Wii Workout

My MIL purchased a Wii for my stepdaughter and the family has, of course, been playing around with it.  I'd heard all about how using a Wii was a workout, and I'm happy to report that it's true! 

When you purchase a Wii, it comes with Wii Sports, a game package that includes Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf and Boxing.  Holy Crap!  Any of these will get your heart rate up if you let it!  Boxing especially wore me out.  Now, the young kids, you know the 9 and 10 year old gamers, play less dork-like, and just stand there and move the controllers.  But us adults, I find, really get into it, using our full bodies to simulate hitting a tennis racket or trying to knock out our spouse.  If you're doing it right, you'll find yourself sore the next day!

My two year old son, whom I don't really let play, loves to pretend he's playing, so much so that it's become a morning workout for me.  (Which is helpful since I'm still on doctor's rest from Stroller Aerobics.)  We do about 45 minutes of Wii, with my son holding a second, unactivated controller, imitating me while I play tennis and baseball.  Both of which I'm terrible at, but I keep trying.  I'm pretty good at the bowling, though, I bowled a 201 this morning.  That has never come close to happening in real life!

So, I strongly recommend that you start putting money aside, and look into investing in a Wii for your family.  Wiis are expensive, and if you want to play with a second person, you have to invest in another controller and nunchuck, sold separately, of course.  Seriously, we have about $330 in gaming equipment, but if I consider that i'll play it for about 45 minutes each day, I actually get more use out of that than a gym membership!  Ha!  And if it gets the whole family off the couch, it's ten times better than a gym membership.  

And if you already have a Wii, I'd love to hear from you and what your favorite games are!  And has anyone tried the new Wii Fit?  Could make an already cool machine even cooler!