Why Wii?

My daughter found a website which automatically entered one for competitions. Surprisingly she won Wii Fit Plus which retails at around £200.  For the uninitiated Wii, is a unit holding a DVD plugged into your television. Games appear on your screen and you can play. Holding a remote controller your movements are translated into tennis or golf shots or whatever enabling you to physically compete. There is also a “balance board” that you stand on enabling cycling simulation, and most interestingly, slalom skiing - as you bend knees and lean your replica on the screen negotiates, or fails to negotiate  slalom gates.

Wii has been heavily advertised on tv. People playing with this virtuality appear as wallies because they are miming the real thing, but in fairness meaningful amounts of energy can be expended using the equipment seriously.

Jogging on the spot, holding the remote, can be undertaken without the board. Cartoon scenery is shown on the screen as you move through at realistic pace. Other runners appear, some you catch up, and some,  annoyingly, overtake you, and others, rather masochistically,  trip and fall.

Initially I was skeptical about Wii, but I have found the jogging option addictive, convenient, and a seriously useful means of keeping fit without having to venture into the miserable winter weather. 

I have now done three thirty minute sessions the first one averaging just over 5mph and the third 5.4 mph.

Influenced by Gayle (a fellow blogger, backpacker and statistics devotee - "Gayle and Mick" under the links on my blog), I  intend to create a graph showing progress, or otherwise,  but I need to get back to the stats which will show up on my next session.

Sir Hugh at the limit

A huge step forward for this technology would be the use of  film, or even good cartoon imagery of specific fell races, but even now it is much more interesting than soullessly running on a treadmill  in the gym.