There are two types of crunches that exercise different sections of your abdominal muscle. Basic crunches resemble conventional situps in many ways, and these exercise your upper abdominal muscle. Reverse crunches, in which you raise your hips and legs while keeping your back against the floor, work your lower abdominal muscle. Other exercises which have a similar effect on your abdominal muscles may also be substituted for crunches, and some Wii Fit games contain routines which do just this.
Equipment
The Nintendo Wii has many fitness-oriented add-ons which work together to provide physical fitness benefits. The Wii Fit, which uses a balance board in conjunction with the wireless controllers, offers several types of targeted workouts as well as full body exercises. Additional games make use of belts, leg bands, cardio monitors and resistance bands to further enhance the capabilities of the Wii Fit balance mat, and the ab crunch is just one of many targeted exercises made possible with this equipment.
Games
Many fitness-oriented Wii games contain routines designed specifically to work your abs. The 2009 title "EA Sports Active: More Workouts" is one example of these. Ab crunches are among the many workout techniques through which the game guides you, placing an avatar on the screen and requiring you to do crunches in time with your avatar. The routine utilizes the EA Sports Active leg band, the Wii Fit balance board and the wireless controllers to keep track of your body's position.
Entertainment
Wii Fit has the potential to make exercises, such as ab crunches, fun and entertaining, thereby encouraging you to do them. If you're dragging your feet on exercising because of the cost or inconvenience of working out at a gym or from boredom with the repetitive nature of the exercises. Wii Fit may help. There is no additional cost beyond the initial purchase of your Wii fitness games, and you may find your interactions with the game far more fun and engaging than you find lying on a floor mat and exercising alone. The Wii Fit also tracks your progress for you automatically, allowing you to see your own rate of improvement over time.
Considerations
In reviewing the fitness potential of the Wii-Fit for GamePeople, Sinan Kubba noted one area in which fitness-oriented games may fail to appeal to traditional gamers. While the potential for fitness, weight loss and improved health are all apparent, the potential to keep gamers interested in their progress may be lacking. In conventional games, the player is kept engaged by facing more difficult challenges as she progresses through new levels and learns new skills. In many Wii Fit games, the only possible variation in game play is in the length of time the player spends on each routine. For gamers who are used to new challenges and levels, the novelty of the Wii Fit may easily wear off, leaving them unmotivated to continue a regular fitness routine.
References
- CNET Reviews: EA Sports Active More Workouts Review
- The Washington Post: Wii Fit, Tipping the Scales on Exercise; Mike Musgrove; May 25, 2008
- Engadget: Man's Wii Fit Experiment Comes to an End, 15 Pounds Shed; Donald Melanson; June 23, 2008
- GamePeople: Wii-Fit Wii Review; Sinan Kubba; Oct. 23, 2009
- That's Fit: How I Got My High School Body Back: Wii Fit; Jackie Burns; March 9, 2009
- Flat-Stomach-Exercises.com: How to Perform Effective Ab Crunches
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