the balance tests and you move nearer to your ideal weight. I have now managed to get my Wii Fit age from 44 down to 20 since we have had it and that's not bad considering I'm 21!!!

You are then taken to a screen, which is laid out like a calendar. Here you are given a stamper to put a stamp on that day to indicate that you have taken a body test. Over time you will acquire different stamps including a pink heart, blue flower, orange foot etc. Once you have done the test you can then proceed to training and games (although it is not essential to take the body test before doing this). You can take the body test again later in the day and will then be given the option whether you want to overwrite your earlier results.

The Wii Fit suggests that you try and weigh yourself at the same time each day as you weight can fluctuate by a few pounds throughout the day. If you put on more than a couple of pounds you will get a screen and asked to select an option to record on your chart the reason for your weight gain. This includes options such as 'ate too much', 'drank to much' etc.

During the body test you will be given on screen fitness tips. These are generally pretty interesting and offer suggestions on how you can improve your balance, posture and general health.

Setting Goals

You will be encouraged to set goals for yourself regarding your weight. You are given the opportunity to set an amount of weight you want to lose or gain and the timescale in terms of weeks in which you want to do this. If you get a bit carried away - the Wii will remind you that a healthy amount to lose is 2lbs a week and will strongly advise you to set an obtainable goal! Each time you meet a goal it is recorded on your charts and you can choose to set another one.

Main Screen & Privacy

As there are likely to be other members of the family using the Wii Fit, you are given an option to password protect your weight data. This means that no one else can access your profile without inputting a 4 digit passcode which you select.
On the main screen you can see all "Mii's" of the users of the wii fit along the bottom of the screen and above is a chart showing a central horizontal line (indicating starting weight) and then coloured lines for each family member showing the increases and decreases in their weight over the last few months. However, this is done well as there are no numbers on the graph meaning that you don't see the other peoples actually weight, just their increases and decreases.
There are various little quirks to the program throughout but one on the main screen is that the Mii's of the members who have been recently active are jogging on the spot or stretching looking all healthy and those who haven't been on for a while keep nodding off and snoring. We found that it's the things like this that kept my little brother engaged with it rather than him dismissing it as just a boring adults program.

Once you get in to your profile, there are four categories to choose from. These are yoga poses, muscle workouts, aerobic exercises and balance games. Each of these sections gives you a choice of games and activities and there are a total of 40 different training activities throughout the program. Initially you only have access to a few for each section but you unlock more levels the more time you spend on there. A summary of each section is given below.

Yoga Poses

This section I wasn't too bothered with at first as it seemed a little boring. However, once I had a try at some of the poses it became quite addictive. In this section you simply select a pose you wish to train in. Your personal trainer (who you select when setting up your profile) then demonstrates the pose. You are then guided as you stand or sit on the board and perform the pose for the given time. You are guided on how to breathe and how you are doing with the pose. The board detects how well you have held the pose and you are given advice based on this. There is a really good selection of poses and I still haven't tried them all. They include all the traditional yoga poses that you would expect to see and I have found that people who usually go to yoga sessions have been very impressed with it. This is particularly popular with older members of the family and my nan has even had a go, however my 9 year old brother has enjoyed showing off how much better he can hold the poses than us so it still caters for all the family.

Muscle Workouts

The muscle workouts are particularly popular with my 19 year old brother who is keen to "beef" himself up. I have tried a few and they are hard work! You can really feel your muscles working. This works in a similar way to the yoga poses - your personal trainer demonstrates how to do the muscle workout safely and for maximum effect. You are then guided through the workout where you hold positions or do various exercises for the given amount of time. The board senses how well you have done them and will give you feedback on this. On the basis that after doing a couple of these muscle workouts your muscles really ache, these seem to be pretty effective!

Aerobic Exercises

This is the section that I personally use the most to try and shift some pounds. There are various activities which clearly state their intention (whether its to burn calories or burn fat!) depending on their intensity. One of my favourite is the Step Up activity. This is basically step aerobics where on the screen you are shown the steps to move through and can also see other characters (including the members of your family!) working out next to you. The first level of this is more to improve your co-ordination and get you moving but the advanced level is nearly a 10 minute workout and if you keep up with the speed of it can really get your heart pounding. A couple of rounds of this and you will be all sweaty and disgusting!! The steps all include the balance board and if you hit the steps perfectly in time to the beat you get a perfect and if you hit it slightly off you get an ok - this all relates to a score so as with all the other wii fit activities there is a scoreboard. This particular one has recently become a huge battle between me and my brother as he has spent hours getting an all perfect score which im failing to beat!! Ive found this to be pretty addictive as the minutes soon add up in your piggy bank and you want to improve your score each time!. There are three different types of this activity, including a free step where you can set a time of 10, 20 or 30 minutes and then watch normal television whilst stepping on and off of the board.

Another game which I enjoy in this section is rhythm boxing, This is similar to the boxing in the Wii Sports package but with added extras. For this you need to include the numchuck to the wii remote and hold the remote in one hand and the numchuck in the other. You are then shown a pattern to copy which involves a pattern of steps on and off of the board and punching, swiping and dodging motions using your hands. The first levels get your muscles aching but the advanced and super advanced levels leave you utterly shattered and feeling like you have just run a mile. It still impresses me how the console can pick up your different punching motions by how you move the remotes (these are wireless) although it is important to wear the wriststraps as on a couple of times I have got a little bit too enthusiastic and found the wii remote leaving my hand and flying towards the tv!!

Other activities in this section includes jogging where you put the wii remote in your pocket (or hold it If you don't have one!) and jog on the spot. Your pace is set by a trainer running in front of you and you see yourself on screen jogging through parks and various areas which is strangely entertaining! You can also get scores for this depending on how well you have done. There are a couple of different jogging activities to choose from.

There is also a hula-hoop activity which oddly is very popular with my dad! You stand on the board and swivel your hips to rotate the hula-hoop which you can see on screen. The board is so accurate that it moves on screen just as though you were really doing it!! There are various stages to this including stretching and leaning to catch additional hoops. I find this one pretty hard as I'm not particularly fit!

Balance Games

This is by far the most used section of the program and is perhaps the most 'fun'. It consists of a wide variety of balance games where you stand on the board and have to really work hard to get high scores. It includes a game where you see a flat table with holes in on the screen and some snooker type balls, you have to shift your balance carefully on the board to get the balls in the holes in the given time and will then progress to much harder levels. This is fun but very frustrating!! Another game is skiing slalom where you lean forward on the board to increase speed and shift your weight side to side to negotiate around the flags. This is great fun and has been the source of heated competitions within my family. There is also a snowboarding version of the game, which is a little harder as you have to turn the board sideways.
Other games include on where you are in a bubble and have to move down the stream without bumping into the sides of the river or the various rocks etc.

There is a calming Zen game where you have to sit on the board perfectly still whilst watching a candle burn on the screen - I find this quite a nice way to finish a workout!

There is a header game where you have to lean from side to side to head the balls flying towards you but you need to avoid the pandas and the football boots because they smack you in the head and lose you points! - This one is massively popular with my youngest brother who loves to show of his skills!!

Then there is a tightrope walking game and a ski jump game where you have to squat down on the board and at the right moment straighten up quickly to get a good jump score.

These games are in theory less strenuous and less serious than the other sections available yet they really do improve your muscle strength, balance and even posture.

Fit Cash

For anyone with a competitive nature, obtaining high scores on the scoreboards for each game and competing against family members is plenty of motivation. However, you are also given additional encouragement through "Fit Cash". When you first set up a profile, you are given a virtual piggy bank. Each activity gets you some fit cash which shown in your piggy bank as hours and minutes. So for example, if you complete a game or exercise which lasts for 4 minutes, this time will be added to your bank. It is a nice way of seeing how much exercise you have done on each day as you can view a graph of the last few months. You can also see how much time you have spent on there in total by clicking on your piggy bank, which is quite rewarding to see how much exercise you have done whilst having fun!

User Interface

The user interface is really intuitive and my 9 year old brother and all other members of the family can use it without any guidance. The wii remote is used to point at and select options and throughout all aspects of the program the layout is clear and uncluttered. There are some adaptations you can make in terms of colours in your own profile and you can use buttons to zoom in and even view your personal trainer from a different angle (I walked in once to find my little brother chuckling as he changed the view of his female personal trainer to view her from behind as she did press-ups!) The colours are bright and attractive and the graphics are impressive considering the main focus of Nintendo is interactivity!

Set Up

The board and Wii fit software is really easy to set up. It is already assembled and it is just a case of inserting the disc and following the onscreen instructions and then following the instructions to synchronise the Wii balance board to the console. After this initial set up - whenever you want to use the program you just move the Wii balance board in front of the television, press the button on its back and insert the disk. As there are no wires or long setup processes it means that you can easily move the board out of the way after use.

Safety

The board in itself is not too likely to cause injury - its only two inches thick so if you fall off its not the end of the world (I've done this a couple of times whilst drunk!). You should use the board with bare feet as using socks could make you slip off and wearing shoes has an impact on your weight and will affect the boards functionality as it will struggle to detect your movements properly.

The board should be positioned in a space in front of the television at least a metre away from the screen and with plenty of space around you so that things wont get broken!! The Wii remote has a safety strap which should go round your wrist to stop it flying out of your hand and knocking someone out or breaking something.

The program will also suggest that you take regular breaks and every half hour it will try and convince you to do this! If the safety rules are followed then the Wii fit should be a very safe activity and is perfectly safe for children to use.

Impact on health

The idea behind the whole Nintendo Wii is to get people of their backsides whilst playing games by forcing them to interact with their televisions by moving around. The Wii Fit takes this a step further by actively encouraging improved health.

Lately I have not had as much time to spend on the wii fit due to university commitments and not being at home so much. However, in the time that I have spend on the Wii Fit I have noticed dramatic improvements to my health. My sense of balance and posture have definitely improved and when I was playing on it for over an hour each day I was losing 7lbs a week and feeling so much fitter and healthier!!! I had initially been a little bit sceptical about how much it could really wear you out but it does!!! Its great to see my 9 year old brother playing on it as it's a refreshing change from seeing him hunched up on a chair playing his playstation without moving for hours.

From a personal point of view, I have put on far too much weight since I've been at University and am now generally too self-conscious to exercise outside the house, partly because I always bump into children that I teach and that's not a situation that is idea and secondly I am not enthusiastic about exercise. I have all the good intentions of going out for a bike ride, going swimming or going to the gym but its just such a hassle for something im not all that bothered about that I never get round to it. However, with the wii fit its in the living room and I can do it in the privacy of my own home. If im going to get hot and sweaty I can do it in some old clothes or pyjamas and then have a proper bath or shower in the comfort of my house. I'd never get round to going to the gym but with the wii fit entering my line of vision every time I walk past the television its hard to resist!!! The added element of competition definitely helps too!

Every now and then the program will also ask your family members to comment on various aspects of your health. For example my brother got a question about whether I was looking any thinner and gave him a variety of options - he delighted in selecting an option saying that I looked fatter!! I have also had questions on family members posture and general health appearance.

The Good Points

• Helps you lose weight
• Great range games and activities
• Enjoyable for all the family
• Improves posture, balance and general health
• Wii Balance Board can be used with other games too
• Good quality interactivity with good graphics
• Allows you to password protect your weight data
• Lets you view your progress in various easy to read graphs and charts
• Wii Cash and scoreboards increases motivation
• Accurately weighs you and calculates your BMI
• Guides you on your ideal weight and on how to set targets
• Friends can play in demo mode, which gives them some of the games and the weigh-in option
• You can also get the weight of a pet or baby or object by weighing yourself first then again holding the object.
• Rechargeable battery pack is available to allow you to charge the batteries whilst playing.

The Bad Points

• You can only register up to 8 family members on the Wii Fit
• The Wii balance board gets through a lot of batteries unless you have a rechargeable pack.
• It's quite expensive at around £70
• They have been hard to get hold of recently due to high demand resulting in them being sold for ridiculous prices.
• You need to already have a Nintendo Wii and they are pretty pricey too at around £180.

Overall

I think the Wii Fit is fantastic and is a brilliant way to exercise in the comfort and privacy of your own home. From my own and my family's point of view it has definitely improved our health and I can see how regular use could be just as effective as going to the gym everyday seeing as I was losing half a stone every two weeks through using the wii fit. It is certainly expensive but if you think of the money you would spend on gym membership it probably evens up. The variety of games and activities are good and fun for all the family. The software is easy to navigate around and enjoyable to use. Little things add to the entertainment value - even just where you step on the board and hear it quietly say ouch!! I would definitely recommend the Wii Fit and have only heard good things about it from others who have one.