Dancing

I've walked and walked and walked with Walk it Out.  I wish they'd come out with a new version or that somebody else would create a knock off.   I'm tired of the same old thing.  I've read so many posts that say the same thing.  Fans of Walk it Out are very supportive of a new version.

So I've tried some of my dancing games.  Dancing on Broadway is still fun, but I don't want to do it for 30 - 60 minutes.  I'm sure if I did it more I'd get better at the dances, but even though it's hilarious and is very lenient in scoring (picking up motions where I go that away when the dancers go this away) it makes me feel very uncoordinated.  I mean even more uncoordinated than I actually am.

The last 2 workout days I used Dancing with The Stars and it's fun but there's a lot you have to skip, like the judging because once you've heard it a few times, you've heard enough.  And it's frustrating some times because it has difficulty picking up a few of the gestures especially the mashed potato and bang the door.  I can't tell what I'm doing wrong because I can't see that I'm doing anything different when it reads it than when the Wii doesn't read it.  I have learned to do the up motion which is more of a gentle flick than the down, left, or right movements.

2 new Wii Games

I got 2 new Wii games - Ghostbusters and Where the Wild Things Are.  They are a lot different than the exercise games I already have.  They are more like PC games.  I'm having  a little trouble figuring out what to do.  The "manuals" that come with these games use such little fonts that they are next to useless for old people like me.

Despite that I enjoy playing with them.  I may get frustrated if I can't get any farther, but I checked out some cheat and walk-through sites and I think I can get farther next time.

If not, I'll have to borrow somebody's kid to help me.

What a hoot!

I bought Dancing on Broadway this weekend.  What a hoot!  I crack myself up trying to do the dances.  I can't wait to get a group of "girls" together to see how funny other people look.

Pros:

1. The game is easy enough that I can almost keep step with the dancers.  At least on the easy routines.
2. It's good exercise (for an old lady) because I'm always going in the wrong direction and moving double time trying to get in sync.   Which seems contrary to # 1, but I get "great" a lot even when I'm not so maybe I'm doing better than I think I am.
3. Up to 4 people can play together.  They don't follow the same routine.
4. The dance routines are rated by difficulty and effort.

Cons:

1. Only 20 songs and routines
2. The little stick figures that are supposed to tell you what move is next aren't all that helpful.

Not enough time

I have been too busy to post anything for a couple of months.  I started a new hobby photography this year with a new blog, Persimmon Tree Photography.  Guess what the new hobby is?

I've done the entire Wii Walk It Out program at least 5 times now and I'm ready for a new route.  I don't know why somebody hasn't come out with another walking program.  Look how many different dance games there are by different companies. 

As to the Gold's dance program - I can't dance.

As to the Biggest Loser exercise program - they want me on the floor too many times.  I will say that it does push me harder than Walk It Out does without pushing me too hard (since I have it set on light).  I can set up my own exercises so I don't have to get down so to speak.  So I should use it more.

2 new Wii Games

As the price went down after Christmas, I bought 2 new exercise type games for my Wii.
Gold's Gym Dance Workout and The Biggest Loser Challenge.

I tried Dance Workout yesterday.  I may have told you that I have the Gold's Gym Cardio Workout game which I like but it  hurts my knee when I box.  I don't know why because it's not kick boxing, but it does  and I feel it for several days after.  Anyway, if I did Dance Workout the way it's suppose to be done, I'd probably hurt everything.  Luckily, I'm not coordinated enough to follow the instructor who does everything fast, then speeds up.  If you're younger and/or can shake your hips and move your feet and arms at the same time, you'll probably love this game.  Since there will be nobody watching me to laugh at my gyrations, I'll try the game several more times to see if I can catch on.  At least until I throw a hip out of place.  I did do one mini-game which involved dodging bulls.  It was rather fun and I caught on to that quickly.  (The trick is in the arms.)  One of the things I like about this game is that you can use 2 remotes instead of a remote and a nunchuk (The connecting wire on the nunchuk is annoying at times.)

I did the Biggest Loser Challenge this morning.  First I took a test to see which level of fitness I should do.  One of the good things about the test is that it stops when you've had enough and recommends you start exercising at the level, but another good thing is that you don't have to accept their recommendation.  They thought I should start at medium and I thought light would be less painful.  I'll tell you in the morning if I was correct.

After the test, I got to chose how long to exercise - less than 20 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, etc, more than 60 minutes.  I chose 20 minutes which was plenty long enough for the first day.  The exercises were short so I didn't get bored or exhausted doing them and I kept up with most of them.  I don't do push-ups off the floor - even if I can get down there on purpose.  One thing I don't like is switching the remote from left to right to left to right all the time and moving the balance board into position, out of the way, into postion and so on.  One thing I do like is the frequent water breaks.  Now if you feel like you don't need a water break just keep moving while the game is paused - trust me, it's not paused long enough for you to run into the kitchen and get a glass of water so you should have that handy before you start the game.  You can select which of the trainers you want - I selected both.  Jillian led the exercises while Bob talked.  A "contestant" exercises along with Jillian, but she didn't keep up very well.  I tried to tell if she was following my movements or just going it on her own and I think she just did her own thing, which was a little disconcerting but then again it made me feel better about not keeping up sometimes.  Though I did pretty well.  I'm not sure but I think they may have slowed the pace when I began to tire during an exercise.

Also have a tape measure handy.  You can create your own avatar after you do the exercise.  It's one of the activities you can select.  Others include exercise and nutrition tips and recipes.  Some of the recipes looked really good.    Some, not so much.