Today I’m doing a review on Wii Fit vs. My Fitness Coach (Wii platform) based on how I feel about them, so please keep in mind that this is just my opinion and I’m okay in the fitness department to begin with. I’m not stick thin, just nicely curvy; however like all things in life, we want better, don’t we? :)
My Goal: To flatten those baby fat around my stomach, trim my thighs and achieve better upper body strength (I could only do 2 full push-ups, and around 10 modified push ups - which is knees on the floor), improve stamina.
OK, I’ll begin with Wii Fit, which is the one I started out with.
Wii Fit
The game Wii Fit comes with the purchase of a balance board (pictured below) and is probably the first game everybody plays. It is light, fun, casual but makes you take your health seriously enough by taking note of your progress.
You start off by making a new profile (aptly named Mii) in the main menu, then upon entering the game, add your Mii into Wii Fit’s profile. It will then proceed to measure how balanced you are (by showing you center point) and whether you lean on your left or right leg more. After, it will show you your BMI (Body Mass Index) and whether you’re Underweight, Normal, Overweight or Obese. Some people have found that the Wii Balance Board is not an accurate weight measuring tool. I have on more than one occasion repeat my tests and found out - 5 minutes apart - my body has dropped/increased 2 lbs!! Weird…
Then there are people (Caucasians, mostly) with lots of muscles and therefore register as Overweight. Remember, this is designed by the Japanese.
It will then give you 2 tests, ranging from Balance tests to Agility tests. From there, it will give you a Wii Fit Age. When I first played it, I got 40+. O.o” Now I’m hovering between 24-28.
Wii Fit consists of categories like Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics and Balance. Under these categories, there are mini-games for you to play. For example, in Yoga, you get basic poses like Warrior, Sun Salutation, Cobra, Tree and so on.
You rack up “points” by racking up minutes - and as time goes by you’ll unlock more poses from different categories. The time to wait in between mini-games to me, is a little too long. As time goes by, you’ll find your trainer’s words of encouragement and advices repetitive, so you get a little less workout and more button clicking. The countdown and having to register your weight in whenever you access a mini-game is tiring too. The weight register takes about 3 seconds (if you stand still you’ll get about 2 seconds), then the countdown another 3 seconds. Add these up, plus the neverending repetitive trainer’s advices before and after workout, you spend an average of 2 minutes on one single game. Too long, if you ask me.
Every time you start Wii Fit, you can take a Body Test that measures the above mentioned weight and tests, and then it will keep a log for you to view how far you’ve come.
I have been playing Wii Fit for around 2 to 3 months and at first, I really liked it. It was my first exposure to Yoga (other than a trial class) and here, I learned the most common yoga poses and can work up a sweat in Strength Training and Aerobics. I took around half an hour to get sweaty though, and while that’s gentle on your body, it’s hardly taxing for fitness buffs.
After a while I began to get annoyed and impatient at the long loading time between mini-games, but I kept at it since it was the only thing that kept me active and health-conscious. You’ll be surprised at how sensitive the balance board is! For example, in yoga poses, it will measure how still you stand in that pose and rate you accordingly (so far, I’ve never been able to get 100 at Tree pose… I fidget and lose my balance quickly) which defeats the purpose of yoga, because they are supposed to be relaxing, not for you to worry about standing really still. To look on the bright side, you will learn to be still if you fidget a lot in real life.
Pros: Great introduction to beginners, sweat-inducing, light and fun. Wii Balance Board really sensitive and improve one’s balancing skills.
Cons: Long loading time, talkative and repetitive trainers, inaccurate body measurement, and not enough games.
My Fitness Coach (Wii Platform)
What a difference this is! While Wii Fit takes a slow and gentle approach, My Fitness Coach (I shall refer this from now on as MFC) is a grueling boot camp to the casual exerciser. I don’t want to scare anyone off though, I think this game is heaven sent! I love, love, love this!
Interestingly, this game does not require a Balance Board, so you save some cash on that front.
To start things off, you create a profile (what else?) and unlike the cutesy Mii in Wii Fit, you don’t have a visual representative of yourself, the only “person” on screen is Maya, your coach. I was surprised at how thorough Maya is. She will ask for your weight, your resting pulse, then ask you to do 2 minutes of jumping jacks and then measure your pulse. After, she will ask you to do as many of these as you can manage: lunges, push-ups, crunches. You then enter these numbers into the screen. She will then ask you to measure your biceps, chest, waist, hips and thighs and enter these numbers also. All these rely on the honor system.
Comprehensive, right? I was shocked, myself… and impressed. :) Based on her calculations, I needed to work on my upper body strength, which is true. I could hardly lift myself up in push ups. :( It is truly customizable, based on YOU. If you’re the type of person who needs someone to watch your progress, encourage you and basically need a trainer by your side, this game is perfect for you.
You will then be given a schedule, and while it’s of course up to you when you want to exercise, consistency is always key - as well as discipline. I really hate those people who moans about wanting to lose weight but don’t do anything about it (or is lazy, giving excuses like no time, tired, etc) - if they expect sympathy from me, they won’t get it. But usually I keep my mouth shut. :\ That said, my sympathy is for those who work their butt off but still wouldn’t get results, even with dieting.
There are several categories to suit your taste buds in MFC - Yoga, Cardio, Upper Body, Lower Body, Core Body, Flexibility and… oh gosh I forgot about the other one. I think it was Abs?
You can choose how long you want to work on each of these categories.
Then, tell her your music preference (a kinda wide range) and select from the list some exercise tools you have.
Now, the grueling part. One thing to note is - in every category except Yoga, you’ll get some warm-ups that consists of jumping around, loosing up your muscles before you get to the actual purpose of that workout - be it cardio, upper body strength or… say, flexibility. They tend to mix around. With around 500 different exercises, no two exercises are the same, unlike an exercise DVD.
You also get to choose different environments on screen, and can unlock more further. Another thing you can unlock is music.
On the screen, you’ll get how much time left, the name of the workout, and also a button for Tutorial if you’re unfamiliar with the new routine. Maya has a pleasant voice, not overly chipper and doesn’t sound that repetitive. She will voice over what you need to do, as well as giving you encouragements. In the background, music will keep changing from their playlist.
Beginner Yoga practitioners will find the Yoga workouts more than challenging. I was surprised to find something like, “Now let’s do Sun Salutation I. To begin, inhale and sweep your arms from Mountain Pose and exhale down to Forward Bend, then step your feet back into Down Dog. Lower yourself into Crocodile, then inhale into Cobra. Exhale into Plank and back into Down Dog, then lower yourself back into Crocodile, and inhale into Cobra. Exhale to Plank and back into Down Dog, bring your feet forward into Forward Bend. Hold, then circle sweep up your arms into Mountain Pose.”
Now, I hear some of you exclaim, “Say WHAT?!”
I know. And to worsen the situation, Maya doesn’t tell you when to change your pose when you have your chin buried deep into your thighs in Forward Bend. One will, out of curiosity, look up every few seconds to peep at Maya to check if she’d changed. I have mixed feelings about this - on one hand, when Maya doesn’t tell you what to do every other moment, you’ll be lost and wondering what she’s doing now. On the other, it’s quiet, save for the soothing yoga music playing in the background. It’s wonderful. And I don’t want her to sound annoying and repetitive. So my advice is… start with Wii Fit or other basic yoga classes, then once you’re familiar with the terms and can remember pose sequences, try MFC’s Yoga.
Cardio is a fatique-inducing, make-your-heart-wanna-pop-out, extensive exercise that leaves you panting and holding your sides (or flop down on the floor). The others like Upper Body, Lower Body, Core Body and Flexibility aren’t so bad, but sweat inducing nonetheless.
Towards the end of a workout, Maya will ask you how are you doing, and you can choose from “No Sweat!”, “I’m working hard” and “I couldn’t keep up”. If you choose the first, she’ll adjust it to be more difficult for you in the future. If you choose the second, she won’t change anything. And if you choose the last one, she’ll go a little easier on you next time.
My gripe: the buttons on these choices are too damn tiny! I clicked the wrong thing the first time!
Finally, after a week (or several workouts later), she’ll do another check up on you and see how much you’ve improved, then adjust accordingly.
I think I’d already gushed how much I love this game! :) It’s dynamic, customizable, and really personal. Maya drives you hard. On Day 1, 2 and 3… my calves hurt so bad, they threatened to denounce me and walk off my body when I first woke up and put my feet to the floor! Owww…. Every muscle ached. It’s now Day 4 (I think) and I feel lighter… have slightly more energy, but muscles are still heavy. Over time, I’ll build stamina and strength.
Pros: Dynamic, Customizable, Personal, Challenging, Maya is pleasant, you can see what routine is coming up next - all around like having your own personal trainer. Does not need Wii Balance Board.
Cons:: Too advanced for some beginners. No way to indicate when Maya has changed pose and buttons too small for clicking. Needs a large space to play. Inputting data is a pain because there are only Up and Down button to get to the number you need to input. She doesn’t ask how you’re doing midway - the most intense part of the routine, only at the end… but good news is, the next time you play the same category, you’ll find it easier.
Which one would I pick?
My Fitness Coach, hands down! :D I need the variety and I need someone to tell me what to do. Every time I load this game, I have no idea what Maya will make me do - but I do know that at the end of it, I’ll suffer but reap the benefits in the long run.
