The DDR Workout - It's Official 473
webster1 writes with a followup to a recent Ask Slashdot question. "An AP news story just released says that Dance Dance Revolution is becoming the weight-loss routine of choice for many young gamers. One quote says '"At first I was playing it for fun, but when you see results you're like, Yeah!" said Matt Keene, a 19-year-old from Charleston, South Carolina, who used to weigh more than 350 pounds and wear pants with a 48-inch waist.' It's for grown-ups too. Even Jason Enos, product manager at Konami Digital Entertainment-America, which distributes the game in the U.S., has lost 30 pounds playing the game. There's even a site for DDR wieght loss fans: www.getupmove.com - My wife and I have been playing for months now with this goal in mind, though we aren't yet seeing these results." (A post from a few months ago talks about getupmove and gives some calorie-burn specifics.)
Re:Hmmm... (Score:4, Insightful)
Having said that, my reaction to Dance Dance Revolution remains "oh, dear God, that's disturbing".
Re:Hmmm... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Man, too bad (Score:4, Insightful)
The whole point is to become coordinated. Were you a really good typist when you were born? Did you know how to type at all? How'd you type out that sentence? Most geeks I know are better than average gamers, and faster than average at typing. What improved those skills? OMG....WHAT?.... PRACTICE?
What lead to maintaining that practice? OMG..... WHAT?.... COMBINING IT WITH STUFF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN?!?!?
Don't be down on yourself.
Excercise != Weight Loss (Score:5, Insightful)
The reason this works for some and not for others may well be the fact that people naturally increase their energy input (eat more) when their energy output (exercise) increases.
But regardless of if you loose weight or not, any activity causing your pulse to rise will make you more fit. Which is a good thing.
Re:Repetitive Stress? (Score:1, Insightful)
others way to loose weight (Score:3, Insightful)
For my own person (and it engage only me) I see some bad habits (that I begin to take):
- not eating at regular schedule and eating all day long
- piece are so huge!!
- go to work by car ; it is known that walking
every day (1/4 jour or half an hour) is very
healthy.
Link to that I read an article about a doctor that
sold a slim method that worked: instructions specified just 2 things:
- take the pil after the dinner, at around 8PM,
- don't eat anything after
nothing more.
After a period of time, 2 facts have been revealed:
- treatment was working
- the doctor was prosecuted, because he was selling a placebo.
Indeed the doctor played on the fact that people was still eating after the dinner during all the evening.... quite smart.
my 2 cents
Re:Man, too bad (Score:5, Insightful)
I too thought that at first, but it turns out the real skill you learn from DDR is how to enjoy looking silly in public. Even if you never get the coordination, being able to set aside your natural nerdly inhibitions (without the aid of alcohol) is always a good skill to have...
Re:Yes...it does work (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally, I think that DDR is a very good thing for the industry.
-it broadens the gamer demographic (my aunt thought the ps2 was the devils work, now shes a ddr junky).
-it served as a shot-in-the-arm to the arcades. Don't know if it will save them, but hasn't hurt nontheless.
-finally, the media writes a story about a game that hasn't inspired someone to go on a shooting rampage!
Re:Stop drinking sugar! (Score:2, Insightful)
Actually 4.18 Joules = 1 calorie. 1000 calories = 1 Calorie (or kilocalorie), so you need to consume 1000 times as less kilojoules.
Re:NEWS FLASH!! (Score:5, Insightful)
The first rule is "whatever you do, it must be fun".
The second rule is "whatever you do, it must be fun".
Anything else is secondary. Here some kids have found a fun and effective way to exercise and it'd be almost criminal to bring them down by pointing out trivial matters like associated costs.
Re:Wow (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Wow (Score:1, Insightful)
My requirements, though, would be:
+ PC-based. I don't own a gaming console and I don't want to own one.
+ High quality dancepad that is both durable and comfortable for my very large size (I'm 6'5 and 450lbs).
+ A variety of gameplay styles, options and music. All the music I've heard on DDR stuff online is terrible. It's like hip hop techno garbage that you'd hear in your local 18+ night club.
It seems ridiculous to spend $100 or $200 on a gaming console, then another $100 to $300 for the dancepad then another $50 or $100 for the game. I'd rather buy a decent dancepad and just plug it into my PC.
Don't be afraid of looking silly! (Score:5, Insightful)
But if you get rid of that fear and STOP being afraid of looking silly in public, you might just have a friendly laugh with the gorgeous girl and say something like "Now, that was surely the Guiness top ten of the worst small-talk ever... speaking of Guiness, can I get you something to drink?", and the problem will be gone. You would no longer look silly, because you HAVE LEARNED HOW TO ENJOY IT!
The down-side (Score:1, Insightful)
Let me be blunt about this. DDR is an arcade game, designed to be played in arcades, which are large, inherantly noisy places that you spend a few hours in, of your own choice. It is not a game to be played in the home. Sure, you can buy dancemats for the home, but the design and marketing of these basically seems to imply they're aimed at pre-teen girls, for occasional use. When played in the home by an overweight gamer in his mid-teens or older, this machine is loud, disruptive and, when used for extended periods, downright antisocial.
One of my housemates has taken up DDR as a means of weight-loss. He has all the kit... a custom-built arcade-style mat, the expensive sound-system etc. This basically results in several hours play each day. During this period, the noise is unspeakable (DDR music really doesn't improve with repetition) and even if you were stone deaf, the fact that the entire house is shaken apart gets annoying fast. Since he took it up, we've had a serious drop in quality of life, disrupted sleep patterns and complaining neighbours. In fact, it's getting to the stage where I'm hoping the neighbours will call the police, as this might be the only way we'll ever get any peace.
In short, while DDR may be a means of dealing with one of the classic gamer stereotypes (obesity), it just seems to exacerbate some of the others (complete lack of consideration for others being the most obvious).
Re:Don't be afraid of looking silly! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:StepMania (Score:3, Insightful)
There's lots of original non-official ddr content, and those of us who own pretty much every version of DDR including imports would like to be able to play those songs in any format we choose, THANK you very much. Konami has enough of my money.
Re:NEWS FLASH!! (Score:3, Insightful)
The chief drawback fans cite is that DDR can be addictive, and therefore expensive. In the arcade, it costs from $1 to $1.50 to dance for about six minutes.
Natalie spent $150 the first four months she played.
Which works out to around just under $35/month, which is probably cheaper than a membership at a fitness centre or buying a work-out centre at home. If you were to go out jogging, you'd need to buy sneakers/shorts/workout gear which would probably be just as much.
Buying a console system plus game would probably be about the same but cheaper in the long term.
Re:Excercise != Weight Loss (Score:3, Insightful)
You are only partially correct. If all you do is take in less calories your body will adjust it's matabolism and end up not losing much weight. If you cut your calories too much your body will go into starvation mode and do everything it can to not burn calories and especially not your stored fat.
The key to any fitness program is exercise. When you exercise your metabloism remains at a higher rate for the next 24-48 hours (which burns stored calories because instead of starving yourself your body is in a repair state). You also gain lean muscle mass which burns more calories while at rest. Not to mention all of the other physical, social, and mental benefits of excecise.
I wish people wouldn't focus so much on weight loss and would in fact focus on overall fitness and their looks(vain yes, but when someone says they want to lose 10lbs it's for looks). Two people can weight the same while one person is a fat slob and the other is an very in shape professional athlete. Low weight != healthy or good looking.
Re:NEWS FLASH!! (Score:5, Insightful)
The first rule is "whatever you do, it must be fun"
When I started High School I used to be slightly overweight but physically "able", with lots of energy. Over time High School wore me down with misery and then I got into computer jobs and I was sitting down 96% of the day. I looked around one day and found that I was now considered obese and couldn't run more than 100 feet without becoming exhausted.
I've been trying to find some way to get exercise but nothing seemed to stick. I gave up on going to gyms after a month (it was just so dreary). My doctor recommended running but I gave up on that pretty quickly too since it was so boring.
Ultimately, I found what works for me is martial arts. Right now I'm studying Taekwon Do and managed to stick with it for eight months. I've gotten stronger, my stamina has improved, I'm learning to kick some ass, and best of all--it's fun! My wife and I go to classes together. My scale weight is still about the same, but I've added some muscle mass, so it means something must've been eliminated, right? Maybe it was fat! Awesome!
Conversely, the most shocking part is how long it's taking me to regain the strength and stamina that I had when I was 16. After eight months of training I'd say I'm only 20% of the way back to how I was. And even that wasn't impressive, I couldn't do mile runs or chinups -- I still can't. It's going to be a long struggle before I'm as physically fit as I want to be. But for the first time ever I have hope.
I owe my myself and my wife a future where we're in our 70s and want to go out with the energy to experience life. Not sit at home and watch TV because we're too weak to do anything else--burdening our loved ones with our troubles. We're all lead to believe that being elderly means that you simply have to be exhausted and weak all the time. It doesn't have to happen, most people just let it happen.
If I can impart wisdom on some of you youngsters (I'm fucking 24 and I can call people youngsters, jeez), it's this: don't go into school or the workforce and forget about your health. Making the A or getting the paycheck will seem like the only thing you can focus on, but you'll ultimately regret letting yourself go.
I know someone in their near 50s who can't go up a flight of stairs without needing to rest 20 minutes on the couch afterwards. She only has enough energy to stay upright for about 30 minutes a day, and if she runs an errand that takes more than an hour she has to take a nap afterwards.
How much time would it take her to get her vitality back? Five years? Maybe she can get it down to three if she puts her entire life on hold? It'd be a hopelessly monumental task for her.
The poster is absolutely right. It must be fun It must be fun. Find exercise you enjoy, otherwise you won't do it. Your future is at stake here, don't let it go.
Now, if I could just find a fun diet...
Re:NEWS FLASH!! (Score:3, Insightful)
I finally cought myself and said what the f are you doing? I started being concious of what I was eating and checking calories, nothing crazy, just enough to make sure I wasn't eating too many in a day. I started cutting out the times I ate because I was bored sitting around the house, and stopped stuffing my face to finish everything that's in front of me even when I'm not hungry.
I also started taking yoga to try something different, because tradtional exercises never worked for me. A year or so later, I still go to yoga once a week, lost the 25 pounds, and can flatten my palms on the floor and then some. Sure i'm still just a skinny person, but I feel a lot better about myself, and have alot more energy.
So find what's fun and do it, cause then you won't even realize you are losing weight. The goal should be fun, cause if people could do the tradtional work out, they would, and wouldnt be obese. Good job DDR.
Re:Don't be afraid of looking silly! (Score:3, Insightful)
The biggest and best thing you can do to meet people is to learn how to be comfortable with yourself around strangers. If you can be the same person you are in front of your friends with a stranger, chances are they are going to find you interesting if you are compatable in some degree or another. Just put your real self out there, don't bs or try to say what you think the other person wants to hear. Say what you want to say, and be yourself.
Of coarse, that's for finding a lasting relationship, and I have no expereince finding short term hookup partners, so in that case you probably want to make yourself out to be someone else to temporarily impress them.
Well whatever, done rambling.
Re:Don't be afraid of looking silly! (Score:3, Insightful)
Personally, I love the skinny body type. I love pale tale boys who look like the guy from Aphex Twin's Come to Daddy video. I love boys who run exclusively off Bagel Bites and Mountain Dew. But that's just my opinion - I'm not chubby, but I am soft and rounded, not athletic, and other girls my shape might be intimidated by boys who have *no* body fat whatsoever.
There are a couple important things to keep in mind when wooing a girl, as a geek:
1. If she says or knows about something geeky, like what a camshaft is, or how to pronounce Linux, fawn over her for it. Let your mouth drop open, go "wow! I've never known a girl that knew about that!" no matter how pedestrian the subject. If she's hanging out with you, it's because you have special geek qualities - believe it or not, she may be trying to impress you with that tidbit, and it's up to you to make her feel like a super-genius.
2. NEVER EVER condescend. If she thought she knew something, but she was wrong, don't be an asshole and correct her like a jerk. Teach her what she wants to know, but never try and look better than her by showing off how much more than her you know.
About getting our attention: Hygiene helps, a lot. Too many geeks would have been attractive, but for the two-week old, inexplicably crusty shirt. Personally, I like a guy who's always laughing, can play a great game of pool, hangs out at the arcade, etc. Look for the lonely cute girl hanging out in the computer lab, arcade, library, etc, and try to figure out what she's into, and talk to her about that. The number one thing to remember is that everyone likes to talk about themselves.
I think it would be awesome if we opened up a topic about this - there are some girls here who would be willing to talk about what they're looking for, and there's also a lot of happily dating/married guys who could share their success stories. You know, Slashdot Personals would have been a great idea, really.
DDR is a great workout (Score:3, Insightful)
My weight was already acceptable to me, just over 200 lbs, with a slight gut. I'm in it for the cardio workout. What I really notice from it is the energy I get out of being more active. Other forms of activity (well except for sex) just aren't fun to me. But a video game that's keeping score, that really keeps me going. And keeping active carries a momentum with it, one tends to *gain* energy from burning all that energy through working out regularly. It's nice to see that there's a whole 'movement' forming out there around the fitness this game encourages. I've been telling everyone I know that it's the best piece of excersize equipment I could have ever bought.