Balance is the Key to Success
Designed around its shockingly accurate packed-in balance board accessory, Wii Fit’s genius lies not in perfection, but in innovation. It’s entirely unlike anything mainstream gaming has seen before. The “non-game” approach by now coming from Nintendo is hardly surprising (as this sort of philosophy has defined a large percentage of the software for both Wii and DS), but the use of the balance board accessory to track movements during scripted exercise is remarkably effective. Moreover, the game’s presentation is designed to appeal to the neo-gamer demographic which the Wii has so handily succeeded in creating, as well as to avid gamers who may be looking to expand their horizons. In other words, Wii Fit is fueled by the same vital principles that have sent the Wii careening upward across sales charts with its unprecedented, market-expanding success. But don’t concern yourself with all these particulars; the point here is that provided you’re committed to playing Wii Fit on a regular basis, you will lose weight and achieve a higher level of conditioning.
Before you can start your regimen, you’ve got to create a profile for yourself. Up to four personal profiles can be stored (and password-protected) so that each participating family member or roommate can track his/her progress, privately if they so desire. Setting up a profile takes mere minutes, during which time you will be asked to select a representative Mii and input some general information including your age and height. You are also weighed (quite accurately), and your Body Mass Index is subsequently calculated based on the information gathered (both feet on the scale, cheater). Now, you might be asking whether or not BMI is really an accurate way of measuring all types of bodies, young and old, scrawny and muscular. The short answer is no—it isn’t. Not all types—if you’re either very young or a body builder, you may experience an inaccurate reading. However, it isn’t so hard to simply take that into account when viewing your results. Try it: Just ask yourself, “Am I very young, or a body builder?” If the answer is “no”, then you probably have nothing to worry about. Not so bad, right?
Apart from your BMI, Wii sees Fit to bring some other things to your attention as well. For instance, your weight distribution balance is also assessed to help you to understand the importance of proper posture (do I sound like your mom yet?)—the accuracy of the balance board here will impress you. Next, you’ll set a goal of weight loss/gain depending on your current BMI. This way, as is suggested by scientific research, you will be more motivated to continue your exercise. Even if you’re one of the select few “special” people to whom BMI does not apply, you can still construct your goals based on your weight, which, unless you’re Kate Moss, you probably have a good enough feel for already.
Feel the Pain
Finally, after creating a profile and setting your goals, you’re given the option of a male or female trainer, and then you’re set free on the game’s selection of activities. The longer you play, the more time you deposit into your Wii Fit Piggy Bank; as it rises, this tally unlocks more and more exercise activities and games. You can also unlock more repetitions for activities after you’ve completed them a few times, creating additional room for growth.
Wii Fit is chocked full of activities that are truly good for your body. You’ll find four categories of exercise and games: Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics, and Balance Games. In all, there are 45 different activities—some with multiple difficulties—although a couple are mere variations on others, such as the “push-up challenge”, which is similar to the “Push-Up and Side Splint” exercise, except with no Side Splint and a heck of a lot more Push-Ups. Some of the notable exercises from amongst the catalog include the Push-Up exercises, the Jackknife, the Rowing Squat, all three of the unlockable strength training challenges and practically all of the Yoga techniques. In addition to the more “serious” techniques, the aerobic and balance games are more resemblant of traditional videogames, sporting such competitive activities as a Hula-Hooping game, Step Aerobics (which is in some ways reminiscent of DDR), Soccer Ball Heading, Skiing, a Monkey Ball-esque Table Tilt game, jogging (without the balance board, but instead with the Wii-mote in your pocket to track steps), and the outrageously difficult Lotus Focus, which challenges you to sit absolutely still, perfectly balanced, for as long as you possibly can.
Like Brain Age and many other self-development games, Wii Fit is designed to be played daily (or at least regularly) over the course of a long period of time. However, unlike those games, there is still a heck of a lot to do each and every day. For one thing, you can play any of the exercises any number of times to personalize your workout (so if your idea of a worthwhile session is, say, fifteen Yoga Breathing Exercises, knock yourself out). Plus, you’ve got the entire aforementioned catalog of 40-something activities to choose from. This, by the way, is not including the Body Test stuff, which can be done once per day to acquire your “Wii Fit Age”, an all-inclusive balance/response + weight aggregate to help you judge your progress… though it’s really more for fun than precise record-keeping.
So, how well does it work? Honestly, very well. Through the use of the balance board, the game is able to assess your mastery of each activity by measuring your center of balance, stability, or pressure during the exercise. Of course, the game has no way of knowing whether you’re actually performing the exercise properly; it’s up to you to keep track of that. But it does a wonderful job of keeping you focused with frequent reminders, such as “Are your hips sticking out?” and “Focus on straightening your spine.” It also watches to ensure that you don’t exhibit signs of instability, which is something that I manage to achieve on a regular basis both on the Wii Balance Board and, tragically, on the dance floor (as evidenced by my avatar here on DC).
At the end of each individual exercise, your performance is assessed through the help of data gathered about your center of balance or your timing, and you’re assigned a percentage score, which is then recorded for purposes of competition on a leaderboard. This adds a tinge of the arcade to an otherwise strictly personal exercise experience, and it’s a great way to try and encourage yourself to improve.
Yoga Flame
Oh, and by the way, if you’re expecting a leisurely “sedentary-gamer-friendly” experience with Wii Fit, you’d better get your expectations in line before breaking open the box in front of your loved ones. My friends, this game is no joke. I would hardly consider myself to be atrophic, or even merely out of shape, and yet this game puts the hurt on me. Don’t get me wrong; it’s tailored to fit with the skill level of a wide range of players—you can do as few or as many exercises as you like, and you can start wherever you want—but if you’re doing things right, you will definitely feel the burn. A well-balanced workout consisting of five or six of the introductory yoga techniques coupled with an assortment of strength training, aerobic, and balance exercises will leave you feeling as though you just left the gym. And because of that, Wii Fit is an accomplishment; with it, you’re able to experience a well-rounded workout without even having to leave your home.
Plus, thanks to the fact that it forces you to incorporate balance awareness into each of your exercises, Wii Fit is actually able to instruct you in ways that even a personal trainer might find difficult. That’s all made possible, of course, by the balance board’s surprising level of precision. The game even specifies when to inhale and exhale with an intuitive growing/shrinking circle overlay complete with audio signals. Once you get really good at the exercises, you’ll be able to perform them while paying very little attention to the screen, apart from the occasional glance to check your center of balance (which is indicated graphically). If nothing else, Wii Fit is light-years ahead of the instructional videocassettes and DVDs that exercise-minded Americans have been working with for decades; finally, we have a device that is able to communicate your competence of many of the techniques with a degree of accuracy that previously was only possible through human-to-human interaction.
There are a few pitfalls, however, when working with Wii Fit. The first, of course, is the game’s (partial) reliance on BMI; read up on this in advance to be certain that you’re aware of the meaning of the BMI readings Wii Fit will give you. Secondly, having to control the game with the Wii-mote while standing on the balance board is show-stoppingly inconvenient. If it were possible to string exercises together then this wouldn’t be much of an issue, but sadly, you must select each activity individually from the menu after completing the last. It isn’t even possible to retry your current exercise without first picking up the Wii-mote—and considering the level of proficiency of balance that most of these exercises demand, you will definitely want to put the Wii-mote down while performing. And seeing as a lot of the time you will be flailing your arms and legs in various directions during exercises, that means you will probably need to step off the balance board and back on every couple of minutes or so to find a place to deposit the Wii-mote.
Wii Fit also is far from graphically impressive, but then again, that’s hardly what the game is about. Still, it would have been nice to see, for instance, a more convincing jogging environment, as the current one is almost guaranteed to make you double-take to ensure you haven’t accidentally booted up your N64. But really, what can be said? The presentation is very much on par with that of Wii Sports, meaning that gameplay and ease of use reigns supreme while audio/video are merely auxiliary. And Wii Fit is so easy to use and so inviting in its approach that it’s difficult to criticize it too much for paying less attention to aesthetic embellishment.
Of course, it isn’t possible to replace all of the personalized advice and knowledge of a real live trainer, but if you aren’t interested in such things, or you’re simply looking for a supplement to your existing routine that can be done in the privacy of your own home, Wii Fit is truly a useful invention. Maybe you’re just out of shape and your fear of publicly exposing your deficiency is what has been keeping you from exercising all these years; well, this is the perfect place to start. The improvement in your own body that you will see as you progress each day with the exercises is motivation enough to continue playing, and the convenience of the package is truly second to none.