Monday, June 9, 2008
My second day with Wii Fit was confusing. I focused on exercises that I enjoyed doing yesterday and ones that I could actually feel working. Repeating those exercises unlocks the ability to increase the number of reps, which makes for a nice incentive. I also unlocked a few new yoga poses and strength training exercises, but I was a bit disappointed in their quality. I’m sure the exercises themselves are fine, but Wii Fit does not do a very good job of explaining what you should be doing. For example, when doing single leg lifts, the trainer tells you to move slowly and concentrate on your abdominal muscles, yet her character animates much faster than her directions tell you to move. When doing squats, the trainer tells you to make sure not to extend your knees beyond your toes, yet she does just that. I’m also fairly certain that keeping your knees in line with your toes during a squat is physically impossible. Which brings me to my next issue: I simply don’t have the balance to do some of these yoga poses. I’ve repeatedly lost my balance and fallen off the board, but Wii Fit doesn’t take that into account and continues with the exercise before you have a chance to regain your footing. I suppose I’ll get better with practice, but I think a more thorough explanation would be nice.
It also seems like I’ve already lost 2.9lbs, although I imagine that’s not really the case. While I did pay more attention to what I ate today, Wii Fit claims that on any given day, your weight will fluctuate by as much as 2lbs. The time of day that you weight yourself also matters. Yesterday, I weighed myself right after a big lunch. Today, I did the Wii Fit exercises at 6:00PM, before eating dinner and going for my run. I’ll have to work on weighing myself and using Wii Fit at the same time every day.
Wii Fit Statistics (Day 2)
Current Goal: Lose 3lbs in 2 weeks
Weight: 190.9lbs (-2.9lbs)
BMI: 28.94
Wii Fit Age: 26
Nike+ Statistics (Run 25)
Current Goal: Run 14 times in 4 weeks
Distance: 2.15mi
Time: 27:19
Pace: 12:42min/mi
Calories: 308
Total Distance: 48.62mi
Average Pace: 12:37min/mi
Notes
I’m following the ‘Couch to 5K’ running plan available from Robert Ullrey at Podcasts for Running. It’s a series of weekly podcasts designed for beginners that gets progressively more difficult without burning you out. Each podcast is set to music, and Robert chimes in occasionally to tell you when to speed up and slow down. Week 1 consists of a 5-minute warm-up and cool-down in addition to 8 one-minute runs with 90-second recoveries in between.
