I must admit that when my husband brought me home a Wii Console with the Wii Fitness CD, Wii Nun Chucks, Wii Balance Board, I was secretly thinking how I was going to make him think I’m using it but only as a paper weight.  I have had weight problems for twelve years now and figured it was my lot in life and nothing that really could be done about it.  I had had many surgeries including bone removed from right foot, three hysterectomies (how many hysterectomies does an Arkansas Doctor do?), and two caesarean sections.  I felt like my body has been through enough abuse as it was.

Now, my husband once was a physical trainer in his younger years, and he assured me that this Wii Fitness Program would be gentle enough for me to use and train me into shape—A shape other than a circle!  This was a secret dream come true.

I took as much time getting familiar with this device since I was never crazy about console games even when I was a kid.  The older I get, the more technology impaired I saw myself becoming.  This is a strange feeling considering I once was on top of the latest devices and computers. 

Wii Fit

At the Menu of the Wii Fit Plus, one creates a “Mii” account which is the avatar or “toon” you use to portray yourself.  You can even create an account for your overweight dog or cat!  I love this feature!

Once created, you select your specific profile that wakes up your Mii.  You are shown your BMI chart.  I love the way I can compare days, weeks, and months of my BMI and Weight.  I can see where I am building muscle from my specific daily automatic routine that we easily set up.

Daily Body Test

Each day, the Wii Fitness Balance Board character will test your initial body BMI and weight.  The Balance Board character is quite the wise guy, as he continually pokes and prods at your slightest mistakes in a series of Body Tests.  Some are rather challenging, and you are not given any time for practice and only a brief instruction.  If you are sleepy or stiff, these tests will show that.

After you are assessed, you may go on to your main Mii’s exercise Calendar.  A stamp which shape is customizable is used to denote the days you work out.  My favorite choices of stamps are the pink heart stamp and the puppy paw print.

Training Menu

From this menu, I can go directly into my specialized workout routine or practice from a variety of menus of different types of exercises and games.  The types of menus with their exercises are as follows:

***            Yoga

The Yoga exercises range from easy to more advanced such as Breathing being the first one I always start with no matter what.  Exercise is so much more than flopping your arms and legs around.  It is all centered around your breathing.  I did not know until the Wii Fitness that I had a habit of holding my breath at certain stages at exercises.  Now that I am away and focusing on my breathing and my posture before anything else of any routine, I am doing much better all around on the exercises.

***            Strength Training

The Strength Training exercises are a challenging workout ranging from easier to much harder exercises.  All of the exercises have a specific amount of repetitions you must complete before it will allow for an increase.  The Wii Balance Board toon is constantly letting you know when you are doing well or slipping up.  You can not fool this toon.  He may sound young, but he can tell when you are stiff or favoring an area.  It almost makes you feel like you’re not alone in your journey.


***            Aerobics

The Aerobics menu ranges from playing with Hula Hoops while burning calories, rhythm stepping, boxing, running, and a couple of aerobic games that are more specific and harder versions of their predecessor.  Such as, in Hula Hoops, I can sling my hoop in one direction and one direction only and still do well.  The harder version of the Hula Hoops require you to sling the hoop the OPPOSITE way, and that is much harder for me.


***            Balance Games

The Balance Games are the least of my favorite, but my husband insists anyway.  I think the games are cheesy and too picky, but that could be because I’m terrible at them.  The Balance Games range from getting hit in the head with objects which we are normally programmed from birth the opposite, moving your Mii by you weight distribution on the balance board and surviving through a series of mazes without touching the edges, Zen, and even skiing!  I can see a Fit Credit chart inside My Routine workout and see the comparison of each types of training I do and what percentage of them I do.  This makes me feel more comfortable since I once worked in the business industry, and that’s what I did back then.


***            Training Plus

The Training Plus is available with the Wii Fitness Plus.  This section ranges from Snowball fights, to being inside a pin ball machine, and running and having to pay attention to what you are seeing along the way.  I like the mental challenge of these running games.  I enjoy unlocking new tracks to run while chasing my cat!

Training Plus is a mix of games like running the gauntlet and becoming a chicken to fly and land on poles.  I think my husband likes the silly ones the best.  He makes a great chicken!  Skateboarding, rhythm parade, and racing on a standing two wheel cycle running over balloons are all workouts building your timing, balance, concentration, and coordination.


My Wii Locker Room

In My Routine, I can select from Yoga and Strength exercises to do every day.  My husband made mine for my specific needs in training since I have old injuries.  So far, these work outs are not hurting me, but I DO have to modify certain exercises that require me to stand on my toes since I am missing a sesamoid bone in my foot.  The Wii has no problem if you need to modify an exercise.  Each exercise has a center of balance or a range bar that helps you know when you are on your mark in positions and weight distribution.  This is THE BEST feature of this program.  Finally, I know what it feels and looks like to be in the correct position!

Here in my locker room, I can change my routines, look at my chart of routine distributions, and add to my daily log if I have done other exercises to record to factor in to the Wii Trainer’s calculations.


Final Thoughts

If you are a night owl and have a shifted schedule, that’s no problem for the Wii.  In the options, one can easily adjust settings and even the colors for your own preferences.  I think this thing watches me at night because when my husband logged on his Mii, the Wii Fitness Balance Board Trainer told him that I didn’t sleep well the previous night!  This was creepy.

This fitness program is designed for beginners and advanced people alike.  Creating routines designed specifically for your own body is what this product is all about.  Detailed records are kept for your review and encourages strategic focus for certain areas and categories of exercises.   I have personally seen the cause and effects of exercises and would recommend people even with limited mobility to do many of these exercises.  I think that people with Vertigo would benefit from these exercises.  All of these exercises seems in conjunction with physical therapy from a professional business.

Although I am not even close to my goal, my Wii Fitness encourages long goals along with smaller goals.  Time will tell, but I am feeling a lot healthier since I’ve been using my Wii Fitness.

Recommended: Yes