Mii Fit - My experience with the Wii Fit

More Excuses and another apology

2008-07-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

Hi readers (if i have any of you left ;)) Sorry about the lack of updates. I'm ashamed to say i have not done my exercise since my last post, a friend from out of state was up and we had other things going. Tomorrow i'm going to re-start and get back on track...

Still having blogger issues, think its on my end, day 15 update

2008-07-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ok folks, i know its been real sporadic of late, its a combo of being busy and having login trouble with Blogger. I think the login trouble is on my end, dunno yet though.

forgot to weigh myself this morning before eating, so i decided to not weigh and throw off the stats. Will do it tomorrow.

also did 2 rounds of aerobics on top of my strength to make up for the lack of exercise last week.

I'll try and get things more regular, hang in there.

Wii Fit - Day 14

2008-06-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, i know updates were a bit sporadic lately, but here we go.

Week three.

again started with strength training. I can tell that after missing those few days, it wasn't my strength that suffered, it was my balance.

I was wobbling and falling all over the place.

I have some friends coming up, so strength training is all i have time for this morning. Will do the aerobics and yoga this evening.

See you then

Wii Fit - End of Week 2

2008-06-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

sorry for the lack of posts folks, for some reason i was having trouble logging into Blogger.

First off, the data:

Total Workout time: 2 hours 24 minutes

Starting BMI: 37.47 - Obese
Starting Weight: 267.6 pounds

End of Week 2 Data
Week 2 BMI: 36.82 - Obese
Week 2 Weight: 263 pounds

Change in BMI: -.65
Change in Weight: -4.6

WOW. It does work. Like i said earlier, this is the longest that i've stuck with an exercise routine since high school.

At this point, I think its important to remind everyone, i have NOT changed my eating habits. I'm not dieting. I'm exercising. And in 2 weeks, doing nothing but exercising at LEAST 30 minutes a day has netted me almost a 5 pound loss and almost a full point loss of BMI.

I'm heading out for the day, so i'll give a more complete update this evening.

A little more on the smoke here

2008-06-27T21:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_9697483

On Wednesday, an air-quality alert was issued stating that conditions continued to be unhealthy in Butte County and that there were "localized areas of hazardous air-quality conditions."
The alert was issued jointly by two county agencies: the Air Quality Management District and the Department of Public Health.
It said that on Wednesday, the air quality index was expected
to reach 250, which means the air would be very unhealthy for everyone. On Tuesday, the index reached 233.
When the index is between 151 and 200, the air is unhealthy for everyone. Between 201 and 300, it is very unhealthy, and between 301 and 500, it is hazardous.
The alert recommended that people stay indoors with windows and doors closed, that they run air conditioners on the "recirculate" setting, and that they not run swamp coolers. They should consider bringing pets inside the house to protect them from the smoke, the alert said.

No update today :(

2008-06-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys and gals, still suffering from extreme smoke in these parts. It looks like a foggy December day here, but its hot like June. In short, its miserable.

Will get back at it just as soon as possible.

No Evening Update Today :(

2008-06-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

Due to the heavy smoke from the nor-cal wildfires, coupled with me being out in it and breathing it all day, my asthma has been acting up and my chest is too tight for heavy activity. I'll be doing a weekend exercise to make up for it.

Thanks all, see you tomorrow.

Wii Fit - Day 10 Part 1

2008-06-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

Way late for work this morning folks, but i have a responsibility here!

BMI: 37.31 - Obese
Weight: 266.2

Wii Fit - Day 9 Part 2

2008-06-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Total Workout Time: 38 minutes (not correct, something had to have happened, because i watched the clock, i worked out for longer than this..but the rules state that i have to report what the Wii says)

Good evening my dedicated readers :)

Decided to switch it up tonight, went with strength training first, then aerobics, then Yoga...

Right off the bat I noticed an improvement in my ability to do the strength exercises because i was not tired out from the aerobics.

Setting new personal bests at every turn here. I think this is because i'm fresh for the strength training.

I managed to hit 100% on the rowing squats today, but the motion feels so unnatural and i fell off the board twice. I'll keep practicing it.

Have i mentioned recently that i still hate planks? Ok, good. Although, i have to note that today it was much easier. Again, all these "easier" results are more likely from the change in routine, rather than a change in muscle development.

I'm noticing too that a lot of these strength exercises can be used with free weights when the time comes. This even further increases the versatility of the software.

unlocked the final strenght exercise, the single arm stand.. WOW thats hard. I mean, hard as in WHOO this is the most out of breath i've been all week.

The single arm stand feels more like aerobics than strength.

Aerobics

I really think this is the way to go, Strength then Aerobics, then Yoga. I'm not nearlty as out of breath and am able to put more of myself into the aerobics and the strength training than vice versa.

Still having difficulties with the balance board and the step aerobics programs. Very frustrating. And very jarring when the workout stops and lets you know that that you did it wrong.

Rhythm Boxing is fast becoming my favorite. Every time i start throwing punches, i hear "ITS THE EYE OF THE TIGER ITS THE THRILL OF THE FIGHT!"

Rocky Balboa I aint though...YET!

LOL

Thanks for reading folks, and hey, do me a favor, if you guys enjoy this blog, go ahead and give it a Digg down at the bottom of the page.

Thanks all! see you tomorrow!

Wii Fit - Day 9 Part 1

2008-06-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

Good morning.

I've got work today, so probably going to be a while before the exercise write up.

Weigh in sucked this morning :(

BMI: 37.25 - Obese
Weight: 266.1

Be back later

Nintendo Wii on the High Sii's (Seas....Siis...get it??)

2008-06-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

I dunno...does the Seas = Siis joke work? Meh.

Anyway, Nintendo is now going to get some major exposure for both the Wii and the Wii fit.

Princess is the first cruise line to offer passengers the chance to get their hearts pumping with the headline-grabbing new release on Wii(TM).

Very cool for Nintendo! This just further speaks to the universal nature of the Wii and the Wii Fit. Very cool :)

Wii Fit The Number One Selling Game on Amazon

2008-06-24T15:09:00.001-07:00

http://news.punchjump.com/article.php?id=6226

Great news! More people exercising!

Posting to Claim Blog on Technocrati

2008-06-24T12:50:00.001-07:00

Nothing new, just need to claim the blog for technocrati....

Technorati Profile

Wii Fit Day 8 - Part 2

2008-06-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

Total Workout Time: 52 minutes

Ok, here we go again....

Day 8, uncharted territory in my exercise history...

Onward!

Aerobics:

Made a new personal best on the hoola hoop: 247 spins.

The Jog: Big mistake...i figured "oh i did the long track yesterday, lets try the Island Lap! Yeah...i nearly died.

I don't even know how i finished it. Time to stick to the long track for a while, the Island Lap is intense. It also took 10 minutes to finish! Thats a LOT of jogging, especially for me :)

Another new personal best in Super Hoola Hoop too: 752 spins "Calorie Incinerator!" My abs hurt really bad LOL. Thats a lot of spinning.

Still frustrated with the Basic and Advanced Step. Its sometimes hard to get the Wii Balance Board to register your steps. Also, if you miss a step, it stops the workout, which is really a bummer if you are in a groove.

Either way, Advanced Step was another personal best. 400 points.

I'm enjoying Rhythm Boxing more and more. I did the 6 minute mode and man is it tough, not only aerobically, but tough getting the moves right.

On to Strength Training:

Funnily enough, the muscles in the arch of my foot hurt today. Must be from trying to balance.

The Push Up and Side Plank is still troubling me. I struggle through it. I'll get it though. It was a new personal best though.

With the added time of Aerobics, i can feel myself getting more tired on the strength training than normal.

About half way through strength training and I was already at 43 minutes of exercise.

I'm still having trouble getting my COB into the right place on the rowing squats. I got it a few times, but nearly fell off the back of the balance board. I dunno.

Have I mentioned that i HATE planks? Ok just want to make that clear. I unlocked the 1 minute session and laughed. yeah right.

I really pushed myself on the Arm and Leg Lifts. Felt good. Stretched my back out, and got some good burn feeling in my lower back muscles and legs.

Unlocked the final two Yoga Positions today, the Spinal Twist, and the Shoulder Stand.

I'm going to skip the Shoulder Stand for now, because I'm sure that it will end in a catastrophe ;).

Felt nice and stretched out after the Yoga. Good decision to end each workout here. Nice easy breathing, and nice easy stretches without a lot of muscle building.

I'm honestly thinking that Nintendo knocked the ball out of the park, not only with the Nintendo Wii, but also with the Nintendo Wii Fit. The Wii is outselling all the other next-gen hardware, and the Wii Fit is getting games up and moving. But here's the kicker: not only is the Wii Fit getting people active, but people are buying it.

See you all tomorrow!

Wii Fit Day 8 - Part 1

2008-06-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

Good morning

Kinda bummed, didn't lose didn't gain today... but oh well...

BMI: 37.13 - Obese
Weight: 265.2 pounds

Also, i got some pictures for today.

I've got some pictures of my (lack of) physique that i took before i started, but it was on a different camera and i can't seem to get the pictures off it. I'll keep trying.

Wii Fit Day 7 - Part 2

2008-06-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

Total Workout Time: 1 hour 2 minutes!! WOOHOO go me!

oh man

i can tell that I am getting better at most of these, but WHEW am i still tired out

Aerobics - Hoola Hoop, Basic Step and Advanced Step as usual. Decided to go the long route on the jog this time, and was not anywhere close to out of breath when done. yay me!

Some thoughts on Advanced Step: Its really difficult to get the Wii Balance Board to recognize the side steps. Its kinda frustrating because you are doing the steps, but the board isn't recongizing them, and it ends up stopping so i can "catch up."

Some thoughts on Rhythm Boxing: in order to get any kind of real benefit out of this, you need to throw the punches like you mean it. Don't just shake the wii mote. Pretend like you are going to knock out your sworn enemy and then really go at it during the bonus round and you'll feel like Rocky Balboa.

Strength Training: I can defintely tell i'm capable of more reps on some of these. Tomorrow I'll begin gradually increasing reps on certain exercises.

Still having difficulties with the Push Up and Side Plank exercise. My upper body strength just isn't there yet.

Likewise around the 8th rep, I start having trouble with the Lunge.

The Rowing Squats bug me. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get my center of balance into the blue box to get credit for the exercise. I do the exercise, but i just can't do it, maybe my balance is that bad :p

Two new exercises today - the Tricep Extension and the Arm and Leg Lift, both of these utilize the Wiimote instead of the Balance Board

The Tripcep Extension consists of you putting tension on your tricep muscle with your hand and moving your arm while holding the Wiimote. I thought "oh fooey, theres no way this will work your muscles...my arms are like Jello"

The Arm and Leg Lift is 2nd hardest one, next to the Plank. I can really feel myself working at it.

Yoga - I'm going to keep singing the praises of Yoga here. It stretches out all the muscles you just worked on, and makes me feel limber and good. Not to mention it helps to keep you from breathing like a maniac in a slasher film.

A whopping FIVE new yoga poses today The Triange, The Downward Facing Dog (no jokes :p) the Dance, the Cobra, and The Bridge.

The Triangle is some sort of contortionists nightmare, it was tough.

The Downward Facing Dog is pretty much making an arch between you and the floor, looks really easy, was actually pretty tough. It felt like it was working muscles similar to the Plank.

The Dance looks lie some sort of scorpion thing, and hard to boot, but was actually easier than I expected.

The Cobra and the Bridge both felt so good on my back. Nice stretches.

I skipped balance because they just bore me and remind me of kids games. Maybe fun for little ones or when you have a group of people, but i don't see any real fitness benefit.

Overall Impressions so far: I feel great. I may not look great, but i've noticed a downward trend in my weight and BMI, and mentally, i just feel really good about myself, and i feel really good that i'm doing something about my weight. Hope you all are pulling for me just as much as I am.

Obviously I'm Doing This The Wrong Way ;)

2008-06-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

Man Loses 80 Pounds On McDonalds Only Diet

yeah....after seeing "Supersize Me" there's no way i could ever force McDonald's food into me again...YUCK

Wii Fit Day 7 - Week 2 Begins

2008-06-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

Good morning folks.

I think today makes this officially the longest i've stuck with a "weight loss" routine.

go me :)

Anyway, here's the weigh in results, will be back later this afternoon with the workout info.

BMI - 37.13 - Obese
Weight - 265.2 pounds
Wii Fit Age - 30

See you all in a bit

Rest In Peace Mr. Carlin

2008-06-23T00:03:00.000-07:00

Legendary George Carlin Dead at 71

Truly sad...rest easy Mr. Carlin

Day 6 - "Wii"kend Weigh In

2008-06-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

Morning all

was kinda bad with food yesterday...shame on me...but oh well

Here's the weigh in

BMI: 37.35 - Obese
Weight: 266.8 pounds
Wii Fit Age: was in a hurry so i didn't do it, though i don't think its really a scientific method of measurement ;)

Hope you all have a great rest of your weekend

The "Wii Fit Girl" Speaks

2008-06-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

Wii Fit Girl talks about her new found internet fame...

Day 5 - "Wii"kend Weigh In

2008-06-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday to one and all.

Here's the weigh in results

BMI: 37.28 - Obese
Weight: 266.3 pounds
Wii Fit Age: 26

Wii causing catastrophe in living rooms.

2008-06-20T23:28:00.000-07:00

Exergaming has become a very popular activity, and it seems exergamers are getting a little carried away at home admittedly causing damage to their living rooms and hurting their pets along the way. A study conducted by Sheilas' Wheels, a women-only insurance company in the UK, found that Wii-Fit gamers are responsible for an overall £20 million worth of home repairs caused by overly enthusiastic workouts taking place in small living rooms.

YIKES!!! 20 million pounds?!?! thats 39.5 million dollars! holy cow...watch yourselves out there..its dangerous.

Just so you guys know, there is an entire website set up to chronicle peoples wii accidents. you can find it here

Week 1 Wrapup

2008-06-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, time for me to wrap up my thoughts on week one.

lets recap:

Week 1 Beginning Stats:
BMI: 37.47 - Obese
Weight: 267.6
Wii Fit Age: 36

Week 1 Ending Stats:
BMI: 37.31 - Obese
Weight: 266.5
Wii Fit Age: 29

Week 1 Workout Time Total: 2 hours 42 minutes
Change in BMI: -.16
Change in Weight: -1.1 pounds
Change in Wii Fit Age: -7 years

Overall Impressions: Week 1

My muscles are extremely sore, so the Wii Fit must be doing something. I can honestly feel that its working muscles.

I don't think the Wii Fit Age means anything. It seems to be all based on your balance and some unknown calculation.

I also see how it would be easy to trick the Wii balance board. Of course, as with any diet or exercise routine, they don't work if you don't do it. I really want to make this work.

I'm also pretty ashamed that I have let myself get to this point. I got complacent, and quit taking care of myself. I will change that.

I'm sleeping better at night as well. Don't know if its some effect of the exercise, or if I'm just tired. Mentally, I also feel better about myself. I know that there isn't any appreciable difference in my shape right now, but just knowing that I'm doing something to change my situation makes me feel good.

Another thing I've noticed, Yoga is hard LOL. I have a new found respect for anyone who can do Yoga. I'm also surprised at how much it stretches you out. It really is a good way to end the workout.

So far, I'm not bored with this yet. I honestly think this is the longest i've committed to an exercise routine.

Well that about wraps it up for this week. Weekends are going to be down days, let my muscles and things recoup. I'll continue to do my body test and update it daily, but thats all the workouts until monday.

Day 4 with Wii Fit - Part 2

2008-06-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

Total Time Worked Out: 50 minutes

Wow....ok, done for the week.

Started again with the Aerobics section.

Hoola Hoop is still burning my abs like crazy. I'm making an effort to spin as fast as i can though and really work at it.

The jog is getting easier. And by easier i mean next week i'll probably move up to the next distance level. I was barely huffing and puffing by the end, i guess thats a good thing eh?

Moved on to two new aerobics exercises. Advanced Step and Rhythm Boxing.

Advanced Step is a little tricky, i messed up two or three times where it had to stop and let me catch up. The balance board is also a little finicky when stepping sideways. Rhythm Boxing has potential. Again, i was unfamiliar with it, but i did manage to keep sweating and run out of breath by the end. I can see how it will be difficult once i uderstand how its done.

Moved to strength training. Again, all of the exercises are getting a little bit easier. My upper bod is still terribly weak, and I have trouble finishing the Pushup and Side Plank.

Unlocked a new one, the Plank. It brought back all these horrible memories of High School gym class, where we'd have to do "forearms and toes" for being bad. 30 seconds of this was torture. I almost had a flashback to that horrible nasty boys locker room, but thats for another post.

I pretty much skipped most of the balance ones. Too gamey cutesy. I did the slalom, and ski jump, but thats about it. It strikes me as a game that isn't all that helpful.

Yoga once again, had 3 new positions, two i had yesterday, but did not complete. The palm tree is really nice, it stretches out your back and spine. The Standing Knee and Chair are tough. the chair was the hardest, i couldn't finish it. My thighs started shaking under the strain.

all in all, a good workout.