Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Are Wii Fit and Xbox Kinect effective forms of exercise?

By Russell Howe


Unless you've been living under a rock, you will have seen or heard about Nintendo Wii Fit, the keep fit games console owned by millions of us worldwide. Microsoft and Sony recently also jumped into the fitness market with the Xbox Kinect and Playstation Move, too. But today we answer the number one question from fitness enthusiasts and exercise lovers worldwide...

How good are tools such as Wii Fit, Playstation Move and Xbox Kinect for weight loss and toning up when they are compared to going to the gym?

Being a Personal Trainer, it would probably be acceptable of me to dismiss these products as a fad. However, that is not what I am going to do. While many trainers would be happy to just advise you to use a real gym, we can undoubtedly see that Nintendo Wii Fit, for example, has huge potential. Here are a few reasons why we believe this software actually has a massive future.

* If you lack the self confidence to join a public gym you can get good results at home with this.

* Convenience is important in order to keep up with your fitness regime. This software literally allows a workout any time.

* A games console costs less than a home gym or a gym membership, and has other uses such as keeping the kids entertained.

* The technology is awesome. And it gets better each year.

While many insecure fitness instructors and personal trainers would scoff at the prospect of getting a good workout from a computer game, they often really simply fear it as a threat to their own profession. After all, who needs to go to the gym when you can do it at home, right? The truth is, as a trainer myself, you should be very optimistic about the development of this kind of keep fit software. It will only enhance gym,s helping countless potential members build up the confidence to finally take out that membership and push on to the next level of fitness.

Make no mistake about it. If you have never really been one for working out or trying to lose weight in the past, then a Wii fit, Xbox Kinect or Playstation Move will provide you with an EXCELLENT starting block. And the technology is moving forward all the time. As a trainer I cannot wait to see where this leads in the next five to ten years.

But is it as effective as physically going to a gym? At the moment the technology is great (and always improving) at providing great body weight workouts, cardio sessions and stretching but is understandably somewhat lacking when it comes to resistance training. Steps have been taken already to move in this direction however (such as the inclusion of resistance bands with EA Sports Active 2, for example). As things stand right now, the gym wins hands down when it comes to weights.

As a trainer I firmly believe that within the next five years we will have the ability to perform a full weights workout via our Wii, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 console at home. The technology is moving so nicely along that this warrants taking a look at what is already available and sticking with it to see how far it is taken.

If you are considering buying a Wii Fit, Xbox Kinect or Playstation Move for keep fit purposes I fully recommend you do so. They are already sound and have proven results but the most exciting aspect is that they get better with every single month which passes by.




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