At the end of my previous post, I posed a question: Can the Wii Fit replace exercise? So far, from what I have been reading, the answer is no. In this post, though, I am leaning towards Wii Sports rather than Wii Fit. The simple reason is that I just got the Wii and I do not have the Wii Fit package yet – I still have a rather expensive exercise bike sitting in my living room and I do not want to spend a considerable amount of money on the Wii Fit if it is not really going to help me.

The Wii Sports package is another story altogether. I love sports – I used to play soccer and basketball a lot. Now that I am living a rather sedentary lifestyle, sports on video games is the nearest I can get to playing. I have heard the hype about the Wii Sports package helping people lose weight but what do the experts have to say about this?

A personal trainer says:

The best game currently available on the Wii from a cardio fitness standpoint is Wii Boxing. When done properly it can utilize a significant portion of the body while keeping your heart rate elevated with little risk of injury (outside of accidentally punching your friends in the face.)

This sounds really good to me since my favorite game right now is Wii Boxing. My partner and I play it for a few minutes and we both end up really sweaty and gasping for breath – not to mention our aching arms.

Another encouraging thing I read is from WebMD:

Bryant says Wii Fit isn’t likely to replace regular trips to the gym — especially for those who are already fit.

“It’s great for the person who hasn’t been doing a whole lot,” he says. “But for individuals who exercise quite a bit, it isn’t going to be a huge challenge.”

Now I think I am going to spend more time boxing – albeit virtually.