| Title: | Wii Fit |
| Publisher: | Nintendo |
| RRP: | £69.99 / $89.99 |
Wii Fit
When Nintendo released the Wii Fit package they really cemented the Wii's position as the leading console for helping you to maintain a more active approach to playing video games by forcing you to stand up and move around in order to play.
When you buy Wii Fit you also get a device called the Balance Board, which resembles a very large pair of bathroom scales minus the weight readout. To control the various games and activities which make up the Wii Fit software you have to shift your weight around whilst standing on the Balance Board.
Wii Fit isn't so much about making you fitter through cardiovascular exercise but rather about improving your balance and posture which goes a long way towards relieving those every day aches and pains that stop many people considering taking part in exercise in the first place.
Body Test Mode
The first section of the Wii Fit software is called the Body Test and it is here that you can keep track of your progress towards a fitter you. You create a profile for yourself, assigning a Mii to it to represent you in the games which you will be getting to play later.
With a profile created the game allows you to keep track of your weight in a fun way. The software measures your weight using the Balance Board and uses this along with your height to calculate your BMI (body mass index).
Wii Fit then makes you perform some tests which require you to shift your weight around whilst standing on the Balance Board. The results of these tests are analysed and you are presented with your Wii Fit age, which is the age which your fitness levels correlates to. Ideally you want your Wii Fit age to be your actual age or younger.
BMI is a measurement used by doctors to determine how overweight or underweight a person is. Wii Fit can help you keep track of your efforts to get in shape using a series of line graphs to chart your progress over time. You can even set weight loss (or gain) goals and Wii Fit will track how well you're doing.
Training Mode
Training mode is the really fun part of Wii Fit, and is also the part that will help improve your current balance, posture and general fitness levels. It does this through a series of exercises and simple but highly entertaining mini games. Training mode is split into four distinct sections which are described below.
Yoga Exercises
The first component of Training Mode is Yoga, which unsurprisingly is based on the fitness regime of the same name. You can choose from fifteen different Yoga moves, which have interesting names such as Warrior, Sun Salutation and Downward Facing Dog! Initially you will only be able to choose from a small number of these moves, but as you do the exercises you will gradually unlock more of them.
The Yoga moves are very good for improving your flexibility, as most involve gentle stretching of various muscle groups. A virtual fitness instructor appears on screen and acts as your mirror image, so it's really easy to learn and carry out the moves.
Strength Training
The Strength Training exercises are presented in a similar manner to the Yoga ones, with a virtual instructor teaching you what to do on screen. The exercises themselves are intended to increase muscle strength, and are more the kind of thing you might expect to do in a typical keep fit class.
Some of the exercises included are Lunges, Rowing Squats, Tricep Extensions and the dreaded Push-ups!
Aerobics
Probably the most well known of the games included in the Wii Fit package as a whole heads up the Aerobics section. Chances are you will already have heard mention of the Hula Hoop game, as it has been used on many of the TV adverts for Wii Fit, but if not, cast your mind back to being a child and trying to get a toy Hula Hoop to spin around your waist by jiggling your hips.
The Hula Hoop game lets you relive those care free days by standing on the Balance Board and wiggling your hips in a circle to make your on screen Mii spin a number of Hula Hoops.
Also included in the Aerobics section are a pleasant jogging game, where your little Mii character goes for a run through a pleasant looking park, and Step, which involves you following directions on the screen telling you when to step on and off the Balance Board.
Balance Games
If you are a fan of more traditional video games then this will definitely be your favourite section! Balance Games improve your posture and, funnily enough, balance, by making you shift your weight around on the balance board to control 9 simple but fun games.
There are several games included, such as Soccer Heading, which has you heading footballs by leaning from side to side to move your Mii's head whilst avoiding flying football boots and panda bears!
There are also slalom games on both skis and snowboards, Tightrope Walking and the fun but frustrating Table Tilt, which sees you trying to tip boards with holes in so that little balls drop through the holes.
