Wii Fit Fun

I am a homebody so I rarely use my YMCA membership. Our elliptical currently sits with laundry hanging off of it. The one thing that has gotten me off my ample rear on a regular basis is our Wii Fit. In the peaceful hour between work and the kids coming home, I can run on an island, balance on a tight rope and hula hoop—burning calories in such a fun way that it doesn't feel like a "work out". I'm not what I'd call in shape, though I'm not overweight. However, my husband is trim, runs 5 miles a day, takes tae kwon do and does strength training. The true test of whether Wii Fit was worthy of praise was when he stepped onto the board and tried it for the first time.

That's when he learned his balance is off center and he's not quite as fit as he thought he was. 30 minutes of pilates and yoga left him exhausted (and you couldn't have paid him enough to get him to take those classes at the gym) and step aerobics made it clear that he needed to work on his coordination. It takes a mundane task such as running in place for 20 minutes (who would do that?) and makes it ...dare I say it? enjoyable by taking you through the island setting.

I hated running and generally do it 40 minutes a day now on the wii fit. It doesn't require any exercise equipment (thankfully as my elliptical is now covered in hanging clothes and my exercise ball is a play thing for the kids) but it does ask that you're devoted. You give a goal weight and date that you'd like to reach it and it charts your BMI and weight loss and gain, giving suggestions on how to optimize it as you go along. It works on your weaknesses by suggesting exercises and does careful instructions visually and verbally.

It's so much fun because exercise is a dirty word around here for me and if that can be masked with a more enjoyable setting or situation, all the better. I have bad knees and hips so I'm limited in what I can do and look at the YMCA workout center as a room of torture. I can take things at my own pace and get the same work out with a twist (i.e. step aerobics is presented as a dance routine). I can challenge my kids and husband and have a fighting chance at placing higher than them. I did have weight loss with it and more energy so I think it's effective. No music other than lame background music but that's what an iPod is for.