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PlayStation (Games) Upgrades Entertainment Games

The DDR Workout - It's Official 473

Posted by timothy from the up-up-down-down-a-a-b-a dept.
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.)
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The DDR Workout - It's Official More

The DDR Workout - It's Official

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  • arcade games (Score:5, Funny)

    by tsunamifirestorm ( 729508 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:14AM (#9256184) Homepage
    i used to get a workout from playing old-school arcade games, the ones where you had to press buttons 10 times a second. on the other hand i'm sure eating pizza and drinking soda more than counteracted any sweat i produced.

    • Re:arcade games (Score:5, Funny)

      by Hatta ( 162192 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:41AM (#9256313) Journal
      Man, I'm getting the urge to pull out the power pad and play some track and field about now.

      • Re:arcade games (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Sex can be good excersie too. I used to weigh 325 lbs. I got some trendy 4XL t-shirt [cafeshops.com], went down to a local bar, and worked my magic on the ladies. Next thing you know I was down to a slim 3XL shirt, and feeling like a stud. Of course they say it was all water weight from me sweating so much, but I've never moved so much in 10 mintues before.

      • Re:arcade games (Score:3, Funny)

        by Mz6 ( 741941 ) *
        Yeah.. but to do any good at that game you had to get on your knees and pound it with your hands. Something tells me that that wont help you lose weight.
    • For a mere $39.95, you could have had a controller with a turbo button to do that button pressing for you.

      What I found truly amazing about this story was that Konami still existed. Can you dance up up down down left right left right b a b a start? If so, what does it do?

      • Re:Work smarter, not harder. (Score:4, Informative)

        by MonMotha ( 514624 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @01:15AM (#9256467)
        No, but there are hidden codes, at least on older mixes.

        On 3rd mix, to play Maniac difficulty (called SSR for Step Step Revolution), you had to do "left left left right right right left right" on the select arrows before beginning the game. Then you probably wanted it on vivid (rather than the default of flat) which was "left right left left right right left right" on the actual pad.

        There's a whole bunch of other hidden options too (hidden, sudden, stealth, turn, etc). The codes are readily available, but can be hard to remember, especially if you normally play newer mixes (DDRMAX and newer have an options screen) that don't need them.

  • Wow (Score:4, Funny)

    by kdougherty ( 772195 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:15AM (#9256187)
    That's right Jenny Craig, you're going down! Quickly buy your own DDR and get rid of that stair master!!!

    • Site is run by RedOctane (Score:5, Informative)

      by Trillian_1138 ( 221423 ) <slashdot@nOSPam.fridaythang.com> on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:20AM (#9256217)
      I'm not saying DDR can't work for weight loss, or that getupmove.com or the AP story aren't valid. However, the site is run by RedOctance, a DDR pad supplier. Check out the contact information for getupmove.com or the suggested pads under 'Get Started.'

      Again, I'm not denying the posibilities of using DDR for weight loss. After the Ask Slashdot thread I downloaded StepMania and am seriously considering buying a pad and USB adapter becasue it does look like tons of fun. I just think it's important to be concious of where you're getting your information...

      -Trillian

    • Trendy Diets... (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      What next? DDR - Atkins Version, now with fewer carbs!

    • NEWS FLASH!! (Score:5, Funny)

      by Graff ( 532189 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @01:15AM (#9256466)
      Bull Smith
      BS Newswire

      In the news today, teenagers have discovered that moving around alot helps you to lose weight.

      "I tried the pizza dieet, the deep-fried pork diet, and the ice cream diet. Nothing worked until I spent hundreds of dollars a week playing Dance Dance Revolution!" said one formerly husky girl

      Adults were a bit confused by the whole affair. One fit mother exclaimed "You mean they pay to dance? I've been doing that for years without paying a dime!"

      This phenominon has already spawned a whole new industry. Entrepenurs have in the works a dollar bill treadmill/slot machine combination for gambling adults as well as a bicycle that takes credit cards and which commuters can rent by the day in order to get fit on their way to work.

      • Re:NEWS FLASH!! (Score:5, Insightful)

        by October_30th ( 531777 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @02:15AM (#9256663) Homepage Journal
        That's a pretty funny post, but I'd like to point out the rules for successfully incorporating exercise into your life:

        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.

        • You've got it all wrong!

          1st rule is: You do not talk about FIGHT CLUB.
          2nd rule is: You DO NOT talk about FIGHT CLUB.

        • Re:NEWS FLASH!! (Score:3, Insightful)

          by mikael ( 484 )
          One paragraph in the article reads:

          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

        • Re:NEWS FLASH!! (Score:5, Insightful)

          by defile ( 1059 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @08:18AM (#9258007) Homepage Journal

          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)

            by Reapy ( 688651 )
            Very well said. I'm 24 myself, and this is probably the first time I'm starting to take my physical health seriously. I've never been in great shape, but enough to get by, but when I started workign full time and going out to eat a lot, I had put on about 25 pounds and kept shooting up.

            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
          • I've been trying to find some way to get exercise but nothing seemed to stick.... I'm fucking 24

            If your wife is OK with that, then it sounds like you've already found the ideal exercise program.

            Now, if I could just find a fun diet...

            Take some advice from one of your elders, youngster. Take a look at the Hacker's Diet [fourmilab.ch]. It fits very well with a hackerish lifestyle, and is very effective.

  • Man, too bad (Score:5, Funny)

    by bigben7187 ( 754240 ) <bcherry@gmaiIIIl.com minus threevowels> on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:15AM (#9256190) Homepage
    It's too bad im an uncoordinated computer geek...

    • Re:Man, too bad (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:27AM (#9256250)
      It's too bad im an uncoordinated computer geek...

      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.

      • Re:Man, too bad (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Jeremi ( 14640 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:51AM (#9256369) Homepage
        The whole point is to become coordinated.


        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... :^)

        • Don't be afraid of looking silly! (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Trurl's Machine ( 651488 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @02:58AM (#9256803) Journal
          I think you made a very important point. The problem of pathological shyness [clarocet.com] is often related to the neurotic anxiety that could be described as "OH MY GOD I'M GONNA TO LOOK SILLY IN PUBLIC AGAIN". I think every geek and nerd has experienced this kind of panic at least once. It's like when a gorgeous girl approaches you and says "Hi, how are you?". If you are too much afraid of looking silly in public, you'll get that kind of panic, the panic will eat your tongue and you will probably mumble some uncomprehensible "Um... errr... ahem... nice... I mean, fine... I mean, ok... I mean, cough, how are you....". Then you'll start to realize, that the fear of looking silly in public made you actually look silly in public and then you will feel very silly. In public. So the panic will incrase and you will look even more silly (in public).

          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!
          • OTOH, if it's confidence in talking to girls that you want you may find ballroom dancing more helpful than DDR. The two things I found hardest when I started ballroom were finding the beat of the music and going up to a girl I'd never met and saying "Would you like to dance?" Now the only problem I have with the latter is getting her attention when she's chatting to her friends.

          • I tried your idea (Score:5, Funny)

            by krumms ( 613921 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @05:27AM (#9257216) Journal
            Me: *slightly slurrish* Hi, howsh thingsh?
            Gorgeous Girl: Go away. Not interested you drunken son of a bitch.
            Me: *laughs heartily* Well, that was shurely the Guinessh top ten of the worsht shmall mrshnahmblah ... *eyes slowly, and very floppily blink* ... Shpeaking of Guinessh, reckon there's any chance I'll get a lay outta you tonight? Like, if I buy you one or ... *hic* ... shomething?

            And that's all I remember :/ Next morning I woke up naked next to the pub's seventy year old bar hag.

            Thanks a lot man.

          • Re:Don't be afraid of looking silly! (Score:5, Funny)

            by Sv1ad ( 779056 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @06:10AM (#9257322)
            I think every geek and nerd has experienced this kind of panic at least once.
            Don't stress, there are girls out there who actually like nerds.
            Disclaimer: yes, I am female, no, there is nothing clinically or physically wrong with me, no you cannot have my phone number. :P
            • Can I get your AIM screen name then?

  • Yes...it does work (Score:5, Interesting)

    by bigman2003 ( 671309 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:16AM (#9256193) Homepage
    I'm not sure how it could NOT work.

    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!
    • I'm not sure how it could NOT work.

      If you still drink 6 bottles of Coke, and eat a bucket of chicken for lunch -- that's how.
      • If you still drink 6 bottles of Coke, and eat a bucket of chicken for lunch -- that's how.


        Even then you'll gain less weight than you would have without the exercise. (Of course, if eat your 6,000-calorie meal just before starting your DDR workout, you'll probably lose the entire meal)

    • Re:Yes...it does work (Score:5, Insightful)

      by nobodyman ( 90587 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @01:11AM (#9256456) Homepage
      Gotta agree with this one. DDR wasn't the cornerstone of my health plan (also trying to eat less and do weight training), but I found it to be a fun way to unwind after work and get decent aerobic workout.

      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!

  • Damn (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:17AM (#9256196)
    Man, since this is Slashdot wouldn't you expect the article be about computer memory when you see 'DDR'...

    • Re:Damn (Score:4, Informative)

      by orthogonal ( 588627 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:41AM (#9256314) Journal
      Man, since this is Slashdot wouldn't you expect the article be about computer memory when you see 'DDR'...

      Not at my age: to me, "DDR" will always be the Deutsche Demokratische Republik [wikipedia.org], that is, the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, Prussian disdain and Hitler's Berlin "transformed" by the New Socialist Man and drab gray concrete apartments named after "Heroes of the Proletariat".

      Here's the music, a old-fashioned socialist worker's hymm Nationalhymne der DDR / Anthem of GDR ("Auferstanden aus Ruinen" / "Resurrected from ruins") [sovmusic.ru] (get more of your "Socialism before it hit the dustbin of history" groove on here [sovmusic.km.ru]; in all honesty if you can ignore the frozen political prisoners of the ,a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulag'>Gulag Archipelago, the music itself is pretty stirring).

      And here's the workout, starting with the youth cadre, The Young Pioneers of the Five-Year Balance Beam Plan [osa.ceu.hu] (learn more about "mass gymnastics under communism" [osa.ceu.hu], and remember to scroll right-- the pages are literally about 800 X 4000).
      • Here's the music, a old-fashioned socialist worker's hymn Nationalhymne der DDR / Anthem of GDR ("Auferstanden aus Ruinen" / "Resurrected from ruins")

        Heh.

        I should have been more suspicious of a DDR anthem mp3 with the file name "daywork.mp3"; I just assumed it was a different version than the one I'd previously download. After I posted, I downloaded it, only to be confused by a song that's in German but is certainly not the DDR hymn.

        In fact, www.sovmusic.ru [sovmusic.ru] incorrectly linked three songs to this "Day Wo
  • I call DDR my 8, 9 and 10 foot work out!

    (DDR levels are based on how many feet the song is rated! 9 foot songs are great fat burners!)

  • StepMania (Score:5, Informative)

    by Thatmushroom ( 447396 ) <Thatmushroom@@@mille352@@@purdue...edu> on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:17AM (#9256203) Homepage
    This is the perfect time to plug StepMania, an open source version you can get here [stepmania.com]. I'm not a developer, just someone that enjoys short techno songs and a frantic workout.

  • Again? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Basje ( 26968 ) <bas@bloemsaat.org> on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:18AM (#9256209) Homepage
    Yesterday's article about DDR weight loss [slashdot.org]

    Is slashdot sponsored by DDR?

  • Editors showing their lack of knowledge? (Score:3, Informative)

    by -kertrats- ( 718219 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:19AM (#9256215) Journal
    "up-up-down-down-a-a-b-a"

    This konami code reference from the 'department' bar is horribly wrong. Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start is the correct code.
  • I hate dance music, but some of my ManOwaR songs get up to 200BPM. That would be a workout. :)

  • Repetitive Stress? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by MarcQuadra ( 129430 ) * on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:20AM (#9256219)
    I'd worry about RSI injuries, DDR is a lot more intense than a focused workout, you're slamming the pads to make time somethines, whereas on a jog or a bike you can conrtol the physical impacts much better.

    • Re:Repetitive Stress? (Score:3, Informative)

      by c0dedude ( 587568 )
      The really good players make it look like dance and not like slamming. It's really troubling.

  • putting the E in Exercise (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Whitecloud ( 649593 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:21AM (#9256222) Homepage
    this isnt that surprising really, video games are a lot more interesting to some kids than sport. Its great to see some measurable positive results from gaming. Next we could have super fast text scrolling across our screens to 'train' us in speed reading.

  • PyDance (Score:5, Informative)

    by steveha ( 103154 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:21AM (#9256223) Homepage
    There is a free software version of DDR, written in Python. It used to be called PyDDR but now it's called PyDance.

    You can play it with a real dance pad, or just play it with your keyboard. I suspect you will not lose much weight if you play it with your keyboard, however.

    http://icculus.org/pyddr/ [icculus.org]

    steveha
    • There is even better software out there called "StepMania" and it functions almost perfectly, being an exact clone, if not better, of the official DDR interface.

      There are both Windows and Linux versions avaliable, as well as source code. Avaliable here [stepmania.com].

      It dosn't come with any song/step files, however, you can make your own or download ones made by others. Word is, entire official DDR mixes for Stepmania are avaliable out there on the net.

    • Re:PyDance (Score:3, Funny)

      by Coneasfast ( 690509 )
      I suspect you will not lose much weight if you play it with your keyboard, however.

      i dunno, i just tried it and it seems pretty demanding even with your keyboard, you may get some workout ;) (although obviously not as much as with a pad)

  • Combination games! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Metallic Matty ( 579124 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:21AM (#9256224)
    This isn't exactly an original idea, but I thought I'd share it anyways.

    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)

    by TJ_Phazerhacki ( 520002 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:25AM (#9256239) Journal
    It's true! I used to laugh, say I would never play this game. And now, 2 months of DDR have me not only looking better, but feeling better as well. I am active in general - Football and Wrestling - But DDR has something neither of those have. The biggest problem with exersize is it's repetitived nature. But when you can practice a form (specific Dance) and recieve real time data based on your accuracy, it encourages it to repeat. So far, my only health conern has been the sheer addictiveness - I landed wrong on an ankle after a 4 hour marathon session, and was out for a week. But in general, the experience has been nothing but positive. Hope the next one is online - how about a /. competitive league?

  • It's two fold. (Score:5, Funny)

    by ctime ( 755868 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:26AM (#9256246)
    Just imagine, not only will you be sweating off those 3 extra big macs you ate for lunch, but you'll also be providing hours of endless laughter and entertainment those around you!

  • And it is relatively cheap... (Score:4, Informative)

    by SnakeJG ( 719306 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:33AM (#9256274)
    Most slashdot readers probably already have atleast an original Playstation (and if not, used ones can be had for around $20 to $30 or the computer version of DDR can be used). Throw in the cost of a good dance pad [buynshop.com] (~$50) and the game (another $20 to $30), and your workout system only costs you ~$100, including the cost for a Playstation.

    I suggest a dance pad like the one above, because the form insert really helps cut down on the strain on your joints (a must if you are going to be DDRing often as a workout)
    • ...then you use the parallel port and an opto-isolator chip or two, and with some semi-clever programming you can simulate stepping on the pad with mouseclicks on your pc. Once you get that working, you can tie in a digital camera focussed on the TV screen, and some video processing software...

  • Excercise != Weight Loss (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Max Romantschuk ( 132276 ) <max@romantschuk.fi> on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:33AM (#9256279) Homepage
    Ultimately weight loss is not about how much you eat or how much you exercise. What you need is a negative energy input, on in plain English: You must burn off more calories than you take in.

    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.
    • But regardless of if you loose weight or not, any activity causing your pulse to rise will make you more fit.

      That's an interesting, and widely-held, claim, but I have yet to see any scientific evidence for it.

      There is lots of evidence that weight loss is correlated with decreased mortality. There is lots of evidence that taking people who are overweight and encouraging them to exercise will reduce in decreased mortality. And it's clear that exercise will increase muscle (and, to a lesser extent, bone)

    • Re:Excercise != Weight Loss (Score:4, Informative)

      by Kupek ( 75469 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @06:59AM (#9257485)
      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.

      False. Taking certain drugs can get your heart racing, but they don't do anything for the rest of your cardiovascular system.

      If you want to be healty (not just lose weight), exercise is key. And exercise is tied to weight loss because when you don't exercise, your metabolism goes down; your body requires less calories, which means you're going to retain more. You also lose muscle tone and cardiovascular endurance. Also, added muscle increases your metabolism.

      If you want to lose weight and actually be fit for the rest of your life, you need to exercise. There's no way around it.
    • You must burn off more calories than you take in.

      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 be

  • It's a PLOY I TELL YOU! (Score:3, Funny)

    by gatesh8r ( 182908 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:36AM (#9256291)
    This will be placed right along side the Atkins diet! It's all a conspiracy by the neo-Zionist Christian Communist Right to get geeks to slim down! Soon there will be no more fat geeks, and then the geeks will marry, and then what will happen to Slashdot!?

  • DDR....*sigh* (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Samah ( 729132 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:45AM (#9256336)
    Yeah DDR is/was fun for me.
    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)
    • It's certainly not cheap, but it's probably not that much more than joining a nice gym.

      At the good rate your paying two goldbucks an hour. That's very cheap compared to other forms of "entertainment" and you are actually getting some benefit from it, as oppposed to staring at a movie screen eating popcorn or trolling on slashdot.
  • Not too long ago (and even today) gamers were stereotyped as social recluses who couldn't interact beyond the realm of their own computer. But with the internet, multiplayer gaming is common place, spawning catch phrases like netiquette and the establishment of clans and clubs.

    Now gamers are purportedly too fat, too skinny, too pasty, or some other unhealthy physical attribute. I hope that DDR represents a small-scale gaming trend where games become more physically intense. Imagine if some of the games o

  • Stop drinking sugar! (Score:5, Informative)

    by dybdahl ( 80720 ) <(kd.lhadbyd) (ta) (ofni)> on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:50AM (#9256364) Homepage Journal
    The biggest problem for most computer gamers I know, is that they drink cola with sugar and eat candy bars. Their biggest arguments for not drinking diet coke are: doesn't taste well, aspartam is dangerous for your health.

    They simply don't get the priorities right - being overweight is much more dangerous than drinking diet coke! The only way to lose weight is to consume less kilojoule (4,18 Joule = 1 Calories for those Americans who don't understand the metric system) than you spend on living. If you want to continue drinking sugar-cola and eat candie bars, you really have to do a lot of exercise!!! - more than most people with that kind of weight problems can or will do.

    Personally I lost 15kg in 5 months without doing any exercise, without any special plan for what I eat, just by replacing coke with diet coke and removing all fat and sugar from my meals, replacing food with low-energy and diet products. At Christmas 2004 I expect to have lost 30kg, and spring 2005 I expect to have lost 35kg, and then I have reached my ideal bodyweight and will have to do something to keep my weight up :-)

    • Stop poisoning your body (Score:5, Informative)

      by mabu ( 178417 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @01:23AM (#9256493)
      I agree with you but why stop there?

      I recently decided to stop drinking soft drinks and go for water (Mountain Valley Spring Water), and I also noticed that I had much more concentration, my sleep schedule became more normalized and my attitude was generally more positive.

      It's not just sugar. It's the myriad of chemicals that we put in our bodies in massive quantities that screw up our body chemistry. Dropping sugar may help with caloric intake, but it doesn't address the more serious problem that we're constantly poisoning our bodies with chemicals.

      You don't have to be a vegan, but you can choose to shop where they sell meat and produce that isn't bathed in pesticides, antibiotics and other things.

      • I recently decided to stop drinking soft drinks and go for water (Mountain Valley Spring Water), and I also noticed that I had much more concentration, my sleep schedule became more normalized and my attitude was generally more positive.

        Wow, I had the exact opposite experience.

        I recently switched from drinking water exclusively to 3+ liters/day of Dr. Pepper, Vanilla Coke and Mountain Dew (all diet). I've found my concentration and memory improved, my food intake cut by a third and my sleep requirements

        • Re:Stop poisoning your body (Score:4, Funny)

          by julesh ( 229690 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @03:04AM (#9256821)
          I recently switched from drinking water exclusively to 3+ liters/day of Dr. Pepper, Vanilla Coke and Mountain Dew (all diet). I've found my concentration and memory improved, my food intake cut by a third and my sleep requirements have gone from over eight hours a day to under six.

          Something tells me you're on a short term caffeine high. Give it a while, you'll stop feeling so good...

      • Re:Stop poisoning your body (Score:4, Funny)

        by PsiPsiStar ( 95676 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @07:00AM (#9257491)
        My diet is healthy as heck. I haven't had soda in years. My sleep schedule is still fucked to hell.
    • I'm putting together a weight loss regimine.

      I'd rather drink water than diet coke.

      And since I shouldn't drink coke in the first place, I'll drinkw ater instead.(Especially after a long run on DDR.)

      how's that for priorities?

  • others way to loose weight (Score:3, Insightful)

    by nzin ( 409890 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @12:51AM (#9256368) Homepage
    It certainly helps, but if you still eat too much, that will certainly not change radically. I'm in the US since a month and weighty people is a stunning reality.

    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
    • I think your "stunning reality" is very accurate. Eating has almost been removed from consciuosness in America. Fast food meals surrounded by strangeres, or even in the isolation of your own car. Welcome to America, and enjoy the Freedom Fries. ;)

      There are plenty of healthy active people, but it's very easy to be a "couch potato" as well.

      I only know a few people who aren't overweight, and most of them are drinking at the bar several nights a week. Only one or two are truly "healthy." Or maybe beer is
  • If you check out the www.getupmove.com website, you will notice a gal by the name of Tanya Jensen. I used to work with her at Microsoft testing for the XBox group. What a trip!
  • You can go to ddrfreak [ddrfreak.com] and go check out some stuff there.
    There's song lists, codes, step charts and chat forums to meet up with out ddr fans out there.

    Good luck, and have fun.

  • I can vouch for the title (Score:5, Interesting)

    by vsage3 ( 718267 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @01:05AM (#9256437)
    I've been playing various versions of DDR (as well as Stepmania) for about two years. I couldn't even jog a mile, heck I couldn't walk it without cramping up, but since then I've been able to pass pretty much every song (sans Paranoia Survivor Max Oni), and through this, I can now run a mile in less than seven minutes. I wasn't ever fat to begin with so unfortunately I don't have any I lost 100 lbs story, but wow, having not done any other physical activity besides type on a computer for close to 6 years (when I quit soccer due to lack of being in shape), I can run a freakin 6:40 mile. Hail DDR in all its nerd-refining glory!
  • From the up-up-down-down-a-a-b-a dept... Perhaps you ment up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-b-a-select dept? That's the Konami code, if that's what you're thinking of.

  • cheapwads (Score:2, Interesting)

    by ExistentialFeline ( 696559 )
    If you want to play DDR but aren't otherwise a big console gamer (and don't care about song variety), why not just get an old PS1 and one of the older games... I'm playing on a dreamcast I got for free but it's more of an effort to scare up the necessary items to play on a dreamcast.

  • Feet of Fury (Score:3, Informative)

    by frohike ( 32045 ) <bard.allusion@net> on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @01:31AM (#9256512) Homepage

    I also found that the "DDR workout" was really good for helping with my asthma-like symptoms. Much better exercise for the lungs than just sitting around all day in front of a PC...

    I of course have to take this opportunity to plug our homebrew music beat game for the Dreamcast, Feet of Fury [feetoffury.com]. Like DDR, but with player vs player modes, the ability to create user Swap CDs of your own music, and of course a Typing of Fury mode!

    It's not free software, but I maintain the toolkit used to develop it (KOS) under a BSD license, and this toolkit is used by pretty much all DC homebrewers now (with the notable exceptions of DSNES and SCUMMVM). Two new homebrew games just came out actually... check 'em out here if you have a DC and want some more games: Games Of All Types [goatstore.com]. Yes, I know what you're thinking.. but that's a safe link ;)

  • Extra Extra Read all about it!

    Exercising helps you lose wight!

    Film at 11.

    *sigh*

  • The Truth (Score:3, Informative)

    by RoderickMcDougall ( 661783 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @01:52AM (#9256576) Journal

    Anybody who thinks they will immediately lose weight playing this game is kidding themselves. This game at best provides a moderate intensity workout with the added twist of being challenging and perhaps addictive.

    One thing I have always observed with "I Lost Weight!" articles is they almost always pass over the DIET - that is generally the diet gets an obligatory one line comment (if that) somewhere after most of the information of the article has been devulged.

    Anyone who really knows what they are talking about in terms of weight management will tell you that the most important thing in losing/gaining/maintaining weight is your DIET. Your exercise is merely there to burn excess calories you consume over your maintenance calorie level - and of course to promote cardiovascular health and whatnot. (that is, the number of calories required to maintain your current body mass). Easy to understand how you got fat in the first place when you consider what happens when you excess calories are not burnt off

  • In other news... (Score:3, Funny)

    by poofmeisterp ( 650750 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @08:00AM (#9257857) Journal
    The makers of the RAMBUS workout are suing the makers of the DDR workout, claiming that the DDR workout's prices were fixed in a subversive plot to drive the RAMBUS workout off the market.
    When contacted, the makers of the DDR workout commented "Hey, hey, let's go, so let's fighting."
    The makers of the RAMBUS workout had no comment, but stated that their case is very strong and legal action is already in progress.

  • DDR is a great workout (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Feanturi ( 99866 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @11:12AM (#9259521)
    I had played it a bit a couple years ago in the arcades, not very much, just enough to be intimidated by the really good players. But then a couple months ago, I started spending more time with my 14 year old niece, who is a DDR fanatic and wanted me to take her to arcades in between other activities. We'll be driving around and she'll be like, "Do you know if there's a DDR machine around here somewhere?" Anyhow, we played it together in the arcades to the point of exhaustion, for several consecutive days before I decided to go get a dance pad for my PS/2. It's an awesome workout for one simple reason: It doesn't feel like 'work', yet it truly is. The motivation to keep going, to beat a given song, at a given difficulty level, is very compelling. My DDR rig is right beside my main PC, and is often running throughout the day, so I can just get out of my chair, take a step to the left and I'm playing. Do a few rounds, while waiting for something on the computer, and take a break. Rinse, repeat. It's great if you know someone who plays, because you can encourage each other. I've gotten competant at Light mode now, but my niece has edged into playing on Standard more often, so I've got to catch up, because we still hit the arcade a lot.

    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.

  • It worked for me (Score:3, Interesting)

    by triolus ( 714753 ) on Wednesday May 26, 2004 @04:29PM (#9262616) Homepage
    When I started dieting, I also got a copy of DDR for my playstation. The game actually has a "workout mode" that keeps count of calories burned. I would play it everyday, for about 30 minutes to an hour. I noticed improvement after the first week: when I first started, I couldn't play for more than 5 or 10 minutes without getting winded. After a week, I was able to play for 20-30 minutes. I stopped playing it a few months ago. In the end, I dropped around 85 lbs. I feel much better doing it this way (a traditional program of diet and exercise) than going on, what is IMO, a "fad" diet, like Atkins.

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