"Forbes" magazine reports that as of 2009, as many as 1.5 million U.S. homes had a Wii Fit and that number only continues to grow. The Wii Fit exploded onto the scene in May 2008, promising to make exercise more exciting and fulfilling by adding the ability to digitally track your progress with the game. If you've recently purchased a Wii Fit and have yet to use it, take it out of its box and begin working out with your Wii for a new-age way to work out at home.
Your Profile
Before you can begin playing your Wii Fit, you must first create your Wii Fit profile. Your profile consists of your weight, BMI, your fitness age and your personal goals. The makers of Wii Fit came under fire in 2009 when users were complaining that the game labeled them as overweight or obese, reports "Business Week," but since the Wii Fit only calculates your BMI through your true weight and height, it hasn't seemed to dampen enthusiasts' spirits. You'll then undergo a balance test and enter your goals, like "lose 5 lbs." or "maintain weight," so the Wii Fit can track your progress over time.
Categories and Games
Once your profile is finished, you're ready to start playing some of the games. On the Wii Fit interface, you'll see four categories: strength training, aerobics, yoga and balance. At first, you'll notice that each category only has two or three games. As you play various games and succeed in repetitions and time played, you'll begin to unlock new games that you can play in each category. You can also unlock challenges that allow you to push yourself in order to garner points that can be redeemed for virtual gear such as medals.
Tracking
The Wii Fit is unique in that it's able to log your time using the product, weigh you and tell you how you're doing. This can be highly motivational, since you can see a digital representation of weight loss and goal achievement via a graph. If you want to check your progress at any time, surf to the Wii Fit Channel from your Wii Menu and choose your profile, notes the official Nintendo website for the Wii Fit. There, you can view your goals, progress in weight loss and how much Wii Fit time you've logged since you started using the unit.
Results
Controversy has surrounded the Wii Fit since its release. Some experts, including Robert Prunetti, CEO of Performance Health Technologies, warns that the games are not personalized enough to help rehabilitation patients, but applauds the effort for helping sedentary individuals become acquainted with exercise, according to CNN.com. While the Wii Fit simply isn't intense enough to give you a ripped athlete's body, it can help motivate you to get moving and can be a valuable addition to your other exercise efforts.
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