EA Active Challenge - Week 1 in review

I've been all fired up (probably a result of no longer feeling weak and crappy), so my kick-off week to the EA Active 30 day challenge was great!

When you first select the EA Active in your Wii homepage, be prepared for BLASTING ENTHUSIASTIC music. (Sorry for the caps, it's just the only way I can properly prepare you for the auditory assault that you have to bear through every time you start this thing. I've learned to start by turning down the volume, then selecting the program.)

Now you get the option of either creating a new profile, selecting a pre-existing one or using a guest pass. First step in creating a new profile is selecting gender, age, height and weight. Now, please someone tell me if you've figured this out, or if you have different starting stats, but the system seems to come automatically set with female, age thirty, and my exact height and weight - 5'9", 159lbs, which as far as I know, isn't really representative of the average woman. At first, I thought it was sneaking the info from my Wii Fit stats, but then you'd figure it would get the age right, no?

Anyway, you can then standardize your body type. I tried to make mine look like me by choosing level 3 out of 4 (on the curvier side) but that automatically gave me a double chin! So I scaled down to 2, cuz clearly it's more important for me not to have a double chin (which I don't, thank you very much) than it is for my body type to be at all accurately representative.

You then get a few more features you can mess with, a number of hairstyles, 6 hair colours (sadly nothing that strays from the "natural") and then about a gazillion workout outfits, hats, shades and shoes. This is all clearly very important.

Now you're ready to start! The next screen you get is the welcome screen you see whenever you log in from here on out. The options on this screen are: Journal, Fitness Profile, 30-Day Challenge, Preset & Custom Workouts, Help & Settings and Info.

The Journal invites you to "Start here," so I did. This screen looks like an open notebook, and is where you're supposed to fill out what you've done each day. For each day, you have the option to complete an EA Sports Active workout (it gets automatically checked once you workout), fill in a lifestyle and nutrition survey, and fill in the "Other Activity Survey." Once you start checking off these three items, you can track your progress in the lower left corner where you see the percentage of your daily requirements count up. On the opposite page, you see the trainer feedback for the things you've done, as well as a place to go check on your goals, edit your profile and view your upcoming calendar.

Now time to get started! I selected the 30-Day challenge program. There are a bunch of videos as you're getting started about the program, the challenge, the workouts. Most can be skipped but I decided to watch them all to see if there was anything really important I needed to know. There wasn't really in most of them. The only useful videos were the leg strap one and some of the demo moves ones, but even then, they were often intuitive. (Plus skipping these videos does allow you to skip some cheesy "LookForwardToANewYou!" moments)

Still more choices to make! I had to select a male or female trainer, how much of a workout I wanted: low, medium or high intensity, whether or not I have a Wii balance board, and then musical type (about 7 options). I selected Medium intensity because I figured I was still recovering from being ill, but I still don't think that the Low option would be enough of a challenge.

Finally, I made it past the questions. For every workout, the program shows a projected amount of calories burnt (it seems like the low intensity aims for around 100, the medium 130 and the high 170 or so).

I completed the first week at medium intensity, figuring I could upgrade if they were too easy. The first workout wasn't all that challenging but the trainer did explain that the purpose of the first workout was to ease me in and teach me how to use the program, so I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and see if it got harder.

More importantly, it was really fun! There was a track workout section that alternated between slow and fast running (in place, but cool to see the little avatar moving as I moved, but along the track and passing people), inline skating on the balance board (which consisted of holding a squat position then lifting one leg or the other to go over obstacles - whooo did that burn!), boxing at changing targets... Good stuff for the short-attention spans amongst us.

In general, the format was a sort of circuit training. After several minutes of warm-ups (either running on the track or squats and side lunges), the workouts seem to have 2 or 3 strength moves, then a sport (like boxing or tennis), then back again to the strength moves, etc. They switched up frequently enough that it was fun. The moves were difficult enough that I felt my muscles burn and was sweating and tired by the end.

The challenge setup is 2 days in a row (generally one that focuses on upper body, one that focuses on lower body) and then a rest day. So far I have yet to encounter a workout longer than 25 minutes, but when I combine this with my running schedule, it's perfect because unlike P90X, I can do these workouts in addition to my running - they're just enough of a workout without wiping me out completely.

Week 1 was good - all completed at medium intensity except for Sunday's which I did at low intensity because I ran my first really long run since before Thanksgiving earlier that day and I could hardly move anymore. What is even more exciting is that I've barely even scratched the surface of types of moves this program has to offer! Looking forward to Week 2!

(I'll have screenshots to upload by then - my camera was on a little extended vacation - and I also will review the custom workout options.)

Challenge is the New Resolution

Happy new year, folks! And what a fine new year it is! Do I really know that? No. But I do really truly hope that it's better than 2009. Now let's get down to business. I don't like resolutions. I find them boring. Every year, it's Iresolvetoeatbetterworkoutmoreloseweight... This could go on forever and gets a bit repetitive, in my mind.

Even if you're one the few, the proud, who actually do manage to follow through on their resolutions, it becomes what? I resolve to keep it up? That's also lackluster. So whatever your new year goals may be, if some form of better health and fitness is something you wouldn't mind achieving, I propose a new New Year's tradition: The Challenge.

The challenge is a great way to tackle the new year. What better way of coming off several weeks of eating a little bit too much or too richly or sitting around or having travel thwart your workout plans than to set yourself a fitness challenge?

The best part is, there are tons of them for you to choose from! Whether you're a workout beginner, an ultra-marathoner, a gym rat or a homebody, there are challenges out there that can fit your style. You can find 30-day challenges to 3-month challenges. Some are crazy expensive and some are practically free.

If you prefer working out outdoor in groups, with someone yelling at you, there are boot camps (like this one or this one in SF). If you're a loner who just loves pull-ups and hard-core kick ass training plans, you could try P90x (You may have heard us mention it before...)

Perhaps you'd prefer a method that is less intense and more fun or social? There seem to be a plethora of challenges out to satisfy your needs. This one seems fun. This is one is bit more more low-tech.

Then there are all the Wii fitness game: The Biggest Loser game has you compete against characters based on competitors in the reality TV show of the same name. Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 just sounds like a challenge, doesn't it?

Point being, I have a new challenge to kick off my new year. For Christmas, my brother very kindly got me one of the new Wii fitness programs: EA Sports Active. This past Sunday, now that I'm finally recovered from various ailments, surgery and whatnot, I finally started the 30-day challenge that came with the program. So far, I've done four days of workout, and I'm very excited to tell you all about it... So tune in this month for a week by week review of EA Active as well as some other fun useful stuff, like some Athlete Gourmet food and nutrition tips. (Also, rumour has it Tamsen's also kicked off a new year challenge!)

The Inspirational Power of New Gear

Somehow here we are again, December. The year's winding to a finish. The weather's getting cold. One overeating holiday is setting up the next.

Now is the time we need our inspiration more than ever.
We need the inspiration to watch our diets.
We need the inspiration to get out the door despite the cold and hit the pavement.
We need the inspiration to fight for time to squeak in our workouts between holiday parties and shopping.

Not to mention the colds, the flus, the stressful travel and houses full of relatives... all these things vying for your time and trying to squeeze out your precious few moments of exercise.

Enter the power of new gear.
Maybe it's just me, but when I have an awesome new running jacket or a hot new yoga top, I get a bit psyched about when I can wear them for my next workout. Even though I have plenty of workout clothes, there's something particularly seductive about shiny new workout things.
Last year, for Christmas, my mother-in-law gave me a runner's hat with a blinky light on the back of it. I never used to be one to run in a hat, unless it was cold, in which case I'd run in a beanie. But never an actual runner's hat... I loved it! I still wear it all the time and I definitely enjoyed heading out into the rain last January and watching the rain drop off of my hat's rim.

As we head into the holiday season, I'd like to reflect (read: drool) on the fitness-oriented loot that might make me more likely to break a sweat. Even if you don't celebrate any gift-giving holidays, consider a small purchase as a kick-off to your fitness new year's resolution. (And no, I'm not being paid by The Sports Basement to write this post).

• Lululemon: Yoga-inspired sports clothing for men and women. Incredibly cute stuff, though mostly geared towards yoga, they do have things for runners and general workout clothing. Also, rumour has it, their pants give "good butt."


• Skins Compression Gear: I recently bought some of the Compression tights which I ran my last half marathon in. They were amazing! I'd run a half marathon the previous week in my normal running tights, and my knee was hurting me on all the downhills. The following week, with equally steep downhills, my knees felt great! And protected. I highly recommend these - the tights are supposed to increase strength and endurance as well as help with a faster recovery and less muscle soreness. I also bought some of their recovery socks, which have a double purpose of helping your recovery post race but also serve for reducing swelling when flying. (Other brands out there making compression gear include 2xu and Sugoi, but I haven't tried them. Yet.)


• While I'm at it, I love Sugoi. Their fits are great and flattering, and they have fun style, like these awesome tattoo arm sleeves. Hot.



• This list isn't just reserved for things you wear. As far as I'm concerned, anything that's likely to make you workout more counts. For example, my new favourite Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board(which I'll be reviewing soon!). Not really a serious tool for most athletes, but a solid and, more importantly, a fun supplement to a more serious workout routine. Along the same lines, there's a whole slew of other fitness games for the Wii Fit board that look interesting: EA Sports Active, Gold's Gym Cardio Workout, and a few others.
  


• A good heart rate monitor - especially if it's as cute as the Polar FT40 Women's Heart Rate Monitor Watch
  
  

Well, those are a few of the things I'd recommend for your "Holiday Gift Guide for Runners" or Athletes, or the fitness-conscious. I'd love to hear from you about what tangible gifts might help inspire you to combat the winter blahs and get out there and workout.

Wii Fit: A Flyby Review

Well, what can I say. You get sick, fight for a while, disappear from your fitness blog for a while, then finally find out you have mono. Go figure.

So yeah, that's my excuse. I do have some fun stuff to write about though. The second week of my mysterious sore throat and general meh-iness found me on the East coast, visiting my mom, who had just the day before received Wii Fit. Since I wasn't feeling too great anyway, I decided to replace my regularly scheduled workouts that week with Wii Fit ones, for review purposes of course.

The Wii Fit is a game for Wii that uses, instead of the wiimotes, a 4-paneled panel that you step on. First thing that happens is you create your character (your Mii), enter some information and get weighed. You are then told where your BMI falls (the panel is equipped with, among other things, a scale). I fell into the normal BMI range (around 23).

Then it does its first diagnostic test. This consists of testing your balance and your ability to rapidly adjust your balance, keeping both feet squarely on the board, based on what the screen tells you. I didn't do too well in this. For starters, my balance is definitely shifted towards my right hip (not surprising given my ongoing left hamstring issues). Then, apparently, I'm not so great at shifting my balance smoothly and quickly. My Wii age was determined to be 41. Bleh. That's quite a bit older than I really am.

Not defeated, I went on to sample the exercises Wii Fit had to offer. They're divided into 4 categories: Balance Games, Yoga, Aerobics and Strength training. Each section has a number of immediately available moves (all about 1-2 minutes) and then you unlock more as you complete more and more exercises. Over the next three days, I tried every single move that was available to me or consequently unlocked.

I started with the balance games, figuring it's where I needed most work. The first game was the soccer ball head butting. Man, was that tough! Standing on the board, you see soccer balls flying towards your Mii's head and have to mimic a head butt to send the ball back. To further complicate things, sometimes they fool you by throwing a soccer cleat, or worse yet a panda, which you have to dodge. This one was really fun, but I wasn't very good at it. Other options in this section were slalom skiing (I sucked), Ski jumping (really fun - I'm good at squatting), and tight-rope walking (super fun!)

Next was the yoga. Now this one's brilliant. I do yoga all the time, but it's great to be able to get a sense of whether my weight is evenly distributed in my Warrior pose (it wasn't) or if my Tree pose was unwavering (also not... at first.) The beauty is that you can see where you failing and adjust while you're doing it. It wasn't a bad collection of yoga moves either. I did reasonably well, here and was even named Yoga Master in a couple of them.

The aerobics, unsurprisingly, didn't do much of anything for me, with the exception of the hula hooping. I mean, really, a two-minute jog in place (while your Mii jogs through a little park with a finish line, other runners... even dogs) isn't really going to do much. There was also a 2-minute step session (really basic) and a buddy walk. Of course, the sessions go a bit longer as you progress and pass the various levels - but still. Even in my sick stage, it didn't even make me break a sweat. The only one that got my heart beat the slightest bit elevated was the hula hooping. That was fun: you got to catch hoops by leaning to the side, go faster and slower to lower or raise the hoop.

Finally, the strength training. This one surprised me - it wasn't really easy! I mean, it wasn't hard (Well, I have been doing P90X and all) but it was surprisingly challenging considering the base level that the other sections started with. One of the moves was a Push-up/Side Plank combo, where you started doing 1 push-up, then right side plank, 2nd push-up, right side plank, then repeat the whole thing several more times! If people are starting the Wii Fit as an actual beginner's workout (with a 2-minute jog in place), that can't be an easy first strength move. Other moves included Torso and Waist Twists, Jackknife, Lunge, Rowing Squat, and more. I was actually even a bit sore after going through all of these moves during my brief stay.

Overall, here's my analysis: As a game to play with friends around taking turns on the different moves, it was very fun.

As a way to evaluate how you're doing (a supplement, not a replacement of, your normal workout plan), not a bad way go: The balance games particularly are a great way to tune into how your body is doing and where your strengths and weaknesses lie.

I think for someone like my mother, who's in her sixties and not terribly fit, it's a great way for her to get in a bit better shape. I've been trying to get her to do yoga for ages and I think the balance moves are generally useful.

For someone who's already an athlete, or has done P90X, don't bother. It's just a game. (But it is a fun one!)