My Fitness Coach
Ok, so I just did my first 45 minute workout with My Fitness Coach for Wii.
Summary: Great workout! It really got me sweating, which I wasn't expecting at all after Wii Fit. I was dripping just as much sweat as I do after doing a Jillian Michaels DVD.
Pros:
-Even though it was a little time consuming, I really liked setting up my profile. It asks for all of your basic stats (height, weight, age), but also gives you the option to take your measurements. I must admit, I'm one of those people that didn't take my measurements when I first started losing weight. Oh well.
-The fitness test is the perfect tool that allows the 'trainer' to pick the right level of intensity for your workouts. She had me do jumping jacks, push-ups, squats and crunches. You're asked to enter your resting hear rate and then your post-jumping jacks heart rate, thus making the beginning intensity levels appropriate. You also find out what areas need work. For me, I have great lower body strength, but I need to improve my upper body strength and cardio abilities.
-After you set up your profile, the trainer gives you the option to pick your goal of the workout. For example, she figured out I was still overweight and suggested the Weight-Loss regimen, but I also had to the option to pick workouts to help me maintain my current fitness level. The other options listed included cardio, strength, and yoga I think? I don't know. There were 5 or 6 other options. I'll definitely take advantage of those once I'm at my goal weight and trying to maintain.
-I got to pick which days I plan on working out and for how long. And even if I don't want to use the game as my workout, I can log other activities (i.e., the elliptical at the gym, jillian michaels, etc.) and get credit for them.
-Periodically throughout the workout, the trainer would ask me how I felt after completing a certain circuit. I could say it was too easy, just right or too hard. This feature helps her gauge how to proceed with future circuits, in terms of the types of moves and intensity.
-After you complete the workout, you get to see how many calories you burned. Mine said either 325 or 385... Sorry, I just glanced at it and I'm too lazy to go back and check, heh.
-You can enter any extra equipment you have (hand weights, stability ball, etc.) and it'll get incorporated into your workout. I got to use my hand weights, so that was pretty cool.
-Across the bottom of the screen, you can see a scroll that indicates what move you're doing, how much longer the rep will be and what move is coming up next. There's also a little box that comes up periodically to show you how much time is left and what level of difficulty you're currently working at.
-You can pick what kind of music and environment you want to work out in. I picked 80's music with the Urban Oasis setting. The music wasn't really 80s at all, but the setting overall was nice. I thought it was a cool feature to have. And I guess the more you use the game, the more environments you can unlock.
Cons:
-There's no explanation of most of the moves beforehand. You just have to watch her and try to follow along as best as you can. This is particularly frustrating when she bounces back and forth between different moves quickly. There were some moves that I kinda knew how to do thanks to Jillian Michaels and Tae-bo DVDs, but some moves I didn't know at all and still can't do properly. I know that's typical of workout DVDs, but I thought since this is a game and since it was my first workout, that I would get a mini-tutorial of all the moves beforehand. Oh well.
-She takes too many breaks (well, more than I'm used to anyway), especially during the last 10 minutes of the workout. I did a 45 minute cardio workout, but between the warm-up, cool down and all of the breaks, I decided to count it all as 30 minutes of high intensity instead of 45 (for activity point purposes). I didn't like how she slowed down the last 10 minutes of the workout because I'm used to finishing strong, right up until the end. She switched from cardio stuff to strength moves where she would just do 8-12 reps and then take a break. She repeated that the last 10 minutes, up until cool down. I still sweated through those reps though, so I can't complain too much.
Overall, I was really impressed with the game and the results. Definitely worth the price I paid, if not more. I like that it doesn't use the Wii-mote or balance board. You just follow along, keep up a good pace and break a good sweat. And between the stats you enter and the trainer checking in on how you're feeling, the game keeps a pretty accurate profile of your level of fitness and calories burned.
If you have a Wii and want to change up your routine, I would highly recommend this game!
Summary: Great workout! It really got me sweating, which I wasn't expecting at all after Wii Fit. I was dripping just as much sweat as I do after doing a Jillian Michaels DVD.
Pros:
-Even though it was a little time consuming, I really liked setting up my profile. It asks for all of your basic stats (height, weight, age), but also gives you the option to take your measurements. I must admit, I'm one of those people that didn't take my measurements when I first started losing weight. Oh well.
-The fitness test is the perfect tool that allows the 'trainer' to pick the right level of intensity for your workouts. She had me do jumping jacks, push-ups, squats and crunches. You're asked to enter your resting hear rate and then your post-jumping jacks heart rate, thus making the beginning intensity levels appropriate. You also find out what areas need work. For me, I have great lower body strength, but I need to improve my upper body strength and cardio abilities.
-After you set up your profile, the trainer gives you the option to pick your goal of the workout. For example, she figured out I was still overweight and suggested the Weight-Loss regimen, but I also had to the option to pick workouts to help me maintain my current fitness level. The other options listed included cardio, strength, and yoga I think? I don't know. There were 5 or 6 other options. I'll definitely take advantage of those once I'm at my goal weight and trying to maintain.
-I got to pick which days I plan on working out and for how long. And even if I don't want to use the game as my workout, I can log other activities (i.e., the elliptical at the gym, jillian michaels, etc.) and get credit for them.
-Periodically throughout the workout, the trainer would ask me how I felt after completing a certain circuit. I could say it was too easy, just right or too hard. This feature helps her gauge how to proceed with future circuits, in terms of the types of moves and intensity.
-After you complete the workout, you get to see how many calories you burned. Mine said either 325 or 385... Sorry, I just glanced at it and I'm too lazy to go back and check, heh.
-You can enter any extra equipment you have (hand weights, stability ball, etc.) and it'll get incorporated into your workout. I got to use my hand weights, so that was pretty cool.
-Across the bottom of the screen, you can see a scroll that indicates what move you're doing, how much longer the rep will be and what move is coming up next. There's also a little box that comes up periodically to show you how much time is left and what level of difficulty you're currently working at.
-You can pick what kind of music and environment you want to work out in. I picked 80's music with the Urban Oasis setting. The music wasn't really 80s at all, but the setting overall was nice. I thought it was a cool feature to have. And I guess the more you use the game, the more environments you can unlock.
Cons:
-There's no explanation of most of the moves beforehand. You just have to watch her and try to follow along as best as you can. This is particularly frustrating when she bounces back and forth between different moves quickly. There were some moves that I kinda knew how to do thanks to Jillian Michaels and Tae-bo DVDs, but some moves I didn't know at all and still can't do properly. I know that's typical of workout DVDs, but I thought since this is a game and since it was my first workout, that I would get a mini-tutorial of all the moves beforehand. Oh well.
-She takes too many breaks (well, more than I'm used to anyway), especially during the last 10 minutes of the workout. I did a 45 minute cardio workout, but between the warm-up, cool down and all of the breaks, I decided to count it all as 30 minutes of high intensity instead of 45 (for activity point purposes). I didn't like how she slowed down the last 10 minutes of the workout because I'm used to finishing strong, right up until the end. She switched from cardio stuff to strength moves where she would just do 8-12 reps and then take a break. She repeated that the last 10 minutes, up until cool down. I still sweated through those reps though, so I can't complain too much.
Overall, I was really impressed with the game and the results. Definitely worth the price I paid, if not more. I like that it doesn't use the Wii-mote or balance board. You just follow along, keep up a good pace and break a good sweat. And between the stats you enter and the trainer checking in on how you're feeling, the game keeps a pretty accurate profile of your level of fitness and calories burned.
If you have a Wii and want to change up your routine, I would highly recommend this game!