Good Games for the Wii?

[Jürgen Hubert]

This is really smart, seriously. I'm going to try it.

Just a piece of advice:

Be careful when playing the Baseball game with it, or you might dislocate your shoulder joint when throwing the ball...

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I never run in a gym, on a treadmill, or on trails. I live in a mid-sized city as well all my running is outside.

Yeah, well... you live in an American mid-size city, with all those endlessly large city blocks - and thus, the possibility of running long stretches uninterrupted - which that implies.

In my neighborhood, all the blocks are really tiny, and you have to cross streets all the time. And many of the local streets are made with cobblestones, and running across them is just begging for breaking an ankle even when it isn't raining - which it frequently is. And while sidewalks exist, half of them is occupied for parking cars (there's little space for garages), while the other half has to be navigated carefully because you never know when someone might be stepping out of a house right in your path, causing you to crash into him.

It was different when I live in a suburb with my parents, but while my current place of residence has a lot going for it, it's not really suitable for running.

(Another problem is that for much of the year, I get home after it gets dark - further limiting opportunities for exercise outside.)

My recommendation, if you're looking for exercise, would be to throw the Wii in the trash.

Why the hostility?

 

[Amellia]

I love that standing up, walking four steps and swinging your arm is being touted as "excercise". No wonder the stereotypical gamer looks like he does.

My recommendation, if you're looking for exercise, would be to throw the Wii in the trash.

Hey, be nice. Just the very fact that people are looking for ways to be more active while doing the things they enjoy is awesome. Studies have shown that most people do far better if they try to find ways to make their everyday enjoyable activities slightly more active than if they try to implement an entirely new workout regime. Besides, if a person is already a bit overweight, it can be hard to have the confidence to go to the gym or the pool, and running with extra weight can be incredibly bad for the joints and the back. Learning ways to use the Wii (or any other game, like DDR for example) that burn more calories and build more muscle? It's a good thing.

 

[Felon]

I love that standing up, walking four steps and swinging your arm is being touted as "excercise". No wonder the stereotypical gamer looks like he does.

My recommendation, if you're looking for exercise, would be to throw the Wii in the trash.

What are you mouthing off about exactly? Vigorously stepping and swinging yoru limbs is pretty much a working definition for "aerobics", and a lot of folks have lost weight that way.

 

[Felon]

I'm beginning to have second thoughts about that as my setup is becoming more and more expensive.

Still, I do have a rather nice 22" monitor, and if I bought a television I would have to start paying GEZ fees for it - and not paying them has become a point of pride with me after all the letters from that particular institution (any German will know what I mean...).

So GEZ is like some kind of tax for owning a TV or something? Does the government own the airwaves like in the U.K?

 

[Protagonist]

So GEZ is like some kind of tax for owning a TV or something?

or a radio, a computer, a cell phone with internet access... (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gebühreneinzugszentrale)


But quite a lot of people don't pay GEZ despite owning a TV or radio. Understandably so, as it is rather expensive and not everyone actually uses the services provided by public broadcasting.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

or a radio, a computer, a cell phone with internet access... (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gebühreneinzugszentrale)


But quite a lot of people don't pay GEZ despite owning a TV or radio. Understandably so, as it is rather expensive and not everyone actually uses the services provided by public broadcasting.

And once you are "in the system" so to speak (for example, when you conscientiously pay fees for your radio), they will send you threatening letters every few months reminding you that you have to register and pay for a television as well. And they include self-addressed envelopes with the letters, but these letters are not self-stamped.

 

[Felon]

So, to those who have the Wii Fit, have you figured out the trick to successfully dodging in the boxing game? There are no real instructions on what to do, and just swinging the controller in the designated direction doesn't seem to cut it.

 

[Bront]

I love that standing up, walking four steps and swinging your arm is being touted as "excercise". No wonder the stereotypical gamer looks like he does.

My recommendation, if you're looking for exercise, would be to throw the Wii in the trash.

I said a lot of movement, not exercise

I regularly did exercise on a elliptical till we had to store it away because of the little one.

 

[JediSoth]

I love that standing up, walking four steps and swinging your arm is being touted as "excercise". No wonder the stereotypical gamer looks like he does.

My recommendation, if you're looking for exercise, would be to throw the Wii in the trash.

It's still more movement than one normally gets from video games. Besides, I've always heard that if you're horribly out-of-shape and just starting to try to get physically active again, it's best to start easy and slow rather than jump in with both feet and over-exert yourself.

I've found that both proper diet and proper exercise often require lifestyle changes and those don't take hold over night for most people. Hell, I've been trying to do both for two years now and, while some changes are taking root, I'm no where near where I need to be. Old habits die hard.