June 2009 Archives

    It's the third week of the Wii fit challenge and I'm happy to report some good news. This last week I've lost five pounds! Fantastic! It's been tough going, and I've really had to push myself, but I feel slimmer, stronger, and better about myself in general. So far the best thing about the Wii fit is the manner in which it tracks your progress. Daily BMI tests are plotted on a line graph and its quite honestly a great source of motivation. Anytime your weight goes back up you can reflect on your activities in the previous days and try and correct your behavior.

    The aforementioned aspect has also been a great help in controlling my diet. Most of the times where my weight fluctuated upwards I could pick out where i could have made better eating choices. Loosing weight and becoming healthier is a two-fold process, as I've stated before and as any doctor will tell you. I feel that the Wii fit has thus far helped me manage both of those in a far more effecient fashion than I could have on my own.

    I must admit, where as at first I was working out almost exclusively on the Wii fit every day, I am now expanding my Exercise regemine. In just a few short weeks I'm up comfortably jogging two miles as a warm up for my workout. All in all I walk/jog for about thirty minutes which is the minimum recommended time for a worthwhile cardio workout. That leads into Wii Cardio exercises like the Stepping working or rythem boxing. All in all it makes for an manageable an effective seeming workout. I've also begun lifting weights in tandem with the Wii strength exercises. Best of all, even if I'm not actually using the Wii, the exercises I've learned fit in very well with weight lifting and other strength training exercises.

Well its the end of the first week of the Wii Fit Challenge, though its seemed like much longer than that. Dieting really sucks. Hopefully I'll get used to it soon though. As far as my work out with the Wii Fit goes however I been relatively satisfied. Many of the mini games and exercises are actually kind of fun and the first couple of days the strength training exercises had me feeling beaten and bruised. But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

The Wii fit has four major types off exercises: Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics, and Balance Games. Though I've unlocked most of the yoga poses I've only been able to try about half of them. There are about 15 in total. Some of them are far more taxing they may at first seem. Never having done yoga before, I cant estimate the effectiveness of the yoga workout with the Wii, as opposed to without it just yet. Mostly because I've never taken an actual yoga class before. I do intend to speak with other people who practice Yoga on a regular basis to discover the truth of the matter however.

The strength training exercises are the most difficult part of my Wii Fit workout. The game has you do exercises such as lunges, pushup/side planks, jackknifes, and any number of leg extension exercises. So far the lunges and the push ups seem most effective. While these are exercises that you could easily do without the Wii fit I can definitely say that I feel more inclined to do them on a more regular basis as part of my workout.

The aerobics games are designed to be fun as well as tiring. There is a hula hooping game as well as a number rhythm stepping games. My favorite game from this category has got to be rhythm boxing. Using the Wiimote and the nunchuck you have to move and punch in sync with the game. Its loads of fun and genuinely tiring, especially after doing it for ten minutes straight. The cool thing, the better timed your punches are, the more points you get, so you have to actively concentrate on force as well as finesses while doing this exercise.

The balance games are certainly fun, seeing my Mii dressed up in a penguin suit for one of them made me laugh, but I'm not sure how much they really contribute to my fitness goals. The theory is that better balance and posture will help a person become healthier overall. The balance exercises are designed to yield long term heath benefits as opposed to the Aerobic games which are designed to yield more immediate ones.

So far I've accrued no significant weight loss. I had managed to loose roughly two pounds over the first week, but I ganied them back over the fathers day weekend. I hate dieting, but this is an abject lesson to anyone reading out there, diet and exercise need to work in tandem to be truly effective. Hopefully I'll have some good news to report next week.

@Comic_con Comic-Con is sold out HOWEVER we are exploring the possibility of making a limited number of passes available 2 weeks before the show.

Well, leave it to Japan to come up with an idea so crazy, it's just plan awesome. Gundams are a staple in mech-lore, known pretty much around the world as an iconic figurine. To commemorate Gundam Mobile Suits 30th anniversary, a project was commissioned to build a life-size, 1/1 scale mobile suit that towers over Obaiba's Shiokaze Park in Tokyo, Japan. "Operation V" was a success and the result is no less than stunning. This 59-foot metal suit is the pinnacle of when two worlds collide, taking a scene from the franchise and meshing it with real world. If only we could get a life size Megazord or Optimus Prime hovering over Central Park. One can dream right?

My name is Kyle Hanke, and I am a gamer. I always have been and I'm pretty sure I always will be. I think its in my DNA. By this time most people know about Nintendo and their recent shift in the focus of their business. The company has stopped producing content exclusively for members hardcore gaming persuasion and is making an attempt to target casual gamers as well as non gamers. While Nintendo has not abandoned its die hard fans completely, a new Metroid title to be produced by the illustrious Team Ninja is proof enough of that, there can be no doubt that they have devoted a good deal of time and energy to tapping into a much larger market.

The uproar created by Nintendo's latest business plan was far from insignificant. Many members of the gaming community felt as though Nintendo was deserting the very people who had made them so successful in years past. The companies supposed betrayal was the hot topic for blogs, Internet forums, and web comics alike. Reading some of the things I read made it sound as though Nintendo was burning all its bridges and dancing like a loon amidst the terrible flames.

Personally, I have since come to believe that such is not the case. Even though Nintendo is undoubtedly building new bridges, that's not to say they're destroying the old ones. I've had loads of fun playing games like Smash Bros Brawl, No More Heroes, and Mad World to name few. In fact, Ive recently formulated the hypothesis that Nintendo's new found desire to appeal to people from all walks of life could actually benefit the gaming community as well. I'll admit, I'm not happy about large numbers of mostly unenlightened people trespassing on sacred gaming ground. What was once a distinct lifestyle know only to a few is now burgeoning into an almost universally accepted past time. More people are playing video games today than ever before and those of us who consider ourselves hard core gamers are going to have to get used to the idea.

Which brings me to my point. I think we can make this thing work both ways. If the mainstream of human society can enter into our sheltered world, using the bridge built for them by Nintendo, than maybe we can cross that same bridge and reap some of the benefits. I will admit I consider that a rather large maybe at this point but that's why I'm here. I'm here to test one of the more innovative technologies to come out for a console platform in recent years, the Wii Fit.

Now if you're an avid a gamer as I am, the chances are you don't have a lot of time or desire to exercise. My character in Fallout Three has maxed out Strength and Endurance, so why should I have to worry about it? Recently I decided that I did worry about it. I've been steadily gaining weight since I graduated High School and it finally got to the point where I decided I did need to worry about it.

Now Ive made attempts to get in shape before but most of them have failed miserably. Mostly because I have no idea what I'm doing. I could tell you the best way to beat Ninja Gaiden Black on Very Hard or how to max out character stats in a Fire Emblem game but there's absolutely no way I could describe how to do a push up properly. One of the main selling points of the Wii fit has been its ability to help you set goals and track your progress. I'd like to see if the Wii Fit can help me succeed where I've failed in the past.

To that end. Ive started a daily regemine of diet and exercise. Until now, I'd survived mostly and a Gamers diet: Sugar, salt, caffeine, and alcohol. Ive had to cut out things like beer, cheese, and fast food in general. That part isn't so hard, it sucks, but its doable. The tough part is finding the discipline needed to exercise and stay active on a day to day basis. I figure I've been trained fom a young age to complete my virtual mission objective no matter how many game overs I see scroll across the screen so maybe some of that dedication will carry over into my work outs.

If my experiment interests any of my gaming brothers and sisters out there I invite you to check back weekly as I report my progress. I'll be evaluating three things. First, how effective to I feel the exercises are. Second, are the exercises fun and challenging. Third, do I feel like the Wii fit is actually helping me meet my fitness goals as an average gamer.