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Wii Fit vs Gym

By Russ Howe


Unless you've been living under a rock, you will have seen or heard about Nintendo Wii Fit, the keep fit games console owned by millions of us worldwide. Microsoft and Sony recently also jumped into the fitness market with the Xbox Kinect and Playstation Move, too. But today we answer the number one question from fitness enthusiasts and exercise lovers worldwide...

Is losing weight at home via Wii Fit or other games consoles REALLY as effective as going to the gym?

Being a Personal Trainer, it would probably be acceptable of me to dismiss these products as a fad. However, that is not what I am going to do. While many trainers would be happy to just advise you to use a real gym, we can undoubtedly see that Nintendo Wii Fit, for example, has huge potential. Here are a few reasons why we believe this software actually has a massive future.

* Tools such as Wii Fit are fantastic for people who lack the confidence to workout in front of others at the gym

* Convenience is important in order to keep up with your fitness regime. This software literally allows a workout any time.

* The one time cost makes this very affordable. Cheaper than a home gym and a gym membership.

* The technology we currently see is developing all the time.

As a personal trainer you have to look at this type of technology with great enthusiasm for the future. You could, of course, see it as a potential threat however to me that's a sign of an insecure teacher. The fact is, this type of software allows gyms to prosper as it will help way more people get through the first, giant step of joining a gym. Who knows, maybe they would previously never have reached that stage with their confidence had they not been able to get started at home first.

Tools like this are excellent starting points for anyone who falls into the categories we listed above, and given the ability to download new workout routines to your console, workout with network friends, and the ever evolving nature of computer games in general I say this particular avenue of fitness is one which is very exciting indeed.

Is working out via your games console as effective as using a real gym? At the moment, no. But that's not a bad thing in any way. In fact the technology is already great and you can achieve fantastic weight loss results with the range of cardiovascular, yoga and body weight workouts available. Where it is still way behind the gym of course is resistance training. However in five to ten years I can see this being hugely progressed, too.

As a trainer I firmly believe that within the next five years we will have the ability to perform a full weights workout via our Wii, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 console at home. The technology is moving so nicely along that this warrants taking a look at what is already available and sticking with it to see how far it is taken.

If you are considering buying a Wii Fit, Xbox Kinect or Playstation Move for keep fit purposes I fully recommend you do so. They are already sound and have proven results but the most exciting aspect is that they get better with every single month which passes by.




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