| Faxanadu said: Havent had a chance to try it yesterday, as I got stuck playing MK:Wii. And actually, I am scared of what it will tell me....so better loose some kilos BEFORE starting to play that frikkin game. |
If anyone is very athletic or a regular weight lifter, Wii Fit will tell you that you're overweight since it uses the BMI to gauge fitness. But then, very athletic/weight lifters aren't exactly the target audience for Wii Fit. Those who are athletes and may try it out anyway have the sense to know that BMI is best suited as a gauge for average people who maintain normal activity levels.
Something that measures muscle mass, body fat and water percentages say more about true fitness levels, which one could get from a Tanita scale.
Anyway, the point of using Wii Fit is largely in part to track changes in your fitness level rather than to say because your BMI is over 30 that you get a frowny face.
In regards to the increased metabolism, higher muscle mass, burn more calories at rest: true.
As for running (or jogging that raises heart rate to 140-170bpm if you're not a conditioned runner) not burning a significant amount of calories to induce weight loss: false.
Expecting to lose weight by running 20-25 minutes 2-3 times a week is unrealistic unless you're running under a 7 minute pace for the typical human, but if you're running at a rate that raised your heart rate in the 140-170bpm range for over 20 minutes at a time on a daily basis, you will have to run faster and faster to force your heart rate up as your body acclimates itself to the increased load. So instead of running 3 miles in 24 minutes, you're eventually running closer to 4 miles in the same amount of time. Not the best way to set up a run based training program since they should never be that basic, but as your mile times drop, surprise, surprise, your metabolism increases, your standing heart rate drops, you burn more energy at rest and unless you start eating more; you lose weight.
But if anyone wants to argue that Wii led push ups and sit ups will produce the same results as even a moderate free weight lifting program, they might want to wait to see a spread of test results before making such claims.
Pair the free weight program with off day running, gradually increasing distances and speed to maintain that 140-170bpm heart rate, and you'll see better results than you would by using Wii Fit, hour for hour.
