EA Sports Active: More Workouts

For those of you who aren’t already familiar with EA Sports Active, this Nintendo Wii game was released May 19, 2009. It uses the motion controls of the Wii to track the movements as players complete exercises. Players can create exercise routines and are encouraged to take a 30 Day Challenge where they use the game to workout 5 days a week for 30 days. The game plays similarly to an interactive exercise video, with the advantage of allowing you to view the calories you burn as you complete exercises.

One of the biggest strengths of the game is the ability to invoke community involvement. For example, a new 5k Challenge was recently announced to encourage players to train for, and participate in a 5k race. The EA Sports Active website provides community encouragement to meet the goal and find a local 5k race to participate in. This is appropriate as one of the exercises rumored to be included in EA Sports Active: More Workouts is a new running exercise. All told, there are rumored to be over 35 new exercises and stretches in the new expansion pack for EA Sports Active.

Based on the title, EA isn’t trying to hide that this is not an entirely new game but an expansion on the original game. EA is not the only company to do this for the Wii Fit. Nintendo recently released an update to their popular Wii Fit game called Wii Fit Plus, and for $19.99 it is a must have for Wii Fit fans. There are many EA Sports Active fans out there who opted to not purchase the Wii Fit, and for them EA Sports Active: More Exercises will be very appealing. However a suggested retail price of $39.99 may keep all but the most active fans from buying this game.

As we get closer to the release date I’ll be sure to keep all of my readers up to date with the details of the exercise, and as soon as I can get my hands on the game I’ll write a much more detailed review. In the mean time you can Pre-Order EA Sports Active: More Workouts from Amazon.com for $39.99.

Wii Fit Plus was released yesterday, October 5th 2009 for the Nintendo Wii with little fan-fare. This game is best considered to be an expansion pack for the original Wii Fit game. New Wii Balance Boards will come with Wii Fit Plus, and for those players who already own Wii Fit can purchase Wii Fit Plus for approximately $20.00 from Amazon.com, or their local video game store. Wii Fit Plus will import all existing data from Wii Fit and allow you to use all of the same excercises and play the same games, so you won’t need your Wii Fit disc anymore – you’ll just use Wii Fit Plus.

New Features

While Wii Fit Plus includes all of the same features as the Wii Fit, it also includes a number of additional features not previously available. There is now a My WiiFit Plus section which gives you the ability to configure a custom workout, view the calories in many foods, and set personal goals. There are also 3 new Yoga positions and 3 new Strength Training exerciseswith3 Strength Training Challenges. There are no new Balance Games, but there are 15 Training Plus games and exercises! While I haven’t tried them all yet, I was very impressed with the selection.

The weigh-in and fitness test features are relatively unchanged. You could always weigh in pets, babies, and other objects but now there is an ability to register you baby or pet as a player. This is a neat feature, but the only problem is that it takes up one of your player slots so if you have a lot of friends who use your Wii Fit you may not have room because the player limit is still 8 players.

Calories Burned

One of my biggest complaints about the Wii Fit game was that you couldn’t view your calories burned, but now the exercises and games show you the calories burned after completing them. The calories burned are calculated by the METs of the exercise, your weight, and the length of the exercise. METs are a standardized unit of measuring the number of calories burned, each exercise has a METs value assigned to it which lets Wii Fit Plus calculate your total calories burned. The calories are then tracked in your Wii Fit bank so you can see the total calories burned for the day as well.

Obstacle Course

The first game I tried out on the Wii Fit Plus was Obstacle Course, found under the new Training Plus section. In this fun game you have to walk between moving platforms, jump over obstacles, and run past wrecking balls. On my first attempt through the obstacle course I made it to the second stage and didn’t think walking on the Balance Board could possibly be a good workout. I tried it a couple more times and made it to the third board and found that all of the jumping was actually making my legs pretty tired. After 4 attempts Wii Fit Plus reported that I’d burned about 50 calories and it felt like it.

I can’t wait to try out some more of the games and explore all of the new features. When I setup my first workout routine I’ll be sure to post an update. For the $20 it cost this game was well worth it, or if you like to shop around for the cheapest price, Amazon.com currently has a discount on Wii Fit Plus.

Wii Fit Plus – $19.49

Track Calories Burned

One of the most anticipated features of this game was the ability to track the number of calories burned with each exercise.  EA Sports Active will tell you before each 30 minute workout routine how many calories you’re projected to burn, then as you exercise it will show you in real-time exactly how many calories you’ve burned during your workout. This is similar to the way a treadmill will show you how many calories you’ve burned, based on your weight and intensity of the workout.

Once you’ve completed your 30 minute routine you will be able to view  a graph of your Projected Calories Burned versus your Actual Calories Burned. You can see at what points in your routine you exceeded your trainer’s expectations and at what points you fell below the projected calorie burn. Unfortunately you cannot view which exercises you excelled at, you can only view the graph based on the time of the workout. Also once you leave this summary screen there is no way to get back to it. You cannot track your calories burned over a day, week, or month which is a feature I really wish they would have implemented.

Personal Trainer

EA Sports Active offers the best workout routine to date for the Nintendo Wii. You can tell that the goal of this game is to provide a virtual personal trainer that is a good replacement for a live person. In EA Sports you have the option to chose from either a male or a female personal trainer, both are comparable and you can choose either depending on your personal preference.

Your EA Sports Personal Trainer will be responsible for motivating you and explaining the proper technique to complete each exercise. Your Virtual Trainer will excel at both of these tacks. Throughout the exercises your trainer continues to tell you that you’re doing a good job and are on your was to success. I’ve only done 5 sessions (about 30 minutes each) with my trainer, but as of the last exercise routine I found that I was motivated throughout the routine.  The trainer will not say many different phrases  to motivate you, and the phrases aren’t specific to what you’re doing at the moment so after a few more training routines she will likely become less motivating.

The most important task of your personal trainer is showing you the proper technique to get the most out of your workout. I  consider EA Sport’s success in this area the biggest strength of this game. When you start each exercise you are presented with a few pictures and a description about what you’re doing. If this is your first time doing the exercise you will also be presented with an instructional video where you can watch your trainer do the exercise first.  You should watch your trainer carefully because the position of the Wii Remote is critical in many exercises. For example in rollerblading, you crouch to gain speed, when doing this it is important to hold your hands behind you and point the Wiimote towards the ground so the game knows you’re crouching. This may seem burdensome, but the instructional videos make it very easy to understand. If you forget how to hold the Wiimote mid-exercise you can always look in the bottom right corner of your screen to see how your training is doing the exercise.

If you don’t hold your wii-mote just right, or if you don’t have the sensitivity of the wii-mote adjusted properly you will find that the game doesn’t detect what you’re doing and it will pause the workout while you redo the repetition you were working on. This can get slightly annoying, but I’ve found the more I’ve played the less that happens. Your EA Sports Personal Trainer also lacks the ability to challenge you further depending on your stamina. This is really what makes a real personal trainer so worth while. They know your limits better than you do, and will push you to them. EA Sports Active has a set number of repetitions that you have to do, and while it will motivate you to complete them it won’t push you any harder to do more reps if you still have the energy.

Resistance Band and Leg Strap

Included with your purchase of EA Sports Active are two fitness accessories, the resistance band and the leg strap. These accessories are used during your fitness routines to help you get a more intense workout and track your movements more accurately. If you’ve ever played the Wii Fit jogging exercise you’ll remember how you were required to put the Wii Remote in your pocket to jog. Not all of us had pockets large enough to fit the Wiimote, and some of us had such deep pockets that the Wiimote wouldn’t sit properly. The Leg Strap included with EA Sports Active was designed to resolve that problem. You wear it on your upper leg and slide the nunchuck into the pocket of the Leg Strap. Not only does this allow your movements to be recorded properly for jogging exercises, but you will also use it for lunges, jumping, and rollerblading.

I have been very satisfied with the performance of the leg strap; no exercises that use it have an issue recognizing my motions. To achieve the best accuracy the Leg Strap needs to be worn as high on the thigh as possible, and for those people with big legs,  an extension is included which allow you to extend the size of the Leg Strap. This won’t be a problem for most people, but in the event that the resistance band doesn’t fit properly you can put the nunchuck in your pocket, or modify the Leg Strap by either sewing it onto a pair of workout pants or extending it by adding another elastic to it.

The Resistance Band on the other hand doesn’t seem to work so well. I’m pretty tall at 6’4″ and the band still doesn’t offer me much resistance. This seems to be a common complaint from others who I’ve played with. I’ve found that if I want to get a little bit more resistance out of the band I can tie the handles on in a way that makes the resistance band just a little bit shorter. This has worked great for me, though I’m not sure that the Resistance Band was designed for this, and I may be shortening the life of it by doing it this way. The alternative is purchasing a  high-quality resistance band that will provide you with a better workout. You can purchase a 5 pack of resistance bands from Amazon.com that range from 3 to 42 lbs of resistance. Ripcords Exercise Bands – Power Tension 5 Pack are the resistance bands I’ll end up purchasing when the EA Sports Active band breaks.

One of my favorite features of EA Sports Active is that you can workout with a friend. Many exercises do not require you to use the Resistance Band and Leg Strap, however if the second player want the full experience an EA Sports Active Multiplayer Pack can be purchased separately for a retail price of $26.99, so if you require an extra set for a friend this might be a great option.

Wii Fit Balance Board

If you’ve already purchased the Wii Fit then you already have the Balance Board, which is an optional accessory for EA Sports Active. When you create your profile you can specify whether you have access to the Wii Fit Balance Board. If you do have access to this accessory then a number of additional exercises will become available to you. Typically the exercises that utilize the Wii Balance Board are not a better workout than those that don’t utilize it, they’re just different. For example the standard Rollerblading exercise requires you to crouch down, then jump up when you go over a ramp so you can do a trick. For the Balance Board enhanced version of Rollerblading you crouch down to gain speed, then instead of jumping up you need to lift either your left or right leg to avoid obstacles. It is fun to use the Balance Board occasionally for exercises, but it is not a necessary accessory to play the game.

Since EA Sports Active does have a multi-player option available, you should be aware that the exercises that utilize the balance board will not be available in multi-player mode. There is no way to add in an extra Balance Board if your friend has one. One area I do find lacking is the use of the Balance Board outside of fitness games. While it is easy to access the Wii Fit game to weigh in if you create a shortcut on the Wii Home Screen, it would be nice if EA Sports Active gave you the ability to track your weight. Since you can view reports of how well you ate, and how much you sleep it would be nice if you could compare that to how much weight you lost. Unfortunately this isn’t an option.

In conclusion EA Sports Active is a good buy at a retail price of $59.99. The included resistance band and leg strap help justify the higher than normal retail price tag, however in my opinion that justification is not necessary, as this game is already a great value. If you’re looking for an interactive workout routine then there is no better option than EA Sports Active. For those of you looking to replace Fitness Videos with a game, this is the title to check out. However, if you’re looking for a party game that will generate a lot of laughs like Wii Fit, then this may not be the game for you. This game doesn’t try to do it all, but when it comes to its goal of getting you fit with variable workouts it does an excellant job.

There is still much more to discuss about this game, feel free to post any questions or comments you have about the game here. Also look forward to some additional articles from me reviewing specific exercises in this game. Thanks for reading my article, don’t forget to subscribe to my Twitter Feed so you know when I add a new article.

EA Sports Active

Shape Boxing – Enhanced Wii Fit Rhythm Boxing

The biggest surprise to me after my first fitness session on Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout was how dominant the Shape Boxing exercises were. I knew this was going to be a major feature of the game, however I had no idea it would be the center of the game. When you start playing, like most fitness games for the Wii you begin by creating an avatar or persona to represent you.

Unlike the Wii Fit game you are unable to use your Mii, but considering this game was released by UbiSoft and not Nintendo this wasn’t a big surprise. Once your avatar is setup you jump right into Shape Boxing training.  You go through some training on how to punch and defend then you setup your controls.

Double Wii Remote Style

The only options you have when setting up your controls for Gold’s Gym: Cardio Workout are whether or not you are left or right handed, and whether you would like to use your Wii Remote and a Nunchuck, or whether you would like to use two Wii Remotes. The option to use two Wii-motes is a huge innovation in boxing games. This peaked my interest as soon as I saw the option during the setup, and while I tried both methods I found the Double Wii Remote Style to be the best choice. Instead of having your Wii-mote tethered to a Nunchuck like you do in Wii Fit you can have a completely wireless setup (provided you have two Wii Remotes available). Another advantage to the Duel Wii Remote Style is that you have a balanced amount of weight in each hand. That may not be something you initially think of, but when you’re doing a 15 minute workout it will make the punches feel much more natural.

Utilizing the Wii Fit Balance Board

With such an innovation in the way this game uses the Duel Wii Remotes I had high expectations of the way in which it would make use of the Balance Board which was originally distributed with the Wii Fit. Unfortunately so far I’ve been very disappointed. When doing Shape Boxing routines you do not use the Balance Board at all. Defense exercises do require you to step forward and backwards similar to Rhythm Boxing for the Wii Fit, however you don’t use the balance board so consequently this game doesn’t track your steps. This assumption that you’re stepping when directed to do so allows the player to easily cheat the system. While I don’t recommend doing this because from a fitness standpoint you will only be cheating yourself, it does make it easier to progress through some of the faster paced defensive exercises with ease. Plus if you cheat the system the report of your calories burned will be incorrect. I do understand the reason UbiSoft made this decision was because they wanted to create a balanced environment for all users, but they could have at least added the ability to weigh yourself in to track your progress. Some fitness exercises such as push-ups and squats use the Balance Board, but that is about the limit of its usefulness in this game. I had very high expectations of the way this game would utilize the Wii Fit Balance Board in the exercise routines, and unfortunately it was disappointing. The good news is that this makes for an excellent game to travel with when you don’t have room to pack your Balance Board.

Getting Fit with Golds Gym: Cardio Workout

While you won’t be using the Balance Board frequently, you will find yourself getting an excellent workout with this game. I’ve worked myself up to the point where I could play an hour of Rhythm Boxing on the Wii Fit without being sore afterward, but just an hours on Gold’s Gym: Cardio Workout and my muscles have been sore for a few days now. This is because the Shape Boxing routines require you to use multiple categories of muscles.

If you’re familiar with boxing or kick-boxing you will be familiar with some of the different punches that are required during the course of this game. Jabs, Upper Cuts, Hooks, and Cross Punches will all utilize different muscles in your arms to ensure you have a more balanced workout. You will also be encouraged to move your body to the rhythm of 22 motivational songs including “Eye of the Tiger”. To do this you must shift your weight forward and backwards to the rhythm of the music. Again, there is no balance board to measure this so it is easy to cheat it, but if you do it right not only will your arms be sore by the end of your workout but your legs will be too.

In addition to Shape Boxing there are a variety of other exercises you will have access to. These include some upper and lower body workouts such as squats and push-ups and also some cardio workouts such as jump rope. As you progress through the levels of Shape Boxing from Beginner to Expert you will earn ‘Gold’ which can be used to unlock additional exercises. While I haven’t unlocked them all yet, I can see that it will take quite a while to unlock all of the features of this game.

Ultimately, if you weren’t a fan of Rhythm Boxing for the Wii Fit I can’t recommend this game to you. For me, and many others I know Rhythm Boxing was their favorite workout. To those of you like me, I encourage you to purchase this game because the 21 separate punches will really give you a workout once you’ve got them all unlocked. You will follow a set training routine and not just box free-style so the game gives you enough structure to give you an excellent workout. This game is especially useful for those people who haven’t purchased the Wii Fit yet, but still want to use the Wii to stay in shape. The bottom line is that as long as you enjoyed Rhythm Boxing for the Wii Fit you  can’t for wrong with Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout for $30.00 (or less if you buy from Amazon).

Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout – $27.99

Customizable Training Routine

Your experience in EA Sports Active will begin with creating a profile, then listening to Bob Greene teach you about the game. Users of the Wii Fit should find this starting routine familiar as  it is similar to many of the exercise games on the market. Bob will teach you about the many interactive exercises that are new to the game, luckily these exercises won’t be just another knock off of the Wii Fit. The training routine can be customized, so you can get the workout you design. One of my biggest complaints about Wii Fit was that you had to return to the main menu to select a new exercise. EA Sports Active will eliminate that with their customizable training routing. You can choose a combination of upper and lower body workouts along with fun, interactive cardio exercises to target specific muscle groups during your customized workout.

Throughout each step of the customized circuit training routine your personal trainer will evaluate your performance and motivate you to work harder. Once you’ve completed each routine your virtual personal trainer will tell you how many calories you burned and give you the option to increase or decrease the intensity of your workout. The 30 Day Challenge mode will allow your virtual trainer to challenge you based on your daily progress. As EA Sports Active tracks your calories burned it will increase the intensity of your 20 minute workouts based on your fitness level. You can even specify your fitness goals and your Virtual Trainer will customize a workout based on your fitness goals. This will be the closest thing a game has ever come to mimicking a real personal trainer.

Accessories: Leg Strap & Resistance Band

As you have probably already gathered, many of the exercise routines on EA Sports Active are compatible with the Wii Balance Board. While this accessory isn’t include with the purchase of the game two other great accessories are. The resistance band can be used to increase the intensity of many of the game’s workouts. Without this accessory exercises such as shoulder presses and curls would be of little fitness value, but with this accessory you will be able to get a great workout. This is one of my favorite features of the game because I wasn’t very satisfied with push-ups on the Wii Fit. I felt like the Balance Board added little to the strength training exercises, so hopefully with the inclusion of the Resistance Band the strength training exercises will be more beneficial.

Another exercise on the Wii Fit that was better in theory than in practice was the Jogging Workout. You were required to place the Wii-mote in your pocket in order to jog. For some people their Mii would run extra fast with little effort, for me I could run as fast as possible and my Mii would take a leisurely stroll. EA Sports Active aims at fixing that by including the Leg Strap with the game which will go around your upper leg and then allow you to inset the Nunchuck into it. Not only will this accessory make jogging easier but EA has announced that it will also be used for cardio boxing, and other exercises like squats. Some images that have been released even indicate that it may be used for games like tennis.

Play With a Friend

The Wii Fit did a lot of the same things right as Wii Sports, however it got the co-op games wrong. The only multi-player mode available on Wii Fit is jogging, and as I mentioned earlier I was less than impressed with the jogging workout. EA Sports Active offers more variety in its cooperation games than Wii Fit, so I’m excited to get my hands on a copy of the game to test out the co-op modes with a friend. Besides doing your normal workout routine with a friend you can play games like tennis which will add motivation to your workout routine.

With the multitude of features packed into EA Sports Active I’m excited to see how it all comes together. With all of the fitness games available for the Nintendo Wii, I’m most excited about this one. The only negative I see about this game is the price tag, but a MSRP of $60.00 still sounds reasonable considering it includes two accessories. I’ve put my name on the Amazon.com pre-order list so I’m sure to have a copy as soon as it comes out. I’ll be sure to post as more information on the game is released.

EA Sports Active

Ubi Soft has a release date of March 30th scheduled for Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout however the details are still sketchy at best. While looking for a new exercise game for the Wii Fit I came across this game, however I haven’t been able to find too much more than that it supports the Wii Balance Board. Currently there are no viable alternatives to the Wii Fit for exercise games that utilize the Balance Board. Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2009 has poor reviews, and doesn’t seem like it would even be worth the $30.00 cost.

My Fitness Coach looks like a fun game from the reviews on Amazon.com, however it doesn’t utilize the Balance Board. While I don’t require that any Wii fitness games use the balance board to the extent that the Wii Fit does, it would be nice for it to make some use out of it. At the least I’d like to be able to track my weight loss progress in the game.

Due to the lack of current fitness games available for the Wii there is a large market segment available for someone to take advantage of. A number of images of Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout have been made available and we can identify a number of the games features from them. First and foremost, the game style seems to be very similar to the Wii Fit. There will be a number of the same cardiovascular exercises that you mastered in the Wii Fit. Look for it to include running, wii fit boxing. and jump rope.

There is also a screen shot that shows that you will be able to track your calories burned. This is a feature that has been lacking from Wii Fit and is crucial for anyone serious about using the Wii fit for fitness. When this game comes out at the end of March I look forward to be able to complete a workout and track my calories burned on Spark People, or another weight loss site.

Since I know I’m going to purchase the game when it comes out anyway I decided to go ahead and pre-order it from Amazon.com. They have a special deal if you pre-order and it only ended up costing me $29.99 and it has free shipping. I’ve pre-ordered games from Amazon.com in the past and they’ve always arrived very quickly.

*UPDATE*
Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout is now available everywhere. If you’re interested in other games that use the Wii Balance Board be sure to check out my EA Sports Active Review.

Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout – $27.99

I learned that the trick to Wii Fit Boxing is to maintain a good rythm and attempt to punch at just the right time. The punches don’t have to be hard they just have to be timed right. When you add in the stepping on and off the Wii Fit there is plenty of exercise taking place. I’m going to try and do at least 15 minutes of the Wii Fit tomorrow too.

I didn’t do a horrible job eating today either. I had lunch at Moe’s but I did go up for seconds on the chips. For dinner I had a Lean Cuisine and a bag of popcorn so that wasn’t bad. I worked at home today so durring one of my breaks I went for a walk around the apartment complex. It wasn’t quite a mile but I figure every bit helps.