Now, I'm no stranger to exercise. I played soccer throughout my youth, I've done plenty of Bikram yoga and Pilates, and I recently started super slow strength training. However, that's not to say I'm a fitness fanatic. My other habits -- playing videogames, watching TV and reading books -- are far more sloth-like. In fact, the whole reason I took up super slow strength training (30 minutes of high intensity weight lifting once a week) was because I'm too lazy to hit up the gym every other day. So we'll see what happens when I get my Active on. Bring it, EA.
Weeks 2 & 3:
I hit a milestone today: I finished workout number 12, so I'm officially at the halfway point of my Active venture. I also received a trophy for burning 1,000 calories throughout my time with More Workouts. This trophy system is one of Active's ways to keep players motivated throughout the six weeks, and I must say that just like Xbox Achievements or PlayStation Trophies, it's rewarding to receive them.
Things have been progressing smoothly, and working out is much easier now than it was during my first week. I don't mean to say that the workouts are easier -- those are still relatively challenging -- but rather I'm not dreading turning on the Wii anymore. In fact, some days I find myself looking forward spending time with More Workouts.
The sparring station is still my favorite, but there are a few exercises I can't help but hate (push-ups, I'm looking at you). Thankfully, More Workouts allows you to remove exercises from the preset list in order to customize your workout. This feature came in real handy last Friday -- I was running late but still wanted to work out, so I just kept my favorite exercises and got a quick, 10 minute session in before the weekend.
Week 1:
Well, I survived my first week. Between the four EA workouts (on medium intensity) and my regular weight training, I'm pretty sore. So far, I'm enjoying my Active experience with one major exception: people making fun of me. I play at my desk in a row full of men just waiting to pounce with a sarcastic remark about me running or jumping. It's the cross I must bear though, and at least I'll be stronger than all of them by the end of this.
Anyway, More Workouts responds appropriately for the most part (there have been minor hiccups, but nothing too annoying) and controls have been pretty intuitive. Update: Although I had encountered some issues with waterskiing earlier, the problems were because of me (good ol' user-error), not the game. So don't fret, waterskiing works just as well as the other exercises.
The addition of ab routines was wise. They're tough, and my stomach feels awesome. I'm hoping that I'll look like pre-crazy Britney Spears after this...but I probably won't.
Finally, a quick word of caution: wear good, supportive athletic shoes for this game since you'll be doing a lot of running and jumping. I made the mistake of using flat shoes on Monday, which made my IT band (group of fibers alongside the outer thigh) slightly sore - an injury common to runners.
That's it for this week, check back next Friday to see if my legs are still attached to my body.