FitSugar -- Healthy, happy you.

Jillian Michaels Moves You With Wii Fit

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:00:00 -0700

I'm a huge fan of celebrity trainer, Jillian Michaels; she is so hardcore. Not only does she push her clients physically, she pushes them emotionally as well. And they're stronger because of it. To have one hour with her, I'd give my perfectly broken-in pair of sneaks and my favorite wicking sports bra. Since that's probably not going to happen, I guess I will settle for the next best thing – her videogame workout.

Jillian is teaming up with the Wii Fit to bring you Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009. The workout utilizes the motion-based Wii system and the Balance Board to combine play with fitness. Chances are high that the game is probably more fitness than play. The game is expected to release just in time for the holidays next year. She's incredibly excited about it since she knows that gaming and technology are bigger than big now, and it's a great way to combat childhood obesity before it becomes adult obesity. I cannot wait to get my hands on this and get my booty kicked.

Source

Wii Counts For Something, Just Not Everything

FitSugar — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:00:00 -0800

You're lucky if you've been getting some good use out of your brand new Nintendo Wii that Santa left under the tree, but don't think that hours of bowling and playing tennis virtually will replace real time spent at the gym.

A new study has found that those who play sports video games on the Wii burn more calories than they would playing regular video games, but not as many as if they played the actual sports. So enjoy that Wii, but be sure to make some time for some good old fashion exercise.

Source

Jessica Alba Goes Wii

FitSugar — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:30:00 -0700

Jessica Alba has one of the most wanted bodies in Hollywood. Jessica's been reported to be strict on portion control, water consumption and cardio but it seems she may have added another aspect to her get fit routine: The Wii.

Here's more:

"I just got the Wii and that's fun. I play all of the Wii Sports games, like bowling, tennis, and baseball. That's a lot of fun."

"I think the physicality of the Wii gets people off the couch. Sometimes you can just sit there playing a video game for hours and never move and you're brain is just zapped from playing the game. With the Wii, you're up on your feet and moving around. The physical aspect of it is great, especially for kids. They actually call it the Wii Diet, since active players can burn calories!

Hey, whatever works. Obesity is ridiculous with kids today in our country. Anything that helps is great. You know, West Virginia is using Dance Dance Revolution in all schools as part of P.E. I know a lot of public school programs don't even have P.E. these days. That's crazy. It wasn't even an option when I was a kid. What the heck! I remember climbing up the rope, doing the mile run and all of that stuff."

Want to get fit with your own Wii workout? Then Check out the Balance Board for Wii.

Source

Get Wii Fit with the Balance Board

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 04:00:00 -0700

Nintendo is out to prove that video games and fitness are not mutually exclusive. They recently unveiled the Balance Board, a Wii video game accessory for their soon to be released Wii Fit games. I have to say geeksugar and I are super excited about this new development.

The Balance Board looks somewhat like a scale but it is really a gaming controller. When you stand on the board it senses your motions so you can interact with the video game playing on your TV. The range of games will satisfy fitness enthusiasts of all kinds with Wii Fit games like yoga and soccer, as well as hula hooping and something close to Dance Dance Revolution. It looks like many of the games will activate and work your core.

The balance board will also take measurements of your body and plot your fitness level over time. If you are feeling extra competitive you can compare your progress with other members of your household. Sometimes a little friendly competition is in order.

Interested in seeing the Balance Board in action? Then

Wii-itis IS The New Nintendinitis

FitSugar — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:00:00 -0700

Sports injuries are a serious bummer, not only do they disrupt well planned training schedules, they are also painful. As luck would have it, "sports" injuries sustained during long sessions of Wii sports video games are painful as well.

A recent letter in "The New England Journal of Medicine details the first documented case of acute “Wiiitis” caused by extended play on Wii tennis. Yep, hours on the virtual court can lead to over use injuries, just like in reality. Well not quite...the Wii games can captivate a player for hours and "unlike in the real sports, physical strength and endurance are not limiting factors," according to the diagnosing physician. I would add to that list weather conditions (sun?) and other players waiting to get some court time can force a game wisely to end.

According to geeksugar, this is not the first Wii related injury. Seems there were some strap malfunctions in some early models. It is also interesting to note, "Nintendinitis" (love the play on words here) became part of the medical vernacular in the 1990s when a doctor used the word to characterize thumb pain brought on by five hours of uninterrupted Nintendo play, by a 35 year female patient.

Once again, it seems like the moral of the tale is one of moderation. So if Wii is your only form of exercise (please say it ain't so, especially with this gorgeous weather) you should treat it like any other form of exercise and warm up! Or at least take some Gatorade breaks to "replenish" your athletic self.

Source

Wii and Weight Loss - It's Official

FitSugar — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 02:00:00 -0800

Well, the research is in. Kids who regularly play Wii games burn up a significantly larger amount of calories than kids who play other game consoles, or spend their time passively watching TV.

Not really surprising news for anyone who has ever played Wii Sports. After a night of Wii bowling, the next day my arm was really sore and I knew that I had worked it!!!

Professor Tim Cable headed the study at Liverpool John Moores University, where they measured the impact of playing Wii versus playing a traditional non-motion-controlled console on 5 girls and 7 boys, between the ages of 13 and 15 years.

15 minutes of gaming using a traditional controller increased the subject’s energy expenditure above resting values by an average of 60%. With a Wii controller this was increased to a whopping 156%.

Heart rates also increased to 130 beats per minute while playing Wii, compared with 85 beats per minute with a traditional console.

Most kids who are serious gamers, average about 12.2 hours of playing video games a week. At 150 calories an hour, in a week they'll burn 1,830 using the Wii, which works out to be 40% more than your average video game.

Wow that's great news, but too bad it's next to impossible to get your hands on a Wii right now.

Wii Weights - Step Up Your Game

FitSugar — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 03:30:00 -0800

OK, so as a lover of anything promoting exercise, I'm all for the Wii. Using it as your only form of exercise, that I'm not so sure about.

If you are looking to maximize your Wii workout you should check out these Wii Weights. Talk about feeling the burn while bowling, these Wii weights wrap around your wrists to make those backhand swings really count on the tennis court.

Although these weights are just a prototype, adding weights to your Wii time is a great idea, especially if the game is your only form of exercise. If you're really serious about it, you can go out and get this weighted vest or some wrist or ankle weights. You'll be building muscle in no time.

Serena vs. Conan - Wii Tennis

FitSugar — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 03:00:00 -0800

We all know there's no way Conan could ever compete against Serena in a real tennis match. Taking his clothes off sure won't help, but maybe there's some mojo in those black socks of his. Check out their game of Wii tennis. It looks like a lot of fun and we know that Wii Sports does the body good.

Wii - It Does the Body Good

FitSugar — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 08:30:00 -0800

Wii seems like it might be the answer to America’s weight issue. The video game gets you moving and moving your body helps you lose weight.

One Wii user conducted his own 6 week weight loss experiment with games from the Wii Sports package. Playing the video games everyday for 30 minutes, he charted his weight, body fat content and resting heart rate. He changed nothing else about his daily life – he didn’t eat less. In fact it was during the holidays and it sounds like he enjoyed all his holiday meals. He lost 9 pounds and 2 percent body fat. Not bad for only playing video games.

Check out this website to see more details, videos and photos. My favorite photo is his Rocky moment, standing on the Philadelphia Art Museum steps in old school gray sweats.

It was hard to find a Wii for around the holidays, but you can order one from LowestDeal.com.

Gifts That Move You

FitSugar — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:45:00 -0800

If you're like me you're right in the middle of figuring out gifts for the long list of people you love (or don't totally love, but still are obligated to buy for). I hate buying people gifts that I know are going to promote them being sedentary. It is hard when it comes to games but there are some games that really get you moving.

Wii. We love the Wii ($732 was the best I could find) because people are seriouly getting moving playing this video game -- Not just adults but kids as well. Check out geeksugar to see a very cute kid playing Wii. Buy it on Amazon.com.

Cranium. There are so many Craniums out there. I love them all but for getting moving, I like Pop 5. Pop 5 ($34.9 is one of the newest additions to the Cranium family fun and you have the option to act out every play. Get Pop 5 on AreYouGame.com. For kids, go with Hullabaloo ($19.9 which is sure to get the kids in your life moving. Get Hullabaloo on AreYouGame.com.

Twister. Twister (12.99) is a tried and true game that gets anyone moving. If you don't sweat while playing Twister, then you're doing it wrong. Buy it on eToys.com. Now Twister has Twister Moves (19.99), which is a way to get kids moving to the music. Buy it on eToys.com.

Dance, Dance Revolution for Playstation 2 (though they have it for xBox as well). DDR ($29.95), as the serious players call it, is a game that can be a serious cardio workout and it might even teach you how to dance! Buy it at Toys R us. For the kiddies, try Dance Dance Revolution with Stawberry Shortcake ($29.99). Buy it at Toys R Us.

Wii, The First Fit Video Game?

FitSugar — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 03:30:00 -0800

I am so excited to welcome geek to the Sugar team! And while, she and I may not always see eye to eye on the benefit of video games, the Nintendo's Wii ($250) is one video game that I actually think is totally great too.

Wii is quite possibly one of the first "Fit approved" video games because instead of sitting sedentary on your couch eating chips, Wii players actually get up and move... a lot.

Check out the video that geek found showing one girl burning some serious calories while playing Wii.

And for more info on the Wii, go here.