A few weeks ago, during a trip to visit my brother’s family, I had the opportunity to try out my sister in law’s new toy, the Wii, complete with the WiiFit.
I was smitten. The Wii rocks!
My niece and nephew had great fun showing me all the cool things you could do with both the Wii, with its accompanying WiiSports programs, and the WiiFit. Admittedly, they, at eight and six, had the most fun when they could watch Aunt Kathryn mess up. Making a snowball instead of landing a smooth jump on the ski jump, for instance, sent them into gales of laughter. They were hugely disappointed when I did well at the yoga poses or hula hoops, and quickly moved on to things that might provide them more enjoyment, like watching me fall off the tightrope walk. They were even more disappointed when I beat (by fewer than ten points) one of them at bowling. “Beginners luck!” they cried.
Perhaps. But the competitive aspect of the Wii captured my competitive spirit, particularly because it is set up so that I can compete against myself. In the privacy of my own home.
I came home and set about finding myself a Wii. No small feat, I tell you, because everyone was sold out. The only ways you can get one are to either go to the store and stand in line for the new Wii inventory to come off the truck and hope you get there early enough for a good enough spot in line that you get one, or to pay a premium online. I explored both options. After some frustration, I decided to pay the premium online to buy one and have it delivered to my home.
I was thrilled when my Wii arrived. Luckily, it was easy to set up, so I was quickly ready to try it out.
My first night with the Wii really confused my two terriers. Unfortunately, one of them thinks it is some sort of game and periodically inserts himself in places that cause me to foible a bowling throw, step on him during step aerobics, or — the biggest problem yet — be unable to complete a pushup because he’s inserted his head tightly underneath my chin in an attempt to play or snuggle while I’m trying to work out.
OK, so maybe I wasn’t really ready for the pushups anyway. I’m working around the dogs. Or rather the one dog who constantly hovers around me as I explore the Wii. The other one watches somewhat disinterestedly from the couch, as if she’s seen me do silly things before. Luckily, with the Wii, I can look as silly as I want while I do all this and only the dogs can see.
But I digress. In spite of the twenty-four pound terrier Chandler’s habit of hovering, I continue to work out on the Wii each evening. If he’s in the way during step aerobics, I nudge him aside. After a couple head-bumps during bowling, he learned to get out of the way. And the yoga poses? Well, I do the ones he can’t mess up. The others, I do during daylight hours when I can let him outside for a brief back yard playtime, all the while praying he doesn’t choose that 20 minutes for digging a new tunnel under the fence and a visit to the neighbors.
The makers of the Wii did a good job of creating these programs. I get little reminders when I start each day. If I miss a day, it tells me it missed me. I can get fitness and health tips. If I start late at night, it comments — gently — that bedtime is near. It even asked me if I was enjoying the cooler weather today.
The WiiFit also gave me the choice of either a male or female trainer. I chose the guy, because he was cute and why the heck not have a cute guy encouraging you to work out? I love when he says I’m doing well at this or that yoga pose, and I’m not upset when he tells me I need to work more at some strength exercise.
The competitive aspect of the Wii compels me forward. I love when I get a score higher than any score I had before. I continue to try to beat my personal best score on every game or exercise. I also love that as I gain time and expertise, the Wii makes more games and exercises available. When I aced the hula hoops, I was given access to advanced hula hoops — a bigger challenge. The more I work out, the more yoga poses I get, which is awesome because I have long loved yoga.
Admittedly, I was dismayed when the WiiFit gave me a chubby little Mii to reflect my overweight status. Arg, I yelled at my television avatar! That’s so unfair! Unfair, but accurate. I am overweight, though, thankfully, not obese. I’m determined to work out daily so that I can get myself a Mii that isn’t chubby. A Mii to reflect the ME I want to be.
I’ll get there. I’ve enjoyed working out on the Wii so much that I am now returning to my old morning habit of rising early enough to ride the exercise bike or row, and work out with weights in the morning before work. I loved working out for so long, then, when I ended up in a job with a long commute and even longer working hours, I soon fell out of the habit of getting up early enough to exercise before work and quickly gained ten pounds. Followed by another ten over the ensuing seven years. It was depressing, and as much as I loved the euphoria working out provided, I couldn’t get myself back into the routine. Now I’m back in that routine and still enjoying the fun of the Wii after work — what a great stress reliever after a a day in the office.
