Digital Workout

Yoga and Pilates for the DS, now on sale

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:20:00 +0000

The Konami exercise games for the DS - Let's Yoga and Let's Pilates - are currently on sale for $19.99 apiece at Family Video:

These games were recently on sale over at Amazon, where I picked up a copy of Let's Pilates. A review will be forthcoming once I have a chance to play it. Unfortunately for me, three weeks ago I crashed on my bicycle and broke my collarbone, so exercise routines will have to wait until my body has put itself back together.

My Weight Loss Coach review

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:14:00 +0000

Here's a detailed review of My Weight Loss Coach for the Nintendo DS. This game is now available from Amazon.

Independently, I've already read one user's forum comments online that the pedometer is too large to effectively carry around, which may be a fatal flaw for this game.

Wii Yoga

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:12:00 +0000

Out of Europe comes another fitness game for Wii using the Balance Board. Wii Yoga is scheduled for release in 2009. Not much else is known about the title, but you can check out the press release at the GoNintendo website.

Jillian Michael's Fitness Ultimatum for Wii

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:40:00 +0000

Wii Fit and the Balance Board have broken open the exergaming market.

Besides the upcoming but not officially announced fitness game from EA, Majesco Entertainment is looking to bring us Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimatum 2009 for the Wii this holiday season.

From the press release:

In Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimatum 2009 players become new recruits in Jillian’s boot camp where they enroll in a unique training program composed of challenging fitness tests and an ever-changing series of workouts. Players choose their workout from four types-Weight Loss, Strength Training, Intervals and Hill Climb-and set the intensity to light, medium or hard for a duration between 10 and 60 minutes. By completing exciting Wii Remote and Wii Balance Board motion-based challenges that range from crossing monkeybars to climbing ladders and rowing, players can also unlock lifestyle and fitness video tips from Jillian. Players can even track their progress based on calories burned and workout intensity. In addition, a Competitive Party Mode lets two players race against each other through entertaining individual challenges or through the entire Physical Training course to earn the winning time.

Guru Meditation in Wii Fit

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:40:00 +0000

Back in the 80's, there was a videogame company called Amiga (they're the ones who made the Amiga computer). Their very first product was the "Joyboard", a balance controller similar in many ways to the modern Wii balance board. An in-house game they developed was called "Guru Meditation", where all you did was sit still on the balance board for as long as you could.

I was hoping that someone would do a meditation game for the Wii Balance board, just like the old Amiga game. So I was surprised to unlock and discover Wii Fit's "Lotus Focus" minigame, which is a meditation game! You sit still on the balance board with legs folded in a lotus position, and watch an onscreen candle in the darkness. Various things try to distract your attention, like moths fluttering about and people creaking about in the night. The longer you can stay still, the better your score. Very cool.

I'm accumulating lots of tips and observations as I work out with Wii Fit. I'm hoping to produce an omnibus review sometime in the near future, as well as an FAQ for Wii Fit with the tips I've discovered for using it effectively.

Calorie Tracker for Mac

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Sat, 31 May 2008 17:25:00 +0000

Exercise isn't the end-all-be-all of a rounded fitness program - diet and nutrition count too. MacWorld reports on a new tool for the Mac - Calories - which tracks your diet choices.

Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking for Nintendo DS

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:49:00 +0000

As part of their big media event, Ubisoft also unveiled another fitness title of sorts for the Nintendo DS.

Alan Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking promises to lead you through a proven program that will get you to quit smoking once and for all. Alan Carr is apparently some sort of expert in this field and has sold billions of books and DVDs. Now he wants to sell billions of games.

Here's some links to more about the title:

If you're a smoker and you're looking to get fit, quitting cigarettes is an obvious first place to start. But I can't help but feel this title is more of a promo piece for Alan Carr than it is a serious self-help game.

My Weight Loss Coach videos

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:35:00 +0000

Ubisoft, makers of the upcoming "My Weight Loss Coach" game for the Nintendo DS, has produced some videos giving us a little more insight into this title. You can find them on the IGN DS Website.

There's also an interview with the nutritional consultant behind the game on the GoNintendo website.

Signs of Life from Yourself!Fitness

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:32:00 +0000

ResponDesign, the makers of the Yourself!Fitness exergaming software, have done a little revamp to try to attract attention from the Wii Fit crowd. They are featuring the PC version of their software, as the PS2 and original Xbox platforms are now outdated.

Check out their new ad campaign at www.getmaya.com.

Could the long-fabled sequel to Yourself!Fitness be far behind?

Wii Fit as physical therapy

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:25:00 +0000

My concept for this blog was to write about videogames as they relate to fitness. I hadn't really considered physical rehabilitation, but this story is pretty remarkable. A hospital in Cleveland, Ohio is using Wii Fit for physical therapy.

People who have lost motor function due to stroke, accident or other injury are using Wii Fit, and especially the balance games it offers, to help rehabilitate their injuries. The patients are having fun, and the program is so successful they plan to use Wii Fit throughout their hospital network.

Wii Fit tracker

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Sat, 24 May 2008 01:48:00 +0000

Looking for a copy of Wii Fit, but can't find one? Then bookmark this online WiiFit tracker. It updates every few minutes and shows stock status at a bevy of retail outlets.

As I write this, Wii Fit is out of stock everywhere.

Wii Fit versus Let's Yoga

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:32:00 +0000

Are you looking forward to Wii Fit (as I am) for the yoga workouts? The Wii Fanboy site has created a nice comparison chart between Wii Fit's yoga routine and Konami's Let's Yoga for the Nintendo DS handheld.

Another trainer reviews Wii Fit

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Fri, 23 May 2008 01:32:00 +0000

A popular mode of coverage for Wii Fit is the "trainer review", where the journalist lets a certified trainer play with the game and render their opinions.

There's scads of these "expert" reviews on the net at the moment, but this one over at the MTV website caught my eye for being particularly insightful. Not only does the trainer explain what's good and bad about Wii Fit, he also explains some of the physiological principles behind it all. I found it informative.

And in other news, it's rumored that Nintendo sold 650,000 copies of Wii Fit in the U.S. on its first day. Looks like it's a hit here in the U.S. too.

Wii Fit versus Yourself!Fitness

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:49:00 +0000

Here's an interesting article from GameSpy. Aware that Wii Fit is not the first exergaming title created, they've done a nice comparison between Wii Fit and Yourself!Fitness.

As a feature-by-feature comparison of the two titles, this article drills down pretty far, but it falls a little bit short in terms of what the actual experience is like working out with both titles.

My copy of Wii Fit is on its way from Amazon right now. From what I've read, I don't think it is as serious a fitness tool as Y!F, and I don't expect it to replace Maya either as the focal point of my fitness program.

But I do expect Wii Fit to be fun, and it will give me the chance to practice moves that you really can't practice with Maya. In Yourself Fitness, you always work according to a scripted routine, so there's always the "next thing" in the workout; there's no allowance for self-direction or to go at your own pace. For instance, my upper body needs work and Wii Fit will allow me to concentrate on practicing pushups if I want, for as long as I want/can stand.

Also, the balance board will be fantastic for learning technique. Maya has lots of Yoga moves that involve balance, such as Warrior III and Dancer pose. Wii Fit will give me a way to practice my balance and improve my skill with those poses.

What I really want is a sequel to Y!F that combines Maya's custom-tailored, dynamic workout routines with the balance board and Wiimote feedback. That would be really awesome.

The Future of Yourself!Fitness

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:52:00 +0000

I've written about Yourself!Fitness earlier in this blog. It's the backbone of my video game exercise program, and unlike nearly everything else in existence (perhaps even including Wii Fit) it is a serious exercise and fitness program. It evaluates your progress, creates customized fitness routines, and leads you through the workouts with Maya, a virtual fitness coach.

It's also a very old game. Released on the Xbox and PC in 2004, and on the PS2 early in 2005, it is pretty difficult to find in today's marketplace. Plus, now the console versions run on last-gen hardware, making it even more unsuitable for store shelves. (The game does run with the Xbox 360 and some models of the Playstation 3).

With the big boom in exercise videogaming produced by Wii Fit, you would think there would be a market for a game like Yourself!Fitness which offers a more structured approach to fitness workouts. ResponDesign, developers of the software, have been working on a sequel with the working title of Yourself!Fitness Lifestyles. They've been very tight-lipped about this sequel, including what platforms it runs on and when it might be ready. Meanwhile, the calendar marches on with no update in sight.

So Maya's fans were mighty surprised this week when the software's main website, www.yourselffitness.com simply vanished and linked to the game's discussion forums instead. Speculation immediately went rampant that ResponDesign was going out of business.

A company representative posted the following message on the discussion forums:

There are indeed some changes on the horizon. Multiple delays have continued to push back the debut of the follow-up title - which is still on track for release. That said, the exergaming genre is beginning to receive large amounts of media attention and we subsequently hope to win-over new converts to Yourself Fitness. This effort will include more marketing for the PC edition (original title) and will include some consolidation and design updates to various web properties. Thanks for your continued patience and pardon us during this web transition.

I can only hope this works out for them. For several years now, Yourself!Fitness has been the best interactive fitness game available, and I anticipate it will compare very well even against Wii Fit. I'm still hopeful for a sequel, especially one that runs on the Wii and takes full advantage of the Balance Board and the Wii Remote features.

The Ultimate Wii Fit Review List

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:50:00 +0000

I'm so glad I don't have to update this blog with the veritable flood of Wii Fit reviews that are coming out. Instead, the folks over at WiiFitChat have produced their own comprehensive index to all of the Wii Fit reviews out there.

Review: Let's Yoga and Let's Pilates for Nintendo DS

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:33:00 +0000

IGN has just posted their reviews of Let's Yoga and Let's Pilates. They like Pilates as the better of the two titles, mainly because it gives you an animated display of the exercise before you do it, whereas Yoga sort of expects you to know things already. They also wish both had more game elements to them. Still, they felt the games would be great for exercise on-the-go.

"Family Trainer" for Wii appears in Europe

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:59:00 +0000

Here's a fitness game I've been hearing on and off now for the Wii. Family Trainer is a fitness game for the Japanese market, which uses some kind of floor mat instead of the Wii Balance Board. The latest news now is that the game will also see a European release. Given the hype around fitness games with Wii Fit, could a U.S. release be far behind?

Hands on with Konami's Let's Yoga

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:06:00 +0000

DS Fanboy is running a series of articles covering their daily experience with the Konami game Let's Yoga for the Nintendo DS.

EA making Wii fitness game to use Balance Board

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:04:00 +0000

Electronic Arts is jumping into the fitness game craze with their very own fitness game for Wii, which also uses the balance board. GoNintendo has the story.

The Wii Fit Experiment

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:55:00 +0000

The blogger who created a worldwide media sensation in early 2007 by posting his weight loss experiment with Wii Sports is at it again.

Using an advance copy of Wii Fit provided by Nintendo, Mickey DeLorenzo is now embarking on the Wii Fit Experiment and will post his weight loss results in June.

Free Fitness videos for your iPod

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Fri, 02 May 2008 02:18:00 +0000

The Unofficial Apple Weblog has an article with a link to four free fitness videos you can download to your iPod:

The at-home muscle plan
The Marine Corps workout
Pack on muscle like a pro
The ultimate strength-boosting workout

You need to register to the Men's Health website, but the TUAW article tells you how to get around that.

Also in the TUAW article, but I'll also include here, is an iTunes Link to the Nike fitness store on iTunes, where you can purchase and download workout music.

Yet Another Yoga game for DS

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:58:00 +0000

This Nintendo DS Yoga game is called DS Style: Yoga and it's from Square Enix. Right now, it looks like it is available only in Japan.

Nintendo DS systems will run any game software world-wide, so if you speak Japanese and aren't satisfied with the other Yoga games, you could import this one.

Another Yoga game for Nintendo DS

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:52:00 +0000

Here's another Yoga game for the Nintendo DS handheld. Ubisoft (developers of the My Weight Loss Coach game for DS) are also coming out with Quick Yoga Training (Amazon link) in July.

The Amazon page includes screenshots of this new Yoga title. One interesting feature of this title is that it will suggest Yoga poses and routines to help you with specific needs, or specific conditions you'd like to rehabilitate.

Let's Yoga and Let's Pilates for Nintendo DS

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Portuesi) — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:08:00 +0000

If you've been looking for a workout coach you can carry in your pocket, Konami has just released two exercise games for the Nintendo DS handheld: Let's Yoga and Let's Pilates.

Both games provide instruction for the various moves and poses, and allow you to create custom workout routines that you can schedule on a calendar.

IGN has the Konami press release for these two titles.