23 November 2010
Video Games for Fitness?
Okay, so I have to admit something: A couple months ago, I actually purchased a Playstation 2 and two different Dance Dance Revolution games. I’m totally not the video game type, but I’ve played DDR a few times in the arcade and at friends’ houses and I just got hooked! I love it.
But here’s the other thing about DDR: I totally work up a sweat while playing! I mean, I feel like it’s way better cardio than half the machines at the gym. And — bonus — you never feel like you’re working out! I’m not saying spending $100 on a gaming console you may never otherwise use is a good idea (it was sort of, um, an impulse buy), but it’s kind of an awesome thing to have! One day I even stepped it up a notch and did a few sets of strength training in between each song. It was sort of a hardcore workout!
It got me thinking about other video games that tout workout capabilities — Wii Fit is the most obvious example, but there’s also several exercise-oriented games for the Xbox Kinect. My dad has the Xbox (trust me, it’s just as funny that he bought a gaming system as it is that I did!), and he just purchased a few fitness games. I’ll let you know how they are, but the whole camera-sensing-your-every-move thing is sort of freaky cool!
I’m curious, though. How many of you have used video games as workouts? If you have, which ones, and how well do you think they worked?
