Wii Fit

I own the Wii Fit since last week. I'm 32, 1.76m, ~82-84kg (fluctuates) and with my wedding coming up in a few months I wanted to lose some weight. I work all day and have little time in the evenings so the preparation and driving to and from the gym was too much. I wanted to use that 30-40 min to exercise, not prepare for exercise. I own a Wii since Xmas and decided to try this out after reading various reviews on the internet. Is this as good as going to the gym? No it does not replicate a gym. Will it get the job done? Will it keep you fit and help you lose weight? YES YES YES! I love it and highly recommend it. I get a great work out in 45 min. I feel great about myself, and have already lost a kilo. (note I have not changed my diet). Notice I get my work out in as much time as it takes to commute and prepare for gym. I also have more fun than going to the gym on my own. Perhaps going to a gym with a friend would be more fun. Depends. Anyway I love the Wii Fit! Note it takes a few times to get used to it and figure out how best to use it. Why? Well there is no prepared program for you. You have to decide on your own what you want to do and in what sequence. I start off by doing the aerobics (jogging, holla hoop) and then vary. Basically, the Wii Fit breaks its exercises into Muscle, Balance, Aerobics, and Yoga. I mainly doing the Aerobics and mix in some muscle and yoga. The muscle and yoga can be really tough. You wouldn't believe how much. You can really feel the muscles working. I do the balance exercises when I'm tired and want to relax a bit in between exercises. They may help with balance but are more of a game than anything else. The more you exercise, new exercises open up. In other words, you start of with a limited about of stuff to do and slowly you get more and more. Don't listen to the few negative reviews you may read on the internet. They were probably biased against the product before even trying it. This product costs a little more than going to the gym for a month (at least in my country). By the time I unlock all the exercises, I will have exercised more than a 1-month gym subscription, burnt more calories, and will have a fun game left too! Compared to nothing after a month at a gym. I highly recommend this. As I explained, you are getting more than your money's worth, having fun, and getting fit.

Addictive. Hard. Rewarding. Fun. Tiring. Frustrating. Amazing.

Too many adjectives, I know, but Wii Fit is all of those things.

I was impressed when we bought a Wii for our daughter last Christmas. Now I'm thrilled. Finally, a video "game" that seems tailor made for me! I've only had my copy of Wii Fit for a few days now, but already I can tell that if any piece of home equipment is ever going to help me get back in shape, this is it. Setting it up is hardly tougher than slipping in a DVD, and, unlike the Total Gym I once had, it makes you feel young just using it.

The first thing you do is weigh yourself by standing on the included wireless "Balance Board." After that, everything seems more like a game than a workout, but after 30 minutes with this thing I was sweating just as much as I do at the gym. There are four types of exercises: aerobics, balance, strength training, and yoga. Lasting from a minute to 10 minutes each, specific virtual activities include boxing, hula-hooping, jogging, push-ups, some very fun snowboarding action and this funky tilting game where you push balls into virtual holes.

Back to that balance board. You'll hate what it tells you about yourself, but love that it told you. Besides your weight, you learn your Wii Fit Age, a figure that combines your weight, body mass index and sense of balance. As you exercise, the program tracks your progress, or lack of it.

My only two complaints: the voice that speaks to you is little-kid cute, and there are no pre-set workouts.

If you're like me, you buy a lot of video games for your kids. If you can find it, buy this one for yourself. I got mine at list price, but I'd say it's worth about $150.

I won't repeat what others have said about how this works, what it includes, or the fact that it is a quality piece of equipment.

Nope, all I will say is - I'm a 54 year old female who HATES any type of "formal" exercise (that which is not walking or gardening, pretty much) and I LOVE MY Wii FIT!

I just got it last week, waited a few days before getting it set up, and immediately set to learning how to balance my body (not my strong suit) - and finding it amazingly FUN in the process.

Turning point was Friday when I CHOSE to get on the Wii instead of go make a sandwich for lunch! And 32 fast minutes went by, twirling, leaning, sweating and HAVING FUN before I finally made it to the kitchen.

I am SO glad I bought this! I LOVE racking up "points" and unlocking even more games and the advanced levels.

OK, so the graphics and voices are a little less than stellar but honestly I don't care. I hope this thing lasts forever. Fun for the whole family!

First of all, remember that this is *not* a "game". Its a way to get your 40 minutes of daily exercise without making it feel like a lot of work.

What this means is that you probably won't buy this for your under-11 year old. Before you start the "game", you are asked for an objective ... in terms of how many pounds you want to gain/lose. Whether this question is meaningful for your child depends on many factors - and other reviewers question the use of the BMI measure for kids, anyway.

The only true game component of this are the "Balance Games" which turn your balance board into a snowboard, or into a tightrope, etc. However, I don't expect kids to return to this game everyday just to play. In short, its not a replacement for Wii Sports.

So, how does it fare as an exercise regimen?

Not very well so far. I use an elliptical for aerobics, and a [...] machine for strength training, and I can't see myself as shelving those two in favor of this toy. With the elliptical, I can adjust the resistance, get feedback on my calorie burnout, and can determine how long I want to keep going. Best of all, I can even watch TV, listen to music, or read a magazine if I care to.

With the Wii Fit, the cutesy graphics are good, but once the novelty wears out, I'm guessing the chinks in its armor will begin to show. My TV is taken up by my virtual Mii running along, I get to listen to canned music, and there's really no way I can read along.

Strength training is purely isometric exercise based (such as push ups). So, if you're fairly fit and need to work with additional resistance, this is not the place to come find it.

Yoga is where it truly shines. I tried the breathing exercises and a few of the postures, and the instructions were fairly detailed and easy to follow. I expect that I'll use this as a cheap and convenient personal yoga instructor for months to come.

The final aspect worth mentioning is core muscle control and balance. I particularly enjoyed learning how my body is balanced, and it does highlight whether you tend to favor one leg over the other. I can see this as being a worthwhile tool as part of a physical rehabilitation or therapy regimen.

To summarize - if you have trouble getting motivated to exercise, or get bored by exercise machines at home, or can't get to a gym, and you don't care about its limitations, then this is for you.

For those who are really serious about losing weight or getting fit, either setup a home gym or get a gym membership. This will be fun, but will likely be a large waste of your time. The biggest problem would be the inability to set up a sequence of activities that you could run through one after the other. Having to navigate menus to start up the next set is distracting. There is a Favorites tab that lets you get close to achieving this - but I haven't tried it enough to see if its a good replacement.

I'm still in the "novelty" phase - so I'm going to try and make this work. I like the way it tracks your weight/BMI, which is much better than the paper and pencil approach I use currently. However, as stated before I expect to use it more for the balance and yoga portions, *after* I've completed my aerobics/strength activities on more conventional machines.

Bottom line - as with every Wii product, the apparent "shortage" drives up demand and makes this seem more desirable than it should.

As long as you are aware of its limitations, you're in the best position to determine whether this is for you.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Update (Week + 1):
I've averaged about 30 minutes/day in the past week using this product, and here are some updates to my initial observations:

(a) I've been surprised with how interesting the kids find it. They can't wait to get higher scores than me, and are constantly pushing to get ranked higher in almost all activities. Every evening I come home to scores that are better than mine, and am forced to play catchup. The balance games were an expected favorite, but I certainly didn't expect push-ups and the tree pose to capture their fancy.

(b) The menus are nagging at best, and annoying at worst. My workout style is to focus on the activities at hand without needless conversation/distraction, and that's hard to do when I have to repeatedly click the A button just to get started. The text has this annoying teletype format as it prints across the screen, and can't be dismissed until it is displayed in its entirety.

(c) This is compounded by the fact that this device can be very chatty. While some of the messages are good to know, I'd really like the option to turn these off. Counting the number of messages that I need to click past has become a running joke for us now.

(d) Because I can't automatically string together activities in a logical sequence, I need to have the Wii-mote handy. Finding a home for it is a challenge when I don't have pockets, or need both hands for balance and can't be bothered to hold on to it (as in some of the more kinetic strength activities, or the yoga poses that need my fingers locked together).

(e) Even worse is that you need to aim the Wiimote at the screen to click the menu buttons, which is an exercise in frustration. I'm mastering the art of using the arrow keys (the rocker switch) and the A button while the Wii-mote is in my pocket, but its still a problem when I hit the wrong button, which I seem to do frequently enough :(

(f) A yoga/gym mat is a necessary accessory - otherwise having to lie on your back when doing the jackknife for your abs means your flooring comes in contact with a very sweaty T-shirt. I'm not so certain about the silicone cover. We've used ours pretty rough, and I don't see any serious stains or dirt on it. And anyway, I like my workout machines to show some wear as a badge of honor :)

(g) There is a half baked interface which allows me to track activities that I do outside of the Wii - such as jogging. So far, I've been logging my other workouts, but since I don't seem to earn Wii points for those, I can't tell how that factors into the overall Wii experience.

(h) The BMI/weight tracking using a line graph, is really a nice touch.

(i) Rather than a primary weight-loss device, I use it as a nice way to wind down from a heavy workout, and it serves that purpose very well. A commenter below questioned its usefulness for yoga. True, it does seem funny to learn yoga from a game console - but the funnier thing is that the yoga poses do seem to work very well to ease up strained muscles. Combine this with the immediate feedback as to how well you are balanced, especially on single leg poses, and you have a really unique combination.

(j) The balance games are fun, but I tend to spend only a fraction of my time on them. I'm willing to take Nintendo's word that its good for me, but I'd rather spend my scarce exercise minutes on the other Wii Fit activities. After all, there's only so many times I can enjoy riding my bubble to the end of the stream.

(k) The fact that the balance board is wireless is a wonderful touch. Its easy to hide it under the couch when its not in use.

I must say though the Wii fit is mildly entertaining, it was not what I has expected when I purchased it.
I thought I would be able to have a fitness class or some training at home. What the Wii fit offers is a demonstration of very short exercises you can choose to do. There is no 'class' or even substantial segment of fitness routines anywhere on Wii fit. You must INDIVIDUALLY select to do a single yoga pose or a single set of push-ups. After each one, lasting approximately 1-2 minutes, you must choose to "retry" or "quit". When you "quit", you return to a menu to select another individual exercise. There are several things in between each and every exercise you complete providing feedback and a score. Not bad information but terrible to stop constantly and push A and wait again for another menu choice. The menu will suggest doing 2 exercises in a row, but you cannot highlight or select that as an option and have 2 in row come on screen.

The graphing and progress reports are interesting and beneficial. The concept of the board being able to measure and assess balance is great. I just don't have the extra time to stop and wait between each movement. Going through the menus constantly is frustrating when I want to exercise. It takes about 55 minutes of time to accomplish 30 minutes of workout as logged by the Wii fit.

The Wii Fit "game" for the Wii is far more than a game! It comes with a balance board and lets you practice yoga, strength training, aerobics and other fitness games with your very own Personal Trainer.

First, how it works. There is a white plastic balance board you stand on, which is in essence a multi-part scale. It can tell exactly where you are standing on the board, and where your weight is. If you lean forward, it senses the weight shift. If you stand on one foot and wobble around, it can sense that wobble. *Precisely*.

So for example, in the yoga area one of the exercises is "tree pose". This is the classic yoga pose you see with one foot against the other leg and the hands up in the air. You stand that way for about a minute. The Wii knows exactly how steady you are, and shows you a red dot dancing around the screen to show your fluctuations. Of course, if you are really good at this, it shows that dot calmly at rest.

Being a scale, the system tracks your weight loss (or gain) each time you use it, and because you put in your age and height, it tracks your BMI as well. The charts show you how you progress each day, and what your daily exercises levels are, broken down by the various categories.

You can choose a male or female trainer, and the trainer demonstrates the moves visually on the screen while you watch. So for push-ups, the trainer is on the screen, doing them properly, giving you advice on form and what to do. They tell you exactly what muscles you will be working out. They provide front-and-back views so you can get a better sense of what you're doing, and give audio messages as well so you know when to change position.

There is really a lot of variety here. There are games like hula hoop and walk-the-tightrope to give you some fun. There are different levels of some games you can unlock. You can "go for a run" where you have the Wii controller in your pocket and run (not on the board) in place, while an interesting scenery scrolls past on the TV. The speed the scenery moves is based on your own running speed, so you can go faster or more slowly. You can even run with a friend!

You are told NOT to jump on the board and in fact the game will restart a given level if you do, to help make that clear. The board is a scale, as mentioned, and they do their best to have you treat it relatively gently.

You really can work up a sweat if you do harder activities, but there is a LOT in here for the out of shape to start slowly.

Now all of this begin said, there are several downsides to this game that they really should have added in.

First, they have lots of little short games - and no way to connect them together! You have to track down activity 1. Go through it. Then go back out to the menus and track down activity 2. It can take literally a minute to go between one thing and the other, with lots of button clicking. They should have let you string together "my fitness set" to do this more easily. They do have a "favorites" menu that lets you see the 10 things you do the most, but it's not the same.

Next, they don't recommend anything at all based on your weight / BMI. You are completely on your own to know what to do. You can tell it "I want to lose 20 pounds in 6 months". Fine. It doesn't give you any help or guidance at all. No "hey you lost 20 calories" or "only 10 minutes to go!" You have to make your own plans. Normally this is what a trainer does for you - so their virtual trainer is pretty useless.

Which goes into another thing a real trainer would help you with - the order of activities. Muscle groups work in combination with each other and you should warm up, then do a combination of activities, then cool down. The Wii Fit has no information at all about this type of planning. You could randomly choose things to do that all work out your legs for example and never touch your lower back. You could cause strain on your body by leaping into the higher activities without doing a warm up lower activity. This would have been SO simple for them to build into the system, but they did not.

The scale unit tops out at 330 pounds. I work with many obese people and there are MANY people out there over 330 pounds who this system would have been ideal for. They can't use it. I know someone who was 270 pounds who used this and the system kept giving them errors. I know they can't have an infinite weight scale, but something a little higher end would have been very encouraging.

To me these things are all "really should put into Version 2" issues. I will still give WiiFit 5 stars for being a groundbreaking entry into the video gaming world - something that can really change lives and help people become more healthy. There are all sorts of other "would be great" enhancement ideas - for example, if you hooked up a video camera, you could see how YOUR downward facing dog looked, to see if it matched the "trainer" on the screen. That could be hugely helpful for people.

WiiFit is definitely a great software package - I wouldn't call it a game - and I highly recommend that everybody get their hands on one if they can. It's a system that appeals to all ages, is healthy for all ages, and is a lot of fun too.

I preordered this from Gamestop after Amazon sold out their preorders. I wasn't disappointed.

I'm fat, and ashamed of it; "clinically obese" would be the term I'd use. My doctor has begged me to get a trainer, but they're expensive; and I hate gyms since they're boring, and out of my way. But I'm a gamer -- I love to sit and play CoD. Exercise is almost non-existent in my life.

Setting up the Fit Board is easy. You slap a few batteries in and sync. The graphics are cute. The music is cute, too. (you can just mute the TV an put on some better music, if you want.)

You set it up by telling the game your height, weight, and let it weigh you. And then tell the game how much weight you want to lose (you can lose up to 22 pounds/cycle, and can edit this every 2 weeks). If you try to lose too much weight too fast, the game cautions you against it, but will allow you to do it. Additionally, the game will allow you to password protect your profile, if you're worried about others finding it.

So, how's the game itself? In a word: fun. Really fun.

The exercises are easy. Step aerobics. Hula hooping. Running. Basic toning exercises (except for the pushup/jackknife. That's killer, man. killer.) Some are annoying (the balance board ones are really fun, but are killer hard for me to get right.)


And you get good feedback from the game -- you earn points for each activity, and you can actually chart the weight loss through the Wii itself. It's really sweet.

The game is fun. In a good way. I've put in an hour already tonight, and I'll continue to use it tomorrow. This is, by far, the best chance I've had to lose weight in a long, long time.

Get this game if you're looking to exercise in your own home.

We have been waiting for the Wii Fit release for quite a long time and are certainly not disappointed!! I'm sitting here, having worked up quite a sweat {and, counterintuitively, munching on a piece of Wegman's Ultimate Chocolate cake}!

The Wii Fit is very sturdy, heavy and well-built. The exercises are well-balanced (pardon the expression) between aerobics, balance, yoga, and strength. The device is easy to set up and anyone can be successful using the device. My one complaint is with the push-up exercise included under the strength regimen. The Wii Fit is made of hard plastic and it makes it difficult to get a good purchase on the device while doing the push ups. Its great exercise, since your hands are also fairly close together, but my hands keep slipping and it feels uncomfortable. Several people have suggested buying one of the covers, such as Wii Fit Protective Silicon Cover, but I have not tried this yet.

Otherwise, the games included on the Wii Fit disk are fun and the skiing is great!

I believe we will continue to use the device, especially since my Mii was visually"adjusted" to reflect my Body Mass Index (BMI). Losing a little weight is now a matter of pride!! It also calculated my "age" at my actual age...absolutely unsatisfactory...must be 20 years younger!! {grin} However, it allows you to set target weight and BMI, so you will compete against yourself to lose weight and also improve your overall fitness level. It's fun! If your personal stats are upsetting to you, fear not, you can password protect them! One word of caution...don't take the BMI or "Age" calculated for you by the software too seriously. Use common sense. Although it SHOULD help you improve your fitness, this is still a game and NOT a professional exercise device. There have been several bits on the news this week claiming that the Wii is no substitute for a personal trainer (interviewing personal trainers, of course) but most of us don't have time for a personal trainer and also cannot afford one. The Wii Fit is much better than the alternative....nothing.

There are plenty of exercises and activities to keep things fresh and to keep your interest. Particularly good if you live in a dorm or apartment and don't have much room for dedicated exercise equipment.

Overall, This Is A Great Device!! An absolute "Must Have" for all Wii owners!!! Now, if it could only keep me away from the cake!

UPDATE 2009: We really like using the Wii Fit with the Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party. Much fun!!

I just recently received my Wii Fit and I have to say that I'm generally impressed. First of all, the exercises presented work well. If done properly without any cheating you will definitely raise your heart rate and will probably "feel the burn."

The Good:
==> It functions as a very accurate scale, although I noticed that if it is placed on a thick, spongy carpet it registers my weight about 10-20 lbs lighter than I actually am.
==> Exercises are well explained by the onscreen trainer.
==> Challenging exercises... some of these are really hard, especially at first. But they are hard in a good way.
==> Fun little balance based mini games. I especially enjoy the Ski Slalom and the Marble Tilt games.
==> Built in progress tracking system.
==> Menus are very easy to navigate.
==> Doesn't cost $50+ per month like my gym membership does.

The Not So Good:
==> It doesn't have a "Workout Program" that links your exercises together. You must interrupt your flow by selecting new exercises in between each set.
==> Weight limit of 330 lbs. If you are really heavy, regardless of your fitness level, this "game" is not for you.
==> Uses BMI (Body Mass Index) to evaluate your fitness. BMI is generally a great indicator of healthy weight except that people with large amounts of muscle mass can be mislabeled as obese, regardless of whether or not you can bench-press a truck and run a marathon before breakfast. BMI is also not very accurate for a lot of children.
==> Wii board width. I wish they would have made it a little wider. I'm a moderately built guy and I found the push-up positions to be awkward. The balance board doesn't really allow for much flexibility in how wide you can place your arms. I imagine that people with much broader shoulders will find this uncomfortable.
==> Minimalist graphics.
==> Bland music.

Overall, I highly recommend this product as a supplement to your regular exercise routine, especially for days when you can't make it into the gym. As a stand alone workout regimen it is fairly limited but effective.

I was a little scared of this when we got it, thinking "I don't want to jog on television!" But after watching my kids and seeing what is all included with the game, I was very anxious to play. After a simple set up of the platform, you are ready to go. It came with 4 AA batteries and included 4 little risers for thicker carpets. I haven't tried these as mine is a berber carpet and works fine, I didn't need a pad or anything.

You have to personalize your Mii with your age, height, weight (yes, it is a scale, too.) From the data, your BMI is calculated and you are noted as underweight, ideal, overweight, or obese. You then take a little balance test (where you shift your weight to certain areas within a time limit.) Your Wii Fit Age is then displayed in large numbers on the screen. Well, of course this could be incorrect (especially if you are heavy due to muscles or something!) but it is an okay feature as long as you don't get bent out of shape about what it says. It isn't a doctor, it is only a game, afterall! As you get better, your Wii Fit age decreases. NOTE: You can even play as someone else's Mii if you don't have time to set one up for yourself (or don't want to.) You'll get a little voice when you step on saying something like "you weigh a little different than before, do you want to continue?" Just click "continue." I didn't want to set one up at first, so I just played as my husband's Mii. Then I just set one up...geez, it wasn't so bad!

Game play: If you have played Big Brain Academy, this game reminds you of that, but you use your body, not just your brain (but maybe this should be called Big Butt Academy for me!! ha ha) The exercises are divided into four different categories designed to help improve your health (and to have fun!) They are yoga, muscles, aerobic, and balance. The yoga and muscle categories feel the most like "real" exercises. You start with a few unlocked categories, and earn new ones. You dont' have to master everything to get the new stuff as things unlock as you bank "time spent" minutes. You can choose a woman or man virtual "trainer" to help guide you in your form (they will also give you feedback on how you are doing.)

My family's favorite parts are the aerobic and balance activities. The games include things like hula hoops (super funny to be a spectator!), jogging, boxing, or step dancing. The balance activities are the ones where everyone wants a turn (even grandma wanted to do these!) These include a marble game (where you balance and lean to get a marble through a hole), ski jump, slalom skiing, snowboarding (you get to turn the balance board sideways to simulate riding on a snowboard), riding in a river inside a bubble (you lean forward and sideways to get your bubble to move and avoid the walls), and even tightrope walking.

Many of the games show a little icon of the balance board and a dot. There is a red dot that shows you where your center of balance is. It is like a target where and you try to get the dots to overlap by shifting your weight. It is really an amazing little board! Even pushing down with only your toes effects the on-screen outcome. We play the balance games the most and all try to get the top score (it shows the top 10 leaders.)

Do we cheat? Well, no..but it is possible, especially with running. You don't use the board with this game, but your arm movement while holding the Wii remote register as running. You could certainly just wave it around, but that sort of defeats the fun!

It seems that there will be many more games coming to work with the balance board. I hope so, because it is a fun gadget. Would I change anything? Maybe. You can't really compete with each other on too many games (you can jog two-player.) You are mostly playing one at a time then comparing scores. It would be fun (but more expensive) to have a split screen, two balance boards, and snowboard against each other! Also, I would like it if you could set up your own little workout routine (like link together 7 or 8 activities that you like the most to run consecutively) but you cannot do this. It isn't that hard to select each one with the remote, but it seems like it would have been a good addition. I actually thought this would be an option before I bought it.

Will the Wii Fit replace a "real" exercise program? Of course not. Will it get you off of the couch more often? Definately, and your muscles will feel that you are doing something! Plus you can see some progress with weight, Wii Fit age, and improved scores. Overall, we really like it and we have logged many hours on it in the first few weeks (which I can't say for all the Wii games we have!) For the price and amount of fun, it is definately worth it!