Active in NWI: Get Fit with Video Games

Active in NWI: Get Fit with Video Games

Do you like videogames? Do you like working out? You can combine the two, you know. We are plugged in to all of these electronics these days, and many of us would rather play on our Wii than play in the yard.

FYI: You can get games for videogame consoles that get you up and moving.

Try the Wii Fit Plus and get your kids to test out the Balance Board, let them try the fit mini games, and there are activities on there for all tastes. You might even find something you like.

For the Xb0x 360, try Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. This one can really get the heart pumping. Using the Kinect, the game measures your body size and structure as well as other factors, and creates a routine that won't have you overdoing it. On-screen instructors walk you through movements and teach you proper form, and at the end of each session gives you a score for your performance.

Back to the Wii, there is EA Sports Active 2, which is also available for the Xbox 360 and PS3. This one will put you through a rigorous nine-week program that you can customize with exercises that you like. There is a heart-rate monitor that straps around your arm that tracks heart rate and recovery.

If you want to work out but not feel lie your working out, try Dance Central for the Xbox 360. Basically, you watch what on-screen dancers are doing, and you copy them. You can bring your friends in on this one and compete for highest score, or just dance like nobody’s watching.

Here’s one for the football fans: Active NFL Training Camp. It’s for the Wii, and you can choose which team trains you. You don’t use the Wii remote on this, but instead sensors on your leg and arm track your movement and progress. The training that you do is what the NFL players go through, and you can be that much closer to your team.

If you do like working out and you go outside or to a fitness facility, then you can use neat apps to track your progress. Here are my three favorites:

My Fitness Pal lets you count calories so that you can get your physical routine in line with your food routine. It draws from a huge database so you can find all sorts of crazy and normal foot items on there.

Endomondo is great for runners and other athletes (I personally use this one). You can track your distance, pace calories, elevation, and route (using GPS). There are health challenges that you can take part in for prizes, and share progress with your friends. You can create a training plan and view past workouts to see how far you’ve come.

Zombies, Run! is a fun one that is based on the zombie craze that everyone is in right now. It follows a story that has you running from zombies. There are certain intervals where it tells you to run faster when zombies approach, and if you don’t go fast enough you get eaten.