The Wii and physical fitness?

saluki

The Wii and physical fitness?

saluki

Okay folks---Need to know from those who have them---Is this a real possibility..........I'm not talking of running the marathon here.  I'm asking

if you can actually break a sweat using say --say the tennis, or bowling

game?

From a geriatric perspective could this be an acceptable and less risky way of getting some exercise or is this a pipe dream?

I have an Urban rebounder that no one including my physical therapist wants me anywhere near (in fact the mention of me and the rebounder in the same sentence strikes a look of horror on their faces).

So far the only thing they let me do is water exercises-----no risk of falling there.

If this Nintendo Wii is something worth considering, I'd like to know. Rather than plunking down more money for another piece of exercise equipment destined to become a clothes hanger it might be nice if there was something I could have the incentive to use.................

Far fetched idea or not?

I know nothing about Wii nor Nintendo-----

Anonymous

Susie...One of my employees is working on a Master's in clinical research and is conducting his school project using Wii. He also owns a ton of the games. He tells me that the games that come with the basic Wii set are a bit tame, especially the bowling one, and you pretty much get out what you put into the tennis one (says you can just stand there and barely move the remote and the "num-chuck" and still make hits). He did say, though (and this is very cool!) that they are about to release a program called WiiFit that will be like your own personal trainer and take you through exercises, tell you calories you're burning, etc. It will also have related games for activities like yoga, etc. It has been released in Japan already and is scheduled to be released in the US this month. This might be worth waiting for, but you'll need the basic set first anyway. Here's the website describing some of the features:

http://www.wiihealthy.com/

Also, check out this Youtube he sent to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oNVIcMnZh4

In addition to wiiFit, they have several dance games like "Boogie" which has you dancing to top 40's and he says they have ones for salsa and hip-hop type dance too. These sound like so much fun!

So let us know if you decide to do this. I think it looks waaaaaay cool! I might just have to buy one too!

~Marin

saluki

Yes Marin--I went to the youtube site you posted-----That is exactly what

I'm looking for----It may seem tame but I need slow gentle movements

or I can flare the RSD. I wonder if its going to have Tae Chi?

I hear there is also something called DDR for Wii (dance revolution?)

supposedly fun and works up a sweat.

May have to seriously consider this!----and start checking prices.  I'll let you know what happens.  Thanks for the info.  I knew If anyone would know--it would be you. 

Anonymous

Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) is NOT tame at all, Susie. My son has it for PS2 and comes off the game sweaty and out of breath. We actually went to a DDR competition a few summers ago to watch him dance against other kids. It was pretty amazing what people can do with their feet, lol.



The movements are pretty fast and you have to jump around a lot which may aggravate your RSD...

Isabella4

My grandchildren got a Wii for Christmas. I was treated to it all Christmas Day, from 10am right up until 11.30pm.

They came armed with 12 games, and the damned thing drove me nuts. There were 5 of them constantly playing games, and the energy they must have expended was truly amazing. The constant drumming of their feet, and the swishing of their arms just seemed to go on and on!

Us grownups were just hysterical laughing at the very littlest one, he had no idea we were watching him, his little body dancing and thrashing around as he did the boxing game, he was so comical!

If these kids weren't in the peak of physical fitness the day after Christmas, they never would be!!

All I was panicking about was one of the handsets bashing on into DH's beloved big screen TV, I would have been mincemeat if that had happened...(I get the blame for everything !!!)

I would imagine the Wii games, at least some of them, would do a very good fitness workout ,I wouldn't have minded a go myself, but didn't want to make a fool of myself rolling around !!!! I would certainly have a go if ever the kids left it at my house!!

Isabella. 

saluki

Felicia---I figured DDR would be way out of my league!---I need to be very careful not to aggravate an already bad situation. Even with the sport pack I'd still have to watch that I don't wreck up my only usable arm.

  It's the Wii fit Marin mentions that looks like a good possibility.  The You tube site she

linked to showed an excerpt from Wii fit and that looked very doable even for me.

It's not out yet in this country. That gives me time to look for a decently priced console--if there is such a thing!

That may be difficult to find judging by Ebay----there are 20 bidders or more for most of the consoles and there are pages of them!

badboob67

UGH...I can hear my boys lobbying for yet ANOTHER video game system! LOL  Seriously, though...I would be pleased if they were doing more than sitting on their fannies while playing these games. The personal trainer for Wii sounds interesting!  I just wish these things weren't so pricey.  Yow!

BethNY

Okay I skipped everyone's replies b/c I just had to tell you

YES, YES, YES.

The wii is awesome.

Doubles tennis 5 matches, and boxing, will have you sweating up a storm.

The wii fit is coming out soon, with yoga, and core training.

I love it love it love it.  It is fun for the whole family.

The boxing is a sick workout, if you get to a good level, where you go at least 4-6 rounds before a knockout.

Tennis, again, once you get to a good level playing doubles, and if you play 3-5 matches, not just one match, you will get your heart rate going, while you have a ton of fun.

I give it 2 enthusiastic thumbs up, and I HATE video games.

BethNY

and i forgot to mention Wii age, and Wii fitness on the original dvd as the boxing, tennis, bowling, baseball, golf.  When I first did my Wii age I was 62.  Took a few weeks to get down to my 40's.

Remember you need to buy another remote and nunchuck for like $60. It only comes with one.

BethNY

and now that i've read the replies-- someone said they were worried about the remotes bashing the tv. there are now soft colored covers you can get for the remotes at target for $10-$15, and always wear the remote strap no matter what sport you're playing...

Annakin

I totally agree.  I work up a sweat everytime I play it.  I can not sit while playing tennis.  I have to move like I am really moving toward the ball.  One caution...we as cancer survivors always think that any little pain is cancer again.  After Wii bowling every evening....I got this ache in my side.  I just knew the cancer had metasticised to my ribs!  My dr. said "Lay off the Wii for a day or two!"  I did and all is well.  It is a great work out for a 50 year old.

Ann

saluki

Beth and Ann---After your enthusiastic endorsements I must have spent most of the night trying to track one down at a reasonable price-------

Guess there are many that feel the same way.

There are bidding wars going on at Ebay driving up the price astronomically.

Additionally, retailers are trying to take

advantage of the shortage by taking the basic $250.00 model-----and bundling it with hundreds of dollars worth of unwanted games driving the price to $500 and above-------------Totally insane! This thing is like gold.

If anyone knows of a reasonable place to get this---please do tell!

Annakin

Sorry, but we just happened on ours last July.  Have looked for them since then for our kids.  They are supposed to start having more of them beginning the end of this month.  Just keep looking.  Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Sam's....they all carry them.  You just have to be there when they arrive.  Good luck to you!

Ann

BethNY

You have to call the stores, and talk to a manager, and be really nice.  Ask them what day they get shipment.  If it's a Tuesday, then on that day, you need to call and ask if shipment has arrived and has been unpacked on put on the floor yet.  Then if they say yes, and they received Wii's, you need to be at that store within 15 minutes to get it.

saluki

Thanks Beth.  Sounds like a plan!

lewisfamily503

I think you can pre-order one also. Just go to the store and pay a small down payment for them to hold one for you. That's what we did when we wanted to get the game, Rock Band. By the way, Rock Band (for x box OR play station) is also an excellent work out, especially playing the drums. PLUS--(here's me being a music teacher giving a plug!) you can also practice rhythm and timing and work on those music skills a bit. As for the WII, we had one, but my son just sold it. It was too "simplistic" for his tastes in gaming. We LOVED playing the bowling, boxing and golf games though. I give it a very enthusiastic two thumbs up!!



Anne

saluki

Still no luck for the basic $250. model.---Sears had them online for about 2 seconds.

Guess I'm not the only one thinking this may be a good thing.

-------------------------------------

Doctors use Wii games for rehab therapy

By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer2 hours, 39 minutes ago

Some call it "Wiihabilitation." Nintendo's Wii video game system, whose popularity already extends beyond the teen gaming set, is fast becoming a craze in rehab therapy for patients recovering from strokes, broken bones, surgery and even combat injuries.

The usual stretching and lifting exercises that help the sick or injured regain strength can be painful, repetitive and downright boring.

In fact, many patients say PT — physical therapy's nickname — really stands for "pain and torture," said James Osborn, who oversees rehabilitation services at Herrin Hospital in southern Illinois.

Using the game console's unique, motion-sensitive controller, Wii games require body movements similar to traditional therapy exercises. But patients become so engrossed mentally they're almost oblivious to the rigor, Osborn said.

"In the Wii system, because it's kind of a game format, it does create this kind of inner competitiveness. Even though you may be boxing or playing tennis against some figure on the screen, it's amazing how many of our patients want to beat their opponent," said Osborn of Southern Illinois Healthcare, which includes the hospital in Herrin. The hospital, about 100 miles southeast of St. Louis, bought a Wii system for rehab patients late last year.

"When people can refocus their attention from the tediousness of the physical task, oftentimes they do much better," Osborn said.

Nintendo Co. doesn't market Wii's potential use in physical therapy, but company representative Anka Dolecki said, "We are happy to see that people are finding added benefit in rehabilitation."

The most popular Wii games in rehab involve sports — baseball, bowling, boxing, golf and tennis. Using the same arm swings required by those sports, players wave a wireless controller that directs the actions of animated athletes on the screen.

The Hines Veterans Affairs Hospital west of Chicago recently bought a Wii system for its spinal cord injury unit.

Pfc. Matthew Turpen, 22, paralyzed from the chest down in a car accident last year while stationed in Germany, plays Wii golf and bowling from his wheelchair at Hines. The Des Moines, Iowa, native says the games help beat the monotony of rehab and seem to be doing his body good, too.

"A lot of guys don't have full finger function so it definitely helps being able to work on using your fingers more and figuring out different ways to use your hands" and arms, Turpen said.

At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the therapy is well-suited to patients injured during combat in Iraq, who tend to be in the 19 to 25 age range — a group that's "very into" playing video games, said Lt. Col. Stephanie Daugherty, Walter Reed's chief of occupational therapy.

"They think it's for entertainment, but we know it's for therapy," she said.

It's useful in occupational therapy, which helps patients relearn daily living skills including brushing teeth, combing hair and fastening clothes, Daugherty said.

WakeMed Health has been using Wii games at its Raleigh, N.C., hospital for patients as young as 9 "all the way up to people in their 80s," said therapist Elizabeth Penny.

"They're getting improved endurance, strength, coordination. I think it's very entertaining for them," Penny said.

"It really helps the body to loosen up so it can do what it's supposed to do," said Billy Perry, 64, a retired Raleigh police officer. He received Wii therapy at WakeMed after suffering a stroke on Christmas Eve.

Perry said he'd seen his grandchildren play Wii games and was excited when a hospital therapist suggested he try it.

He said Wii tennis and boxing helped him regain strength and feeling in his left arm.

"It's enjoyable. I know I'm going to participate with my grandkids more when I go visit them," Perry said.

While there's plenty of anecdotal evidence that Wii games help in rehab, researcher Lars Oddsson wants to put the games to a real test.

Oddsson is director of the Sister Kenny Research Center at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. The center bought a Wii system last summer and is working with the University of Minnesota to design a study that will measure patients' function "before and after this 'Wiihab,' as someone called it," Oddsson said.

"You can certainly make a case that some form of endurance related to strength and flexibility and balance and cardio would be challenged when you play the Wii," but hard scientific proof is needed to prove it, Oddsson said.

Meantime, Dr. Julio Bonis of Madrid says he has proof that playing Wii games can have physical effects of another kind.

Bonis calls it acute "Wiiitis" — a condition he says he developed last year after spending several hours playing the Wii tennis game.

Bonis described his ailment in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine — intense pain in his right shoulder that a colleague diagnosed as acute tendonitis, a not uncommon affliction among players of real-life tennis.

Bonis said he recovered after a week of ibuprofen and no Wii, and urged doctors to be aware of Wii overuse.

Still, as a Wii fan, he said in an e-mail that he could imagine more moderate use would be helpful in physical therapy "because of the motivation that the game can provide to the patient."

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

 

Fitztwins

I promised the twins if they learned all of there words I would get them a wii.  They already have the games picked out.

saluki

Yes ---Finally scored one at the base price $250. plus tax.--

Feel like I won the lottery after a half year of getting a lead and within minutes having them sold out.

Got it just now Best Buy only available online at this price.

No 5 or 6 hundred dollar bundle---finally!

Exercise here I come!

Anyone have wii fit ????

saluki

Wow--Sold out in less than two hours.

BethNY

I'm so excited. Wii FIT comes out soon!!! I can't wait to get it!

Anonymous

So base price for a Wii is still $250?

Anonymous

Well, I just checked on line and the price at Wal-Mart is over $500 but that includes a "bundle" of various games with it.

saluki

Rockerman- Base price if your are lucky and can get a ticket to wait in line at 6:30 in the morning for your chance to nab one in person.

I've seen it a few times on Sears.com at the 250.00 price but it sells out in minutes if not seconds--even using Wii tracker

I can't imagine it will change with these greedy retailers rationing a few Wii

and saving the majority to bundle for over $500.

Heck if you are lucky enough to score one of these things -you can still resell them for a premium on Ebay or even Amazon.  

No incentive to bring the price down.

Next month when Wii fit comes out there will probably be an even heavier demand.

By the way Beth---Amazon has a pre-order wii fit guaranteed price --so if you order it you will never pay more than that price;  But if for some reason the price is lower when it is released you will get that price.

I'm hoping that this will help with my balance issues.

BethNY

Did you see the video for Wii fit?  Let me look for the link:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5oNVIcMnZh4

I am so stoked for this. 

gracejon

There was an article in our local paper recently about a senior citizens group that has a few Wii's and run weekly tournaments from their center.  It looked like they were having a lot of fun.  Wii fit is due out this May.  I think I saw a sign in a Best Buy of May 10th but I am unsure of the exact date.  I do know they are taking reservations with a deposit.

miamimama

I reserved with Best Buy - it's due here on May 19th.

saluki

Walmart has a Mother's day flyer advertising a $10 dollar gift card if you pre-order Wii-fit for $89.74.  It will ship on 5/19

Gift card is only for use online I think.

Mind you the ad says it requires the console which they advertise at 249.24 but they admit quantities are limited and no rain checks.

Dejaboo

I cant wait for Wii Fit!  It will come out about the day I have my BL mast with expanders...So it might be a little while before I get to try it.  But I plan on using it all summer.  I do like the Wii Sports.  Bowling is my favorite- maybe because Im good at it.  I didnt get much of a work out from it though.

My daughter & I have boxed several times.  The 1st time we tried it...We didnt really see each other for the few days after we played...Both of is had a one sided back ache. We both  thought we were coming down with a cold.  When we mentioned it to each other - it was pretty funny.  So that gave us a work out - although a wierd one.

I didnt look at the walmart ad..Ill have to check it out.

I was wondering if Costco will have it for less.  Or will it be a locked price item?

My daughter just got Mario Kart with the wheel at Costco for $40 (Amazon had that for $50)

Anonymous

So can I get one for the $249 price??  And where?