Follow Up on Wii Workout

Here is another commenter on this blog a few posts ago, giving more great ideas for the Nintendo Wii Console and how it could help us work out while we have fun.

Thanks to dr1044 for this great idea.

"The Wii Workout"

The market is huge for workout videos/dvds because most people like the convenience and privacy of working out at home. This game could potentially give them that plus a personal trainer and more.

Basically aerobics game targeted (mostly) at females. Need four wiimotes ("remotes"). Strap two to your shins and hold the other two. Do common aerobic type workouts with Chuck Norris/Brooke Burke on screen encouraging/screaming at you.

Game is sophisticated enough so that you can enter your height, weight, gender, and goals, and the game will develop your ideal workout routine or you can set your own goals. If you want to burn say five pounds in a week just enter it in the game and it develops a plan. Norris/Burke gives you instant feedback on if you are doing the exercises right ("keep your arms straight", "your right leg is too far forward") or if you need to speed up or if you are doing good. If one limb is not moving right it gives you a little vibration there.

The number of reps you have done and the number that you have left are displayed and spoken to you. You can either use the preloaded game workout music or use your own that you uploaded. You can be rewarded with your favorite song (or maybe a Chuck Norris fact) or punished with some country music. The game stores your workout results in the memory and it computes graphs of all your workouts so that you can see how you are progressing. It also uses your results to come up with your next workout routine.

Also to motivate you even more you could tell it "I want to lose 10 pounds" and while you are working out it shows how many minutes you will have to work out to reach your goal. Going faster or lasting longer makes the number decrease.

Variations of the game can include yoga, pilates, dancing, martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, weightlifting, and I'm sure a whole bunch of other things."

You could also create a virtual self (like the Nintendo guy put his face on the wiisports). You could go online and compete with other people who match up with your current skill level. It could also big like a biggest loser thing where it's a competition to see who works out the best and loses the most weight.

I love this idea! So creative, dr1044. Any other ideas on how to use this new motion-sensitive remote (wiimote) to increase fitness? I am actually not a big fan of video games, I just get bored of them too quickly. But this game I think I would play!