NINTENDO's Wii Fit is essentially a video game tailored to the Wii console, that aims to provide users with a fitness workout. In that respect, it is a decent alternative for those bored with the monotony of going to a gym or those who are too self-conscious to join one. For women in the Kingdom, specifically, Wii Fit provides a logical alternative to joining gyms that are both difficult to get to and out of budget. Sheri Soares, an expatriate South African teacher in Jeddah, says that Wii Fit has helped her greatly in losing weight. “It offers a better way to track your weight, body mass index (BMI), and time spent exercising both within the game itself and from any other external activities, giving users a clearer picture of how their health is progressing over time,” she explained. Less a videogame than an interactive fitness coach, it begins with an initial weigh-in, determining the user's weight, center of balance, and body mass index. Then appears the BMI which is relayed via a graph. The user will then be given an opportunity to set a weight goal, tracked via an on-screen calendar. After a couple of brief balance tests, it will reveal the “Wii Fit Age”. “Don't sweat over your Wii Fit Age,” advises Soares, as the problem with the Wii Fit Age calculation is that some spurious methodology results in wild fluctuations. It could be plus-20 over your actual age one day and minus-10 on the next depending on which tests you perform. For Soares, Wii Fit was more than just a workout machine, because she also enjoyed the various fun games Wii Fit has to offer. “The aerobic and balance activities represent the fun side of Wii Fit with 18 games to choose from,” said Soares. The aerobic games include hula hoops, Wii Sports-like boxing, step dancing, jogging, and more. The balance activities are what most casual users of Wii Fit will first gravitate to, and include the ski jump, ski slalom, snowboarding (where you have to turn the balance board sideways), a table-tilt game - where you have to use your shifting weight in a Mercury Meltdown-style challenge - and many more. “You'll be anchored to the balance board for most of these exercises and activities, with the board giving you on-the-fly feedback on just how well you're performing,” remarked Soares. Each activity features an onscreen indicator showing you where your weight should ideally be placed, with Wii Fit assigning you a score based on how well you've managed to keep your balance or shift your weight to the appropriate areas. The crucial component in the package is the Wii Balance Board, a hefty, white plastic slab that's roughly the size of two bathroom scales and connects wirelessly to your Wii console. With its clean, minimalist design, the board looks almost too nice to step on. Hala Tashkandi, a Saudi who works as an engineer, is another user of the Wii Fit. She enjoys the workout, but says that she sometimes finds the accuracy of the program suspect. “The Wii Fit board is a remarkable piece of technology, with even the slightest quiver of your feet registering as a shift in balance.” But, she adds, while the board is extremely sensitive when it comes to weight, it can't actually track what you're doing with your upper body. This means you can easily “cheat” your way through most of the exercises by simply shifting your weight to where Wii Fit indicates it should be. It's even easier to cheat in the few activities where you don't use the board at all. In jogging, for instance, you're supposed to either tuck the Wii Remote into a pocket or hold it in your hand while running on the spot, but you can achieve the same effect by simply wiggling the Wii Remote. According to Tashkandi, Wii Fit's included exercises do have the potential to positively impact your health, but thanks to its lack of exercise options, poor support for multiplayer options and shallow health advice, this sadly isn't a revolution in the field of gaming fitness. Some users suggest that Wii Fit should not be considered a replacement of a gym workout. “If you need a little help getting into shape for the first time or back to your former glory, Wii Fit is the coolest, most interactive and kindest way to ease your bloated body back into activity,” said Saleh Abuomar, a 23-year-old Saudi college student. “The real difference here is that Wii Fit builds fitness consciousness, reminding us of our body's state of being, chiding us for bad habits while encouraging the good. And this is while building up the basic fitness necessary to start doing high-intensity workouts or sports.” Abuomar says. Wii Fit , in short, makes exercise feel like a video game, and those can be played nonstop for hours. “Far more valuable are the wide variety of exercises and games presented to you after your daily weigh-in,” said Abuomar. The yoga and strength-training activities feature a virtual personal trainer who instructs and helps you maintain proper form. In fact, the Yoga is pretty conventional. “Even if you've never busted out a Half-Moon or Warrior pose, you'll get up to speed without much trouble. While some of the strength training bits are a bit of a stretch in the way they use the board — some involve doing push-ups and sit-ups — they're all useful and can make even the most hard-bodied of gym-rats sweat a bit.” If there's one problem with all of the 40-plus activities in the Fit, according to Abuomar, is that each one lasts a scant few minutes. “Even if you do them in succession, it's hard to believe people will sweat enough to deflate all those spare tires,” he remarked. Wii Fit works better as a supplement to whatever physical activity one normally does. And if you don't work out at all? Well, some activity is better than none, and Wii Fit will at least make you sweat.
