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Thanks a lot, Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution. Because of you two and a few of your buddies, society now expects us to stop growing fat while we game. (Last year's store-shelf invasion of exercise titles certainly didn't help, either.)

So…do these things work? Well, yeah — jumping up and down in place burns calories, so any type of structured workout should be good. Some are bound to be better than others, however, so I decided to ask a certified fitness trainer to try out some of the highest-profile exercise programs from last year to give us his expert opinion.

This guy doesn't know video games at all (as you'll be able to tell from his comments on EA Sports Active: More Workouts) so his comments are based strictly on how effective the training sessions are from a professional's perspective. We also included some notes from a hardcore gamer who isn't a trainer but exercises regularly. After they break down each title, they hand out some awards, like which game was best for nutritional education, which one was the most fun, and perhaps most importantly, which had the hottest trainer.

But don't take their word for it — you can see for yourself. We're giving away brand-new, full-bundle copies of all four games featured below (including Wii Fit Plus with the Balance Board). See details at the end of this article.

 

The trainer: Vince Weigel, BA, CPT of Health Fit (if you're interested in personal training with Vince in the San Francisco Bay Area/Marin County, you can contact him at HealthFit [at] aol.com or 415-250-6672)

The gamer: Raychul Moore of the Internet (full disclosure: This is my ex-girlfriend)

First up: Wii Fit Plus…

Game #1: Wii Fit Plus (Wii)

PROS from the trainer:

  • The preliminary info provided prior to the exercise programs give the user good reasons to participate. I like that. I've never seen that before. It's educational and fitness-oriented. The system is very user-friendly in terms of how to begin. I'm technically challenged, but I found this very easy to use. It gives the consumer good reasons for why they should exercise.
  • It's very detailed oriented as far as biometrics — your physical stats — go.
  • The balance board seems sensitive and very accurate, which is good — it will teach people the proper posture.
  • I really like the interaction with the [Miis] and the positive feedback you get.
  • I like that you are rewarded for achieving fitness goals with the ability to buy more games.
  • I like the results screens — it shows you where you stand and what you have to improve on. It gives immediate results.
  • I like that the game gives you the option to slow down or stop if you're overexerting yourself.
  • The calorie counter helps put into perspective how much you need to exercise to burn off specific foods.
  • My initial impression: I like it. I really enjoyed it. It exceeded my expectations.

CONS from the trainer:

  • I would've preferred the game to let people know what it means by "warming up" exactly, to educate them on why that's beneficial.
  • People with orthopedic conditions…the game doesn't really address people with those serious issues. I wish it would show modifications for them.
  • The snowball fight wasn't accurate. I had trouble with that — it felt like the calibration was off.
  • I was impressed that the game could analyze my golf swing and see where my weight shifts were at. That's very beneficial for beginner golfers. The shortfall is, it's not really measuring my backswing or follow-through.

PROS from the gamer:

  • Easy to understand and very user friendly.
  • Incorporates a points system that rewards users for playing continuously, allowing them to unlock more games.
  • The results screen is easy to understand and gets to the point.
  • A lot of positive reinforcement — positive reinforcement always works well.

CONS from the gamer:

  • Not a whole lot of options after you play the initial games.
  • The mini-games start to feel too repetitive after an hour or so.
  • I could see how some people new to video games or the Wii might not fully understand what to do with some of the games and how they interact with and use the Balance Board.
  • Fun…but I wouldn’t consider it much of an exercise. You have to try really hard to get your heart beating fast.

Next up: Your Shape featuring Jenny McCarthy…

Game #2: Your Shape Featuring Jenny McCarthy (Wii)

PROS from the trainer:

  • It senses my movements and cadence — that's good.
  • The camera does have the ability to monitor your movements accurately. It knew I was trying to cheat on the jumping jacks and knew my feet weren't moving.
  • I like that you're able to implement your own exercise equipment into the program — it's a good at-home option for people with their own stability balls or dumbbells.
  • I had to make a few adjustments with the motion-tracking camera to get it to fit me right.
  • [McCarthy] demonstrates proper form and technique.
  • It has potential.

CONS from the trainer:

  • Two words: cheesy and irritating. Jenny McCarthy is a little corny. The repetitive dialogue gets on your nerves. "Let me get a beat" over and over again is a little cheesy.
  • The intro lacks specific step-by-step instructions on how to set up the camera. I wasn't sure if I had that set up properly. It's not user-friendly, and the menu options are confusing.
  • The analyzer did not give me a very accurate depiction of my body.
  • This needs a lot of room — more space for lateral movements.
  • It threw me off because I wasn't able synchronize my movements with the on-screen trainer due to camera lag.
  • It's counting calories even if I'm not moving.
  • Her movements are superfast and would be difficult for a lot of people to keep up with. The speed at which her arms are moving is not realistic.
  • She demonstrated exercises totally irrelevant to what I wanted to work on. When I chose arm work, I got numerous other unrelated exercises, which is disappointing. It's funny, we were just working our shoulders, but she's stretching her quads.
  • Decent attempt at an exercise game — the concept is good — but many shortfalls and doesn't execute well.

PROS from the gamer:

  • Nothing…I can’t find a single thing that would make this appealing. Even Jenny McCarthy was incredibly annoying.

CONS from the gamer:

  • Difficult setup menu — not at all user-friendly.
  • Clunky and clumsy.
  • Seemed to be made for 12-year-old school girls with this music selection and dialogue.
  • You can't just go from one exercise to another without having to go through the messy menu system.
  • Each workout seems nearly the same no matter what exercise, body part, or option you choose.
  • Requires too much room in the workout space.

Next up: EA Sports Active: More Workouts…

Game #3: EA Sports Active: More Workouts (Wii)

PROS from the trainer:

  • I'm very impressed with the exercises and routines.
  • I like that you can work out with a friend.
  • The fact that you can customize your own program is valuable for people who don't want to follow preset programs.
  • User friendly.
  • The trainers are straightforward, to-the-point, and encouraging.
  • The monitoring devices [ed: controllers] were sensitive to the movements, especially running and boxing. Seems accurate.
  • Initial impressions: It's so customizable, it's almost beyond imagination…as far as journaling your progress, customizing your workouts to reach your goals, etc. The choices for activities are vast. They seem endless to me.

CONS from the trainer:

  • The customization options are so extensive, it's almost overwhelming.
  • It would be nice to have options for special needs, like orthopedic injuries, high blood pressure, seniors, etc.
  • The equipment is a little cumbersome. The leg strap kept slipping on me. Sticking the Nunchuk into the holder was a little difficult. Trying to perform curls while holding the controllers was somewhat awkward and weird. And the fact that you have one device one shape [ed: Wiimote] and the other another shape [ed: Nunchuk] is a little strange. It'd be more comfortable if both devices were the same size and shape in each hand.

PROS from the gamer:

  • Very straightforward and easy-to-understand menu system.
  • Exercises allow you change the difficulty level.
  • I like how you can set your own workout and weight-loss goals. The game tells you where you are in those goals and how to keep working on them.
  • An impressive amount of exercises keeps things from getting too repetitive.
  • I love being able to customize my own workouts so that I can focus on what areas I want to work on the most.

CONS from the gamer:

  • Even though you can skip them, the “How To” videos in between each exercise breaks up the rhythm and momentum you are building up while working out.
  • The responsiveness of the Wiimote and Nunchuk can be dreadfully off at times. You sometimes spend more time trying to get the game to read your movements than actually exercising.

Next up: Active Life: Extreme Challenge…

Game #4: Active Life: Extreme Challenge (Wii)

Note: Active Life isn't actually an exercise program. It's just a physical-activity-oriented family game that we thought we'd have Vince and Raychul test out just for fun, mainly because the game's title makes it sound so damn healthy….

PROS from the trainer:

  • Pretty cool! I kinda like street luge. I like sitting on the pad and using my arms to steer. It forces you to shift weight to arms and balance — you get minor isometric training in the arms and shoulders this way.
  • The interface is very easy to use — very straightforward.
  • It holds enough entertainment value to get children off the couch and exercising in the house — it obviously won't get them out of the house.
  • Extensive choices in games.
  • The dialogue wasn't too irritating.

CONS from the trainer:

  • Some of the sports aren't true to form to the movements but others are.
  • Some of the activities are too simple to elevate the heart rate to beneficial levels.
  • The design and style are more targeted toward kids.

PROS from the gamer:

  • Nothing. I don’t see why anyone — grown-ups or kids — would be interested in this game.

CONS from the gamer:

  • The graphics suck…even for the Wii. Think PlayStation 1.
  • The game feels cheap. The pad feels cheap. Even the menu feels cheap.
  • The events are repetitive, simplistic, and not challenging. Once you play one, there's not much encouraging you to ever play it again.

Next up: The final awards and contest rules…

And the awards go to…

  • Overall favorite for exercising: Wii Fit Plus (Vince), EA Sports Active: More Workouts (Raychul)
  • Least favorite: Your Shape (Vince and Raychul)
  • Had most fun with: Wii Fit Plus (Vince and Raychul)
  • Best for nutrition and a healthy lifestyle: Wii Fit Plus (Vince and Raychul)
  • Best customization and pre-set workouts: EA Sports Active: More Workouts (Vince and Raychul)
  • Better for the more advanced exerciser: EA Sports Active: More Workouts (Vince and Raychul)
  • Hottest trainer: Jenny McCarthy (Vince), "my Mii" (Raychul)

Contest Rules:

We have a shiny new copy of each of the above games, ready to give away to our readers:

  • Wii Fit Plus, with Balance Board
  • Your Shape, with motion-tracking camera
  • EA Sports Active: More Workouts, with accessory pack (leg strap, resistance band)
  • Active Life: Extreme Challenge, with mat controller

All you have to do is comment below.

We'll draw four names at random on Friday, May 21 (a week from now) and send each one of the prizes (our pick). Sorry…this is only open to continental-U.S. addresses only (unless you state in the comment that you're willing to cover shipping and handling). Void where prohibited.

UPDATE: Congrats to the contest winners!

  • Andrew Murphy (Wii Fit Plus)
  • Adam Cole (Your Shape)
  • Chas Guidry (EA Sports Active: More Workouts)
  • Ken Wong (Active Life: Extreme Challenge)