The game is mostly a thumbs up. There are a few issues as there are with anything. I will be blogging my thoughts on it as I try the different parts of the game and different workouts it offers.
Pros:
~ Jillian, duh!
~ This would be a good morning workout if you needed to look presentable for the rest of the day. I am normally a profuse sweater and even though I am burning the calories with this, I stay fairly dry.
~ It charts your progress for you (including weight) and keeps records of your best scores.
~ It has a multiplayer mode.
~ Tips - In the "Cafeteria" there are tips on fitness and diet from Jillian. You unlock more tips as you play. Some of the tips are really good.
Cons:
~You can cheat the machine and make it think you are doing more than you are doing. This is cut down some if you are using the balance board, but it is still there. Not sure this is a real con though because if you want to cheat it then you are really only cheating yourself out of a better workout.
~Some glitches - The Boxing exercise freezes up when the balance board is attached (at least on my system). The time keeps counting, but it gives you no directions for when to punch or kick. I just spend the time punching and kicking anyway and am not bothered by it much.
Tips:
~ The exercises are a lot easier to do if you use 2 remotes and not 1 remote and a nunchuck.
Workouts:
Weight Loss (with choice of easy, medium, or hard): As the name makes clear this is a workout to help get rid of extra pounds.
This is pretty much circuit training. You tell it what level you want to work at and how long and it rotates between jogging in place and other exercises (explanation of these "Events" further down). I am currently doing 30 minutes on medium. It makes me jog for 2 minutes and 34 seconds and then do an exercise for 1 minute 49 seconds - I do that rotation 6 times and then a final jog of 2 minutes 48 seconds. At the end of each jogging interval you are given the choice of doing an exercise/"event" that it shows or doing any exercise except that one. It shows a little symbol for the exercise on the right and a question mark on the left. You push right on the controller to do the known exercise or left to do any other exercise. This is a really great feature if there is an exercise that you really truly hate or that you aren't up to that day due to injury or something. I burn around 320 calories during those 30 minutes. A few of the exercise "events" are kinda silly, but mostly it is a good workout and is actually kind of fun.
Exercises/"Events":
>Paint Grenade Toss: You pick up paint grenades and throw them at a target. This is kind of a squat, side bend cross. I definitely feel it in my obliques (side of my abs).
>Cannon Attack: Load cannon balls into the cannon then aim and shoot at targets. I haven't had this one pop up in a workout yet. Will edit after I have done it.
>Handcar Pump: Keep the rail cart moving by pumping the handle up and down. Squats. This works my thighs, butt, and abs for sure.
>Tire Trail: Run through a trail of tires. This is a video game version of the same training move we have all seen football players, people on Biggest Loser, etc. do countless times. It is a leg and ab workout as well as keeping the cardio going.
>Rowing: Paddle your kayak through the river. For this one you sit down on your balance board and hold the controllers together and do a twisting motion to "row". I felt it in my obliques and a bit in the shoulders.
>Monkey Bars: Climb across the monkey bars. This is a video game version of the playground fav. You hold your hands above your head and make the movements that you would use to cross monkey bars. This is mostly an arm exercise with a bit of abs.
>Log Jump: Jump from log to log in the river. Pretty self explanatory. It is a leg and balance exercise.
>Log Walk: Balance yourself on logs in the water. You hold your arms out at your sides at shoulder height and you bend to the right or left to balance your character on the log. It is a balance and obliques exercise. I don't feel this one much.
>Boxing: Punch and Kick the punching bag. The game gives you instructions to punch right, punch left, kick right, or kick left. You just follow these instructions. This is a good cardio workout and a balance exercise. As I mentioned in the "cons" section my system glitches during this exercise when I use the balance board, but I just do what I know I should be doing for the time and so I still get my workout. It might be more annoying to some people than it is to me though.
>Punching Bag Dodge: Dodge a gauntlet of punching bags. I haven't had this one pop up in a workout yet. Will edit after I have done it.
Intervals: This is a "steady" workout. Will edit and add more detail later.
Strength Training: Increase and maintain muscle tone. Will edit and add more detail later.
Hill Climb: An endurance workout. Will edit and add more detail later.
Custom Workout: You choose the number and type of "events" (see list under weight loss workout - for custom workouts running is also considered an event) that you want to do, choose the duration of your workout, set the intensity and go. Statistics from custom workouts ARE NOT saved to your graph. Will edit and add more detail later.
After each training session you can view:
Graph: It shows your progress for weight loss or calorie loss. You can view a weekly, monthly, or yearly graph.
Workout: This shows the results for each event of the workout you just finished.
Records: You can see your own records and the top record for each event.
Multiplayer Mode: Will edit and add more detail later.
