Last summer we shared a story with you about a University of Pennsylvania study showing that "parenthood demonstrably reduces physical activity." (But, hey, you save on gym memberships!). Now the Wii Fit aims to make at-home exercise easy and accessible for families.
Wii Fit ($90) is an added component to the Wii system ($250) and includes a balance board, which resembles a short aerobic step, as well as a host of "games" including aerobics, dance, hula-hooping, yoga, balance activities, running, etc.
This video will give you a better idea of how the Wii Fit works and how you can use it (we also thought this parody video made some good points):
New York Times writer Seth Schiesel asked four people to give the Wii Fit a trial and, to everyone's surprise, their reviews were largely favorable. We were mostly interested in the feedback from Shira Weiss a thirtysomething, work-from-home mom in New Jersey. Once a gym rat, her fitness routine has become a little less, um, structured: “Let me put it this way: I clean with vigor." Ms. Weiss sampled several Fit games and says she enjoyed it. She particularly liked how small the balance board was as compared to a treadmill or other gym equipment.
You can read the full Times article here. The Wii fit is already a huge success in Japan and the UK and will be hitting U.S. stores May 19th.
What do you think? Do you think the Wii Fit fits your family's lifestyle or should people (including kids) just get out and exercise in the real world like we always have (or have tried to)?
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
The parody says it all!
view Melissa Reed's profile
As someone who works out 4-5 times a week and loves the sunshine, I'm totally getting one of these. Anything to make a workout more interesting and fun.
view jenniejen's profile
We have a Wii and I plan to buy Wii Fit. Our family has a membership to the YMCA, but my two year old son really has issues with the childcare (he got hurt there once and won't even go near it now). So although I would love to go swim or take a class, I can't because of childcare. I plan to use wii fit at home during my son's naps. It might not be perfect, but it seems more fun than any of the other workout tapes I've seen. And since we already have a wii, buying wii fit is less expensive (and take up less space) than buying a treadmill.
view sarahez's profile
Oh, I'm totally getting this. Anything to get my fat butt up and moving, and this sounds like a lot of fun!
view Smellyann's profile
I guess an active video game is better than a normal one, but the kids (and adults) are still spending time in front of a glowing box. Why not, you know, take a walk, visit the playground, find a family-friendly fitness class, etc?
view eeka's profile
I don't see how this is all that different from working out to an exercise video. It seems way more interactive then a plain exercise video but I've read a lot of bad comments from people that have never tried one. It seems like because it's a video game attachment, that means it isn't nearly as good.
view rierei's profile
Check out this site- they have a whole expose on video games and fitness this month and its for parents: http://www.whattheyplay.com/features/fitness-center/
view TracyJ's profile