The much-lauded Wii seems to be a fine piece of equipment. I haven't had the opportunity to use one yet, sadly, but I'm hoping to get one of my own sometime in the next yearish. They seem like a lot of fun, and some people have even put them to good use as an exercise regimen.
For those of my readers in the dark, the Wii is the new gaming console by Nintendo. The cool, revolutionary thing about the Wii is that it uses a motion sensor bar to allow users to play games with full body motion. Technically speaking, the games don't *require* full body motion, since they only sense controller movement. Rather, I suppose it's more accurate to say the game allows for full body motion play.
WiiNintendo has a story by a reader who started a workout regimen using his Wii. In 6 weeks, he lost 9 pounds by playing Wii Sports (the included Wii game) for half an hour a day. I must say that I'm pretty darn impressed. I don't think I can lose nine pounds in six weeks of running for 90 minutes a week, so it's sweet that 210 minutes a week of video games resulted in such a nice loss.
Since I don't own a Wii, I obviously can't begin a fitness regimen with one. However, I do own a gamecube, and I own one game that allows for full body motion: Mario DDR. It's Nintendo's version of the game parlor hit Dance Dance Revolution. I spent 45 minutes or so playing tonight, and I definitely got a workout. Even better, it didn't feel like 45 minutes; in typical fashion, I got into the game playing aspects, and the time passed by quickly.
I definitely think Mario DDR would be good to incorporate into my regular routine. Right now, I'm playing decently well on normal mode. Instead of trying to hit time/weight/whatever guidelines, I think I'm just going to aim for beating it. Honestly, with my love of video games, that's a goal I can get behind.