The Good Fortune of Wii Exercise 81
eldavojohn writes "While some users of the Wii complained of soreness or 'Wii elbow' when playing it too much, others are heralding its workout value. The University of Toronto is working on a 'therapeutic video game' for the Wii that is designed to help children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy exercise their weaker limb, people are claiming weight loss and in the January issue of Pediatrics the Mayo clinic is proposing that gaming systems like the Wii can combat child obesity."
Sad Statement (Score:5, Insightful)
Agreed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Agreed (Score:4, Interesting)
Personally, I'm waiting for cyber-jacks so I can jack in and let some AI exercise my body for me while I play video games.
Re:Agreed (Score:4, Funny)
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Of course one of them trains your feet while the other trains your arms. Add exercise weights when using the Wii and you can get a real workout easily (for added fun, play boxing and take those weights off half way through the match).
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While he may not have started losing weight for a while, I bet he was a damn sight healthier much sooner than that. It's not uncommon for overweight people to actually gain a little weight as they start excercising, as their muscle mass
But it's so boring (Score:2)
The Wii, on the other hand, provides me with
Reverse Effect for those without. (Score:3, Funny)
Chocolate cake baseball is much more fun to play in the living room anyway.
Yeah, Wii isn't much of a work out... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Yeah, Wii isn't much of a work out... (Score:4, Interesting)
FWIW, the Wii may not be an acceptable replacement for exercise, but it's a sight better than getting no exercise whatsoever.
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How to play Wii Boxing (Score:4, Informative)
Yes, you're doing something wrong :-)
Most people, when starting to play Wii boxing, flail the controllers in every which way, trying to get as many hits as possible. That doesn't work. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Keep these things in mind, and Wii Boxing will make a whole lot more sense and be a whole lot more fun.
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Play wii tennis by barely moving your arms and flicking your wrist, and you'll get a decent case of carpel tunnel.
Play wii tennis as though you were really playing tennis, (ie, bouncing on the ball of your foot while waiting for the return, doing proper footwork, making full swings, etc...), and you'll get a decent workout out of it.
'Wii Elbow' (Score:3, Informative)
Good things are sometimes bad signs (Score:2, Insightful)
It's all well in good that the wii and similar gaming setups have other advantages besides the primary use.
However, it is a sorry state of society if a video game is the only thing that can combat child obesity effectively. I believe more thought should go into an article when they mention stuff like this, and not just hype the somewhat depressing advantages.
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ANYTHING that helps overweight people lose weight is probably a good thing, regardless of whether it indicates a "sorry state of society".
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I agree with you. There is a large number of obese people of all ages; and if playing a game can really combat their obesity, I am all for it.
My point was more of the fact that as a society, being in shape is not as high of a priority, and now we have to resort to "tricking" people to lose weight. I just feel the tone of the article is too much like a late night obesity pill commercial, rather then a cool side-effect of a good product.
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"Given this fact, would you rather they sit on the couch to play or get up and move around?"
There is the problem that I was commenting on. Of course I'd rather people get up and move around, but do we really only have those 2 chooses? Are you suggesting that games now rule our society to the point that we have to go a round-about way to get people to get in shape?
I am not really knocking it, I am more stating that we are at a point where an otherwise cool fact about an existing produce; gets hyped
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My observations would seem to suggest that this is pretty close to the truth for a large number of gamers. I've never had a weight problem myself, but I know enough people that do.
I believe there should be more then couch potato and couch potato playing Wii.
You're right of course, there should be (and are!) other alternatives to sitting on
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Re:In 2010... (Score:4, Funny)
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DDR can go byebye if its replaced by freeform dancing.
"I've seen dead rabbits do better jumping jacks than you"
"Call those things pushups? work harder soldier"
"Call yourself a ninja, I said do a high roundhouse"
Re:In 2010... (Score:4, Funny)
Well, of course. Bunnies are fantastic dancers.
Rocking Wii School... (Score:2, Funny)
So I guess school districts will cancel their P.E. programs to pay for the new Nintendo Wii fitness program?
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Many don't have mandatory P.E. here in the USA. My son's in high school and they only require you take two classes over four years. Pretty slack - good thing he walks a lot.
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My Wii has yet to throw a dodgeball at my face.
I'll say! (Score:5, Interesting)
You sort of get out of it what you put into it. It's possible to use the minimal amount of movement to trigger an in game action, or find the 'bug' movements that trick the controller, but on the same token it's just as easy to put your whole body into it.
IMHO, the system is worth the money scalped from me on eBay.
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More Wii Exercise Is On The Way (Score:4, Informative)
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We just got a DDR for Christmas... We also got 3 RPGs. I was on the DDR for an hour after work and then it was about one RPG for two weeks. I just started FFXII earlier this week. The hour of DDR first didn't make it till Feb. I liked the DDR, but there are several not so small issues that I have with it. Number one is that it has a really steep learning curve. The tutorial is almost a joke.
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Physical Therapy (Score:2, Insightful)
A while back a friend of mine broke his arm, and was in physical therapy for 8 weeks. During this time he had to do a lot of exercises with his arm and would always complain about how boring and annoying it was, sitting in a room with a bunch of other hurt people, doing exercises for an hou
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Among the Wii Sports games:
Boxing is right out.
Baseball is no good.
Golf is doubtful.
Bowling is a maybe.
Tennis is no good.
Why is bowling a maybe?
Because you overthrow it. The exercise you're referring to likely does not want the person's arm being pulled up that much.
I mean, it's certainly possible, but I suspect it would be nothing more than a glorified "accuracy meter" than an actual game.
U of T has a devkit? (Score:1)
Well, there's no "developer.nintendo.com," hmm...maybe I can search for a Wii dev kit [google.com]. Nope, nothing but a bunch of speculation and entrenched industry figures.
Guess Nintendo's not too big on this "novel, independent development" thing, eh?
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I was just complaining about the Wii recently... (Score:4, Funny)
I haven't had this problem since before I got married!
Re:I was just complaining about the Wii recently.. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:I was just complaining about the Wii recently.. (Score:2, Redundant)
No what I had in mind ... (Score:2)
One thing... (Score:1)
For anyone familiar with the actual game, it has microgames in which you have five seconds to perform some sort of action with the Wiimote.
Well, in "workout mode" (not the official name, by the way), you exclusively play games which require a lot of movement, and you play them longer than you would in normal gameplay.
They include moving your arms up and down like
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That's the "Dr. Crygor and Mike" game. It comes after you finish all the modes once (so you get muliplayer), plus finish Orbulon (uses both the Form Baton (wiimote) and Balance Stone (nunchuck)), to unlock.
Mind you, you should play the other modes to "earn" more minigames. The story mode is short, but exposes you to very few of the 200 microgames that are actuall
Weighted Controller? (Score:3, Interesting)
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But please remember that tendons and ligiments take longer to "beef up" than muscle, don't be the first person to need orthopaedic joint surgery due to Wii induced injuries.
Wii games that will never be made (Score:3, Funny)
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1712492 [collegehumor.com]
My favorite is the Hara-kiri game.
Is there a good chance of an open-source type development engine that will let some pranksters bring some of these gags into fruition on the Wii controller?
wii Somewhat Damaging? (Score:2)
But it does get me off the couch and moving around which has had a very minor positive effect on my body fat levels.
To Help the Fight (Score:2)
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Besides, since we all have to buy HDTVs in 2009, so what if your TV breaks?
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The Amazing Wii Combat Blade! - Why be a 100 pound weakling when you can get the Amazing Wii Combat Blade - yes, it's a Wiimote with a blade edge that weighs five pounds, building your upper body strength and realistically training you in martial arts with blade weapons.
Coming Soon: The Bushido Sword for the Wii!
Suggestion: Wrist Weights (Score:1)
Just them on your forearm(s) using the Velcro(TM) straps and you've got a decent work out for your arms. Luckily I walk to work as well, so they double as ankle weights.
broken arm (Score:4, Insightful)
is it possible that this thing could be used in physical therapy?
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Furthermore, I think the possibilities are endless. Anything that uses hand-eye coordination can benefit from the new control scheme of the Wii. Think about stroke victims who are trying to redevelop their reflexes and responsiveness. The Wii could be a huge benefit.
There's more to it (Score:5, Insightful)
that it's a sad state of society that it takes games to get people to move (whatever... society never is pretty),
that one shouldn't use the Wii as a substitute for proper exercise
etc etc.
But that's just it. First off, for many people any exercise is good exercise. Many people these days get *none* (other than walking to the fridge) so this is a major improvement.
Secondly - it's not about what exercise the Wii gives you. It's about getting you on track. Since getting mine I got the "fitness bug" and have been doing other exercise activities (such as a brisk walk at lunchtime) and eating far more healthily. I'm even tempted to try some of the sports in reality. All of that was inspired by the Wii, and whoever thought up this idea needs a medal.
Thirdly - even if you only count the Wii exercise, every little helps. It may not be much on its own, but when combined with using the stairs instead of the elevator on the way to work or whatever, parking further away and walking further, etc etc... it all adds up.
This could be a bad sign. (Score:3, Funny)
the upside is variety (Score:4, Interesting)
Games designed for exercise? (Score:2)
I wouldn't be surprised to see Wii-Gyms open up in a year or two. Or Wii Weight Loss Boot Camps...