GeekSugar

EA Sports Active Bundle for Wii.... anybody heard anything about it?

tdsollog — Wed, 13 May 2009 05:34:10 -0700

I'm considering asking for this for my birthday:

http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?sku=230526&affid=300...

Has anyone heard of this? Good buzz or bad buzz?

Do you think that you'd be able to get/stay in good shape by playing video games?

Deviantee — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:33:51 -0700

There's been a time when video games were only making our fingers do exercise. But the other day,when I looked at all the different choices of games we have, I realized that playing a video game can bring you so much further now. And what if I was really doing the character's movements? And what if I could do exercise and even lose weight while having fun playing on my favorite platform? That's why I came to ask myself : would I be able to get or stay in good shape by playing video games?

From my part,I've tried Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and the Wii Sports but I also heard about the Wii Fit and the Nintendo DS My Weight Loss Coach (sorry if there are any that I forgot to mention).

What's Your Favorite New Nintendo Product of 2009?

GeekSugar — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:46:00 -0800

It's been a busy year for Nintendo - which means you'll not only have more games and ways to play than ever before, but its technology took a big step up, so you can game with more accuracy! It's pretty clear that we all have a soft spot for Nintendo, so tell me - what's your favorite new Nintendo product of 2009?

Then, tell me more of your 2009 faves by voting on the rest of my Best of 2009 polls.

Wii Sports Resort

Wii Fit Plus

Wii MotionPlus

Black Wii Remotes

Nintendo DSi

Super Mario Bros. Wii Edition

Having fun while secretly working out

vap — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:22:57 -0800

One of my favorite workouts comes from Wii Active. I have customized my workout to include all the fun sport games like volleyball and baseball. It is great because it doesn't really feel like a workout since you are playing games. My favorite circuit involves inline skating. You have to hold a squat to move forward and jump when you get to a ramp. The lower and longer you hold your squat the faster you go. It really gives your quads a great workout, and I always feel great afterward!!!

fitness

sarahhoerst — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 09:40:23 -0800

So fitness is always up and down with me, I'm either working out 2 hours a day everyday or not at all. One of my big resolutions this year is moderation. Being healthy with out letting it rule my life. I'm looking for a new gym right now so I'm doing everything at home. I'm in the middle of the ae sports active 30 day challenge on the wii. I've enjoyed the challenge and that the game logs everything for you.
I've also been making sure that I've been walking 10,000 steps a day, which is easy because I'm on my feet running around 10 hours aday. Hopefully with joining a gym I can really ramp up my cardio.

Challenge # 4 and my resolution re-visit

commonsense102 — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:12:28 -0800

Okay so my resolution was to stay on track, especially when challenged by holidays and vacations... well I am on vacation so my regular routine has changed. My regular routine is Zumba (60 minutes) on Sunday, Zumba (60 minutes) on Monday, Weights (30 min) on Tuesday, Cardio on Wed (45-60 minutes); Zumba or Cardio on Thursday mixed with Weights on Thursday; Cardio on Friday and Rest on Sat or sometimes Rest on Friday and Weights on Sat.
My goal has been to do something everyday in the name of fitness!
Vacation this week Friday AE Sports on Wii (30 minutes); Saturday (All day at airport); Sunday Paddling on a sea Kayak (30-40 minutes); Monday (50 sit ups anf 50 squats in room) Tuesday (estimated hour long moderate-to-hard hike); Wednesday (estimated mild-to-moderate hike, 60 minutes and/or paddling); Thursday body surfing; Friday snorkeling or kayak; Sat kayak; Sunday (travel day.)

Hello!

annm16 — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:55:45 -0800

Doesn't look like too many people are still around but I joined anyway in case it picks up! My Wii should be delivered tomorrow or Thursday and Wii Fit Plus the first week of February. Can't wait to get started! I'm hoping to eventually get Ea Sports Active and My Fitness Coach. They both look like fun ways to workout when the weather isn't great or I can't get to the gym. It won't replace the gym or my other home workouts, but simply add to them and motivate me to workout. I'm looking to tone up more than lose weight so hopefully it will help!

Who Learned the Wii Faster, My 81-Year-Old Grandmother or My 3-Year-Old Niece?

GeekSugar — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:00:10 -0800

Over the Christmas holiday, we had a truly groundbreaking event in my house. For about two hours, the entire family came together without fighting, stress, or family drama. The reason? A brand-new Nintendo Wii. I'm telling you, that thing is a peacemaker.

This side of my family isn't particularly into video games like the other side is (it obviously took them long enough to jump on the Wii bandwagon!), so I decided to start off simply, teaching them Wii Bowling. My grandmother has been bowling maybe twice in her entire life, but she knows how the game works. I figured it wouldn't be too hard to teach her the motions since it requires pushing only two buttons and a nice, easy arm movement. I was right! After a 30-second lesson, Grandma was bowling strike after strike, and finished with an impressive 153 - ahead of both me and my tech-savvy sister.

The rest of the family got in on the sports action, too, including my 3-year-old niece. While she didn't quite understand bowling (though it was easier once we let her stand on the couch to get a better view of the TV), she was a whiz kid at MarioKart, which is coincidentally one of our favorite games from growing up.

I'm not sure who I'd say learned how to play faster, though Grandma totally impressed us all with how quickly she picked it up . . . and now my niece won't put it down! I guess we know what everyone else in the family is getting next year.

Are your parents or grandparents as tech-savvy as you? Do you have a funny story to share? Then tell us about it by posting to our Funny Tech Stories group! You (and your fam) could end up on GeekSugar.

Wii Fit: Am I the only one excited about this?

tdsollog — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:41:43 -0700

I just read a review on the NY Times about Wii Fit coming out, and their reviews were mixed. I am excited to try this out.... I can be motivated in my own home, weather be damned..... So, I want to ask.... Am I the only excited about this?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/fashion/15fitness.html

O.K., Avatar, Work With Me

Wii Fit Photos

When Nintendo released the Wii 18 months ago, it upended the notion of what video games could be. Moving beyond the sunlight-deprived young men at gaming’s core, Nintendo appealed to the rest of the world with an intuitive, family-friendly entertainment experience.

“I enjoyed it,” Ms. Weiss said. “It’s more interesting than running on a treadmill because it gives you something to look at. It’s like an interactive exercise game. In some ways, it’s like playing Nintendo, but with your body.”

BOTTOM LINE Wii Fit could be the right choice for exercise amateurs trying to get in shape in the living room.

THE SWEAT HOUND

Luke McCambley, 18, knows he is an anomaly.

“You don’t find many art-school gym rats, but I guess I qualify,” he said.

Mr. McCambley, a student at the School of Visual Arts in New York, was the only Wii Fit tester who actually owns a Wii. But he also belongs to a Crunch downtown, works out six days a week, and is studying to become a personal trainer.

So it wasn’t surprising he had little problem with various strength exercises like push-ups and leg twists. He aced balance games like skiing and heading soccer balls, and looked like he could punch through the screen in his aerobic boxing session.

“I go to the gym, so I don’t need this, but for someone who doesn’t want to leave the living room it would be great,” he said. “Over all, I liked it a lot. It seems really well-designed for the people it’s for. I worked up a sweat with a couple of the exercises.”

He added: “If you really committed to the strength exercises, you could actually get some results. That said, if you’re really looking to get fit, join a gym. But this would be great for mothers, or if they want their kids to get a little more in shape.”

BOTTOM LINE Serious athletes don’t need Wii Fit, but you (or your children) might like it.

THE YOGA MASTER

Wii Fit is not, however, the right choice if you want to impress Cyndi Lee, 54, the founder of Om Yoga in New York.

Before trying the system, she eyed the board and declared, “It’s too small.” Nonetheless, she sailed through a progression of Wii Fit’s yoga poses, including the half-moon, warrior, tree and sun salutation. For each pose, at least one of the user’s feet or hands is usually on the board.

Afterward, her main concern seemed to be that Wii Fit reduces yoga to a collection of physical exercises rather than presenting yoga as a comprehensive approach to physical, mental and emotional wellness.

“This is a little dumbed down and they are teaching more from a fitness or gym perspective,” she said. “They’re saying things like, ‘Tighten your glutes,’ which we would never say in yoga.”

Ms. Lee also spied what she called incorrect elements within some poses. “Like with the warrior pose they show the knee going past the foot, which is a big no-no,” she said.

BOTTOM LINE Wii Fit will not make you a yogi.

THE FITNESS PROFESSIONAL

Sharone Huey, 51, an exercise physiologist at the Sports Center at Chelsea Piers, spent the most time with Wii Fit. Over two days, she watched most other sessions and spent at least two and a half hours with the system herself.

Her initial skepticism evolved into a somewhat surprised admiration.

“Actually I think it’s pretty good,” she said. “You can definitely get a workout. When I started doing it, I realized all the activities were pretty much on point. There were some things I didn’t like, like the alignment in a couple of places. But over all, I thought they did a good job and this will be a good tool for people who can’t make it to the gym.”

“I can see this in a seniors center or senior community and it would be very interesting to be able to set up a whole class of people on boards, tracking their progress,” said Ms. Huey, who reigned supreme as the week’s hula-hoop champion.

“The big thing is so many people buy a treadmill or some other exercise machine and in two weeks it becomes an expensive clothes rack,” she said. “This makes exercise fun and I think it will help to motivate a lot of lazy folks.”

Among them, potentially other members of the Huey family. “I’ll get this for my lazy sisters,” she said.

BOTTOM LINE Watch for the Chelsea Piers Wii Fit class coming soon (maybe, just maybe).

THE COUCH POTATO

And what about Mr. Lumpy Flounder himself? Around this time last year, I went to West Virginia to write about a plan there to install the aerobic video game Dance Dance Revolution in every school in the state. When I got back I thought, “O.K. let’s see if I’ll exercise regularly at home on D.D.R.”

I lasted a week. The problem was there were days when I just didn’t want to dance to electronic house music for half an hour. Wii Fit just might be different (though more than one tester commented on Wii Fit’s somewhat cheesy music). For me, the key is that one can approach Wii Fit like a game. In its sheer variety of activities, you can always find something to do. It beckons me to unlock the different exercises, to get four stars in snowboarding, to get through six more jackknife crunches.

I’ve spent about seven hours with Wii Fit recently and I’m still doing it. The step exercises remain my strong suit, though I’m still trying to figure out how to use my balance to navigate my floating bubble through the canyon without popping. I’m even running a little.

But I realize that in an exercise program no manner of electronic frippery (or fancy workout clothes) can make up for old-fashioned motivation. If I stop using Wii Fit, it won’t be because the graphics or the sound were bad. It will just mean I got tired of exercising, and no mere product will be at fault. Will I achieve the modest weight loss goal I’ve set? I can only hope so.

And no, I won’t tell you what it is.

More Wii Accessories...

glam sugar — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 08:57:09 -0700

Read the entire story on the Gina Huges blog at Yahoo. http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/hughes/16372

Wii Sports Gage

Nerf Wiimote Cover

Wii Blaster

The item of greatest interest to me is the sports gage (bone). It'd be fun to know how many calories you burn while playing Wii!