As the 5 people who actually read my blog know I did a previous review of the original Sports Active. For those that don’t want to go back and read it – my bottom line on that game was that it is a FUN workout that really pushes you and makes you sweat – thumbs up all around.
For Christmas this year I received the Sports Active – More Workouts. Note you do not need the Original Sports Active in order to “play” More Workouts – BUT the More Workouts does not come with the leg strap or the resistance bands – so if you don’t have the original you will have to purchase the Accessory pack for the Sports Workout – they can be found most places for $19.99 – one note they do make a knockoff accessory pack that you can get for $12-15 – I would highly suggest spending the extra money and going ahead and buying the REAL version – I took a long look at the knockoff version and found that the pouch on the leg strap isn’t as tight as the original and could lead to the nun chuck jumping around and therefore not providing an accurate reading…also the resistance band is not as long as the Original – which when I tried it I couldn’t get it over my head for over the shoulder presses.
It is set up much the way the Original Sports Active was - preset workouts, the ability to create your own workouts from individual activities, journal and a workout Challenge. If you already have the Original one – when you put the new one in it will import all your fitness data.
How is it different than the Original Sports Active?
Instead of a 30 day Challenge it is now a 6 week challenge…in order to stay on track with the 6 weeks you need to do 4 workouts per week..not that hard to do considering each workout doesn’t take much longer than 30 minutes to complete.
All NEW exercises and sports – they keep the same format of upper body, lower body and sports but also add in an Abs section to work your core muscles…something absent in the original one.
Upper Body Exercises – for the most part you are using the resistance band to work your upper arm. For the most part the exercises are the same as the Original with some slight twists in the way you move your arms or the way you use the resistance band. I have noticed in a few of them you have to stand in a modified lunge position – which also helps with stretching out your leg muscles as well as holding your core muscle.
Lower Body Exercises – all new moves – still throw in lots of lunges and squats, just in a different manner of doing them
Ab workouts – These are new and really work those Ab muscles - they have both regular crunch type exercises as well as reverse type crunches.
Sports – as with the Original the Sports are what I really like and More Workouts doesn’t disappoint. There is Boxing, Squash, Paddle boating, Waterskiing, Cardio Running, Step Aerobics and an Obstacle Course. They all can be done without the use of the Wii Fit board but if you have one many of them have incorporated the board into the workout.
Boxing – like the Original you have a few different versions to choose from – with the More Workouts they incorporate a few more exercises using the legs – either through kneeing targets or kicking targets. They also incorporate the use of ducking and dodging. I wish they had a longer version of this available – almost like a 5 or 10 minute version as it is a lot of fun to do and when it ends I get a little sad…I guess I might need to pony up and buy the Wii Gold’s Gym as I understand that is mostly Cardio boxing.
Squash – much like tennis in the original you are basically hitting a ball…HOWEVER with Squash you are also incorporating lots of side and crossover lunges in order to get the shots – the first time I did it I hated it – now it has become one of my favorites to do
Paddle boating – one of my least favorites, mainly because it makes you work – you have to hold the wiimote much like a paddle and well paddle…and paddle and paddle…you also have to squat at various times
Waterskiing – this is basically the Rollerblading from the Original set on water – you squat and then jump up on the ramps to catch flags…there is an addition of having to shift right and left to grab flags in-between the ramps.
Obstacle Course – a fun thing to do – they have different lengths where you run for a bit of time then stop to do something – be it lunges, strides, jumps, etc…since the whole game is set on an island you are running along the beach to do the various activities.
Cardio Running – in the original all the running activities took place on a track and quite frankly I had to push myself to finish sometimes…because going around a track is boring…they have fixed the boring part of this - there are 2 main cardio running programs – Island outrun and Training…in the Island Outrun you start out doing a light jog and then the system prompts you to sprint to pass another runner – this pushes you because it is like you are actually competing against someone else…slow down and they will pass you. With the Training one – it is you and the trainer side by side doing running, high knee, kickups, walking…but I will say the island view is a lot better than just running around the track…yes I am out of breath when I am done, but I have yet to feel like I have to push myself to finish – I am so focused on passing another person or keeping up with the trainer on the screen I don’t even realize how far or how long I have been doing it.
Step Aerobics – my FAVORITE – I have enjoyed the bit of Step Aerobics that are in the Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus – so much so I even sent an e-mail to Nintendo asking for a Wii Step Aerobics (still holding out hope)…I bought My Fitness Coach solely for inclusion of using a step for certain workouts. More Workouts doesn’t disappoint…you get a good solid workout – the only complaint is I wish they had expanded the exercises for the step – as they are mainly made up of the March, Leg Kick, Leg Curl, High Knee in either singles or repeaters of 3…don’t get me wrong it keeps me moving but after a few months I have a feeling I may become bored…In the preset programs they have 30 minute Step Aerobics already set up in Easy, Medium and Hard Intensities– 3 intervals of 10 minutes each and once the set goes – there is no stopping – it is 10 minutes of moving…I did a 30 minute set on the medium intensity the other day and according to the calorie counter I burned over 250 calories…
One caveat about the Step Aerobics…it can be done without the Wii Fit board but it may not accurately get your steps…and even with the Wii Fit board it is only but so high so the burn rate may not be that high. They do make step enhancers/platforms for the Wii and I did look into them…one of the biggest complaints is that they all have deeper wells where the feet go so when you step sometimes it doesn’t accurately record your movement – some people have put poker chips in the wells to allow for better contact with the feet…
My solution – well I already owned a nice big plastic step (I am guessing mine was made some point in the 80’s as it is just a big plastic rectangle rather than some of the contoured ones I have seen available now-a-days) – put it down and lo and behold the Wii Fit board fits perfectly on top…In reading some of the reviews for the Wii step platforms a few people mentioned they should have just made their own wooden box platform…so something to think about if you are handy and have some extra wood laying around…I will say that by placing the Fit Board on my step I definitely feel it more in my muscles…
Over all a great game and workout just like it’s predecessor. I wish however they had done it more like how Wii Fit did with Wii Fit Plus…that you had the ability to comingle both the old and the new together to give a wider array of choices and workouts.
But if you liked Wii Sports Active- you definitely aren’t going to be disappointed to spend your money on More Workouts.
I recently ran across a great website that talks about using the Wii for Fitness and has a number of reviews for Wii Fitness Games - including screen shots and videos…here it is for you – NutWiiSystem
Because of his review of Just Dance…it is currently on it’s way from Amazon to me as I type…be sure to check back for my Fat Ass Review of that in the coming weeks…
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3 comments:
Thanks for the review, we have been thinking of getting it
As the 5 people who actually read my blog...
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You are such an inspiration. Thanks again for the link. I added a link to your blog in my post today. I'm following you now too, or stalking, which sounds cooler.
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