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.)
Yes...it does work (Score:5, Interesting)
If you do DDR for 45 minutes, 4-5 days a week, you'll be losing about 2 pounds every 3 weeks.
Worked for me, and my daughter.
You should be getting up to about 180BPM near the end of your workout- not sticking to some 130BPM songs.
For me, having the Xbox version, and downloading new songs was a lifesaver- otherwise I would be completely bored of the songs.
And finally- you won't lose anything if you are using the controller! Get a good dance pad!
Again? (Score:3, Interesting)
Is slashdot sponsored by DDR?
Repetitive Stress? (Score:3, Interesting)
putting the E in Exercise (Score:4, Interesting)
Combination games! (Score:3, Interesting)
A local arcade has Para Para Dancing (you use your arms, for those who are unfamilar,) and DDR 4th Mix. My friend and I always thought the ultimate work out game would be some mystical combination of the two. Made, that would get dead tiring (not to mention confusing as hell.)
I'm for a challenge like that though. Hard core gamer for life.
It Really Works (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Forget DDR for exercise... (Score:2, Interesting)
Playing DDR not only is good exercise but the females totaly think it's cool. Your not playing some dorky game trying to kill things or collect items, your dancing! They love to dance! Now get out there and knock yourselves out, before you know it, you'll be slim and covered in chicks!
DDR....*sigh* (Score:3, Interesting)
I still enjoy playing it occasionally, but about 6 months ago I hit a brick wall where I stopped getting any better.
I played for about a year, and there's only a few songs on Extreme (arcade version) I can't pass (most of the 10-footers except for Sakura, Bag and Paranoia Survivor which are quite achievable with practice).
The problem is that it's really expensive if you want to get good. I've pumped at least AU$300-400 into DDR both at lock-ins (ie. 6 hours of unlimited play for AU$13 etc.) and just normally (AU$2 for 4 songs).
No doubt about it being a good workout. After playing for 6 months I went down from about 85kg to 74kg.
I stopped playing and started eating pizza again and I've put so much weight back on (ie. almost 20kg).
It kinda got boring for me as I found a new game (Beatmania IIDX).
By all means, don't just pass DDR off as lame like many of my "friends". God knows the number of payouts and sexual preference innuendo I've received from them for playing it ("not that there's anything wrong with that!").
It is fun in moderation, and if you're determined to get into it (and you have a lot of kesh), it WILL keep you fit.
Good endurance songs (not necessarily difficult):
So Deep (Heavy)
Can't Stop Fallin' In Love/Speed Mix (Heavy)
Rhythm and Police (Heavy)
Re:Other "Phyical" Games (Score:4, Interesting)
A challenge is right! Not too long ago a friend and I fed the boxing arcade machines way too many quarters because we just couldn't get past the first two guys. Most people would give up if a game was too hard for them that early in, but I go to the boxing gym 4 times a week and am involved in the amateur circuit, and my friend was a Los Angeles County champion in Karate (and is currently serving in Iraq as an Army Ranger), so we were completely embarrased by 10 year old kids kicking ass in the game while we were struggling.
At one point it finally dawned on us that fighting like fighters was our problem - whereas in a real fight to avoid getting punched in the face you might duck your head and raise your fists, for the boxing arcade you move your fists away from the screen, to either side or below. In the real world, that's the equivilant of moving your hands as far away from blocking position as you can get them. So the game was reading our real world fighting technique as just standing in front of the punches.
I won't deny that they're a good time, but if you kick ass in the video game don't expect to be able to kick ass in an actual fight... kind of like how a good DDR player shouldn't expect to steal the floor at prom, I suppose.
I know that chick who lost all that weight... (Score:2, Interesting)
I can vouch for the title (Score:5, Interesting)
cheapwads (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Site is run by RedOctane (Score:3, Interesting)
Check that out. Almost $6k for DDR. The shipping weight is 427kg too... i wonder if i could even fit that in my studio apartment.
Re:If only there was a Make-your-own DDR. (Score:1, Interesting)
Most of them can be found on the DDR Extreme arcade version.
Re:As much as I hate DDR, this is a great thing (Score:2, Interesting)
Even if you've got a CF kit and all the damn home mixes ever DDR is still at its heart an arcade game. You play on standardised hardware with good, challenging timing windows. There's a scoreboard for you to try to knock local players' scores off, and there's usually plenty of other people around who you can chat with and compare accomplishments with. I've got a few good friends in a nearby city just because I turned up at the arcade there once for a quick game.
DDR has a major competitive element, and it's the driving force that makes people keep playing and accomplish more and more. There are a lot of tournaments, but the problem is it's very hard for a new player to get a look in there. Most of the people in the tournaments have been playing for _years_ and they know every in and out of every last song on the machine and it's becoming more and more common to see people with tens or even hundreds of AAA's under their belt (a AAA is a perfect score on a song which requires you to hit every last arrow to within 33 milliseconds of the beat. This is HARD -- I've done it a couple of times on one really really easy song, although that was on Standard difficulty and when someone says AAA the implication is AAA on Maniac difficulty). There is also a general concensus that DDR is dying at the moment (cue BSD trolls). The fact that Konami have all but officially axed the arcade series of games, which is the only one that expert players really care about, doesn't help matters..
I play DDR all the time. (Score:1, Interesting)
DDR is a fun game. I started playing it with a few friends about two years ago. Now I'm doing songs in the 290-300 Beats Per Minute range.
But most of all, it isn't the weight loss, or the idea of 'dancing', but because some of my favourite artists like TaQ and Taka are on there. I love the music, and have recently given to freestyling on the harder songs.
Songs like TaQ - Era (DDR), Des-Row - Daikenkai (DrumMania) and TaQ - QUASAR, and others like Taka Resp. Bach - No.13, cannot be found anywhere else.
Konami's music department is excellent, and thats why I love the game.
I do this! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Site is run by RedOctane (Score:3, Interesting)
I mean, I guess it says something that it's interesting and fun enough to be played that long, but don't let people think it's that amazing of an excercise in any other way...
Re:Yes...it does work (Score:3, Interesting)
If you do DDR for 45 minutes, 4-5 days a week, you'll be losing about 2 pounds every 3 weeks.
So no, I was not suggesting 3 pounds a week. I was actually suggesting 2/3 pounds per week. Or a total of about 2,200 calories per week.
Obviously the benefits of exercise not only affect your body during the actual activity, but the cooldown, AND your body's basal metabolic rate will increase when you add muscles to your legs and ass.
So yes- I believe that my original estimate was well within reason.
So please...as you said, let's not confuse the reader!
Also- if you believe that playing DDR, and doing songs in the 180BPM range is "mild physical activity" then I assume the rest of your cognitive skills are about as sharp as your reading comprehension. This goes way beyond mild..
Gives geeks a second chance (Score:2, Interesting)
I can only speak for myself, but learning any form of athletics is extremely difficult for me, mostly because learning requires other people. And I am so awkward and uncoordinated that is humiliating for me to even try.
Games like this allow me to learn the way I like to, alone where I am free to make mistakes. It also provides a completely unbiased measurement of progress. (Nothing says improvement like a new high score!)
It's true! I've seen it in stores! (Score:2, Interesting)
I don't recommend going to the arcade to play DDR as the most cost effective way to lose weight, but the home versions are pretty good and even come with workout routines built in.
It is fun for a while, but sometimes the attitude of the kiddies around the machine get on the nerves.
Re:I dunno, my parents didn't buy this in 1988... (Score:3, Interesting)
Slashdot caused me to go out and buy one yesterday (Score:2, Interesting)
It worked for me (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Yes...it does work (Score:3, Interesting)
The best I can do for exercise, is get on the simple songs, and do them fast. I can jump around like a spaz, but my eyes/brain/fat-ass linkup doesn't work as fast as it used to.
But doing 'Candy' 20 times in a row (fricking elusive 'AAA'!) gives me a great workout.
I usually start warming up with 130+ BPM songs, like 'On the Jazz' and some others that I downloaded (Ultramix). And work my way up.
I wish they had the 'Tard-Pack' of songs for people like me. Where all the songs were simple, yet could be played at fast speeds. My mind goes completely blank when I need to hit two 'buttons' at the same time, and they are not opposites (opposites being up/down or left/right). Whenever they throw in a few up/lefts or down/rights my mind pretty much melts down.
I've found that the DDR Ultramix (Xbox) is totally different from DDR at the arcade. (Yes, the balding white guy takes his show on the road- much to the dismay of my teenage daughter) I know I can AA Candy at home on the faster speeds nearly every time- but the steps at the arcade are totally different. But the arcade near me has a song called 'Crash' or 'Crush' which is a pseudo-punk song that is pretty good. Since I live in California, it also has a TON of hispanic influenced songs- like a Japanese version of Enrique Iglesias or something. But surprisingly, the song that draws the biggest crowd is also the crappiest song on the machine 'We Will Rock You' is sure to attract every mullet-family in the mall. Hey- I like Queen a lot, but really...is that a good DANCE song? (Pounding the table twice, then clapping does not constitute dancing)
Re:Don't be afraid of looking silly! (Score:2, Interesting)
What qualities are good? Intelligence. Sense of humour. Conversational ability (read: can listen and doesn't speak tech all the time). I like a guy who thinks about things, and who's main interest is not himself or rugby league. Ask me about what kind of books I like, talk about TV shows (I'm a UK tv fanatic)....I don't mind if you talk tech as long as you don't mind me asking questions and provided that you're not condescending when I don't know something. Show me that you're willing to listen to instead of just waiting for your turn to talk and you'll be well in for a second date.
Best way to get my attention? Just come up to me in the library, bookshop, after class, and ask me if I want to get a coffee. Okay, I know that that is going to take some serious courage - especially if you've never done something like that before, but the best thing you can do is just to take the plunge. It might seem like all you have to lose is your dignity, and yes, you might get some nasty put downs - but not if you do your research. I mean, see that quiet nice looking girl in your class or browsing in the sci-fi section of the bookshop? There's your starting point - go up and ask her what she's reading. If she's in your class, strike up a conversation about how boring the subject is or something.
Another good way - that I've found - is study groups. I've made some great friends, and fallen in love with guys who I've worked with on group assignments, exam preparation, stuff like that. This may or may not be an indication of how strange I am, but one of the most romantic moments for me was a V-fuelled assignment writing session with a guys from one of my law classes. In the middle of being stressed and anxious and with the fact that it's 2am and you've consumed far too much caffeine, it was just like, here's something we've both worked on, we've both shared. It was a strange moment, but nice all the same. Maybe it's just me, but a guy who I can trust to pull his weight in a group project is going to have a good chance if he can find the courage to ask me out.