Wii Fit versus EA Sports Active

LaLucy

I really want to tone up and maybe lose half a stone. At the mo I am 9st and roughly 11pounds, I'm 5ft4. So I am not looking to lose loads just tone up my legs, arms and stomach. I am really drawn to wii fit as I heard it teaches some yoga which I would like to feel calmer. Then through some reviews people are saying its no good and get the sports active. What to do what to do?! P.s I am rubbish at sports I am very good at and enjoy aerobics so which would be more suitable for me? Thanks everyone

Fysh

I've been using the Wii Fit for about 4 months and I've found it pretty good - I've built a morning routine around it and have found it pretty effective so far. I've lost 2 stone and have improved posture & general muscle tone. I've also become a lot more aware of what I eat and pay attention to how my weight progresses on a day-to-day basis.

That being said, you get out of it what you put in - I've seen a lot of people moaning that they found it too easy to cheat on some exercises, but that's kind of missing the point.

In terms of the yoga training, it's not a bad introduction but I wouldn't assume that you'll know yoga after learning the poses. If you enjoy it, Wii Yoga is coming out in November (around the same time as Wii Fit Plus, in fact) and that might be worth investigating.

You should probably go for the Wii Fit Plus pack at this point, since it's only a bit more expensive than the standard Wii Fit.

I don't know how it compares to the Sports Active game, but I've found that I've enjoyed the couple of WiiWare games I've found that use the balance board. On top of that, the Shaun White snowboarding game is great fun with the balance board and well worth considering as an additional purchase.

LaLucy

Wow 2st! Very impressive well done you should be proud of yourself. Yeah I heard there will be a slightly better version of the wii fit coming soon so I may aswell wait. Will that also have the balance board too? Ah it probably will. I'm really looking forward to it now thank you for your detailed answer and congrats on your weight loss that's great.

Fysh

Yeah, you can get the new version as an upgrade (if you've already got the board) or with the board. There's only about 12 euro difference between the original version with the board and the new one, while the upgrade is going to cost 30-40 euro.

On the weight loss front, it's important to say that I did also make significant changes to my eating habits at the same time. There's no way I would have stuck to them were it not for the Wii Fit getting me into the habit of paying attention to my weight on a daily basis and seeing what effect my diet has on t, but at the same time it's not just a case of buying the game and doing 30 minutes a day. It's been a useful tool for changing my lifestyle though, and I'd say anyone else should be able to use it in the same way pretty easily.

LaLucy

Yeah I think you're right about it not being a case of just using the game and expecting too much. I have started walking more often and aim to walk for about an hour and a half 3 times a week. Just need major toning up. So I should definately wait until the next edition that's cool although I am eager to see whats its like! I would prefer to join an aerobics class but there are none in my area ah well.

robo

Fysh - well done with that, as you say though, you get out what you put in.

What kind of routine have you been running with? I have both games and get bored easily. I found EA Active handy for not getting bored, cos the activities last only about 2-3 minutes, where as the wii fit activities last longer. I really have to get back in to using either of them...I am useless. My main excuse to get the Wii was to get the Wii fit and not pay for the gym that I wasn't really visiting anyway.

LaLucy - yeh best wait for the new version of Wii Fit Plus

Fysh

robo wrote: »

Fysh - well done with that, as you say though, you get out what you put in.

What kind of routine have you been running with? I have both games and get bored easily. I found EA Active handy for not getting bored, cos the activities last only about 2-3 minutes, where as the wii fit activities last longer. I really have to get back in to using either of them...I am useless. My main excuse to get the Wii was to get the Wii fit and not pay for the gym that I wasn't really visiting anyway.

We were the same about the Wii - myself and the other half both had gym memberships, but because of the location they were rarely getting used so we figured better to save the money and get a Wii instead.

My routine is simple enough - I try to do my 30 minutes in the morning before I have a shower. Usually I start with an aerobic exercise (either Step Plus or the 5 minute hula hoop), then do 4 or 5 Yoga stretches (almost always starting with the Half Moon and the Warrior, then picking the rest on a whim - usually the Sun Salutation, Chair and Palm Tree but the Triangle & Downward Facing Dog also get thrown in regularly). After that I'll do some muscle exercises - usually the leg lifts or extensions, torso twists and lunges, with jacknifes, tricep extensions and rowing squats thrown in for a bit of variety. The press-up and plank exercises will probably be the next thing I focus on to try and build a bit more upper body strenght. Then to finish up I'll do another aerobic exercise - time permitting I usually like to finish on the boxing, preferably the 6 or 10 minute one.

Making it part of the daily morning routine has been a big part of sticking with it for us, I think - if we tried to do it in the evening it wouldn't work nearly as well as we're usually a bit wiped out after work. Depending on the day I'll sometimes put in an hour session at the weekend, but other times I'll just do a normal session. I've found I feel a lot more alert and ready to face the day since introducing it to my daily routine though, and am looking forward to Wii Fit Plus to add some more variety to the daily workout.

robo

Cheers Fysh - I was thinking alright of doing it in the morning, cos I can't keep it up in the evening. Can I ask you also, have you carefully watched what you were eating also?

Fysh

I'll be honest, the diet change is probably the bigger factor - at the suggestion of my other half, we both made an effort to change how we eat when we started Wii Fit. (She's seen about the same change as I have over the same period of time).

Before we started, we were eating 3-4 meals a day - breakfast, lunch, and dinner (occasionally split into two). Outside of those meals there would be the odd snack which we tended not to consider as part of our overall food intake. ("It's only a packet of crisps" etc).

Since we started we've switched to eating 5-6 times a day - breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, early afternoon snack, late afternoon snack, dinner. We generally eat fruit for snacks and have made an effort to reduce the amount of food we eat per sitting by cutting back on portion sizes. We haven't gotten to the point of weighing all the ingredients we use when making dinner, but we are more aware of how much we serve up for each meal.

We haven't really had to change what we eat, just the relative amounts. We still have fish & chips once every couple of weeks - but we've realised that one portion between the two of us is plenty. The biggest issue we've found when eating out is that the portion sizes are bigger than we particularly want.

Overall none of the changes we've made actually require the Wii Fit - you could get the same effect with a fitness book or DVD, a calculator, and some graph paper. More than anything else the change is about being aware of what you eat, how much exercise you get on a daily basis and how your weight changes on a day-to-day basis.

Dozen Wicked Words

Fysh wrote: »

I'll be honest, the diet change is probably the bigger factor - at the suggestion of my other half, we both made an effort to change how we eat when we started Wii Fit.

I think you are right about diet certainly being a larger part of the weight loss. I would say about 35% is from Wii Fit, the rest from lifestyle changes. I lost one and a half stone using it for an hour a day, at the same time I cut out the snacks, the alcohol and the cheese!

I am hoping the new Wii Fit Plus will give me a bit of a fresh boost, hopefully the Aerobic exercises will be a bit tougher this time. There is a game based on Golds Gym in the US which is supposed to give a very good cardiovascular workout but not sure its coming to Europe sadly.

Jack B. Badd

Just to add to Fysh's post, I think the main advantage I've felt came from the Wii Fit is the motivational factor. The little animated balance board is the right mix of encouragement and nagging imo. The opportunity to weight yourself everyday and see your progress (both numerically and graphically) is very useful. Plus the fact that there are two of us to "spot" each other helps. But ultimately, I don't think the Wii Fit is necessarily any better (or worse) than other methods of getting fit and losing weight - we're lucky that it works well for us (as one of a number of factors) but no guarantee that it will work the same way for everyone.

Can't wait for the new yoga game to be released

Xluna

Don't bother with either of them. Go for a walk,it's free and you get fresh air as a nice bonus.:cool:

karltimber

whats the difference between the wii fit and the plus models ?

K

Star Lord

Wii Fit Plus has everything that the original Wii Fit software had, plus a whole bunch of extra exercises, and the ability to set your own custom workouts.

niallon

Yet another Smyths plug but Wii Fit Plus with board is €100 and Wii Fit + Board and the Plus Game only is €95 for the lot, €5 cheaper!

Honestly I think EA Active is better from the casual point of view, as pointed out the excercises are shorter and as well as that the accessories, particularly the tension band thingy make it feel like you're excerting more at the time of excercise as opposed to Wii Fit which can feel somewhat relaxed at times (not that often mind!)

If you're serious about things though Wii Fit is the one!

robo

AFAIK Wii Fit Plus also allows you to compete online with others