To my surprise the 4 page article is on their home page and also on CNN.com’s Tech page. I’m very excited about the article because it gives my website AskTheTrainer.com a HUGE link on Popular science which is semi-related and very reputable source to link to your page.

For the article I played the wii fit, which was hot off the press directly from Nintendo with Popular Science writer and engineer Brett Zarda and we chatted about the science behind the wii fit hardware and software.

My personal training clients liked the article and thought the picture of mario’s body was mine, which shocked me because his arm’s were super skinny.

I will use this blog post to talk a little more about what the Wii fit is lacking as a true exercise machine and personal trainer.

I was very impressed with the technology of the Nintendo Wii Fit when I first stepped on it. It reminded me of machines which measured balance in kinesiology labs in college.  It seemed to be very responsive and accurate.

It measured the independent weight of each foot which gives the feedback to control the characters in many of the games and lets the Wii know if you are doing the exercises correctly. I was impressed that the Wii had a good idea of how much weight I should be placing on it during a lunge.

I didn’t get a chance to unlock any of the exercises but from my experience with Brain Age for the Nintendo DS I know it’s based on the calendar. This I like again, because like I do with my San Francisco Personal Training clients is progress them so they do not try difficult exercises before they are ready.

The exercises on the Wii were surprisingly challenging and while I don’t think they can compare with exercises I do with my clients in the gym they will be very good for people with a low fitness level such as the elderly.

I was very surprised with the depth of the instructions and information provided by the Nintendo Wii Personal trainer. It sounded like it was directed at a health conscious 30 something rather than kids which the games looked like they were directed at. Maybe this is a Japanese thing, but it seemed odd.

One major flaw with the Nintendo Wii personal trainer was it? never mentioned the core as the transverse abdominis which supports the spine. It should have probably been mentioning that during every exercise which along with proper posture allows your body to perform motions with proper neuromuscular efficiency.

I would love to use it with clients in the future for some balance tests. If you are serious about getting a workout with the Nintendo Wii fit here are some things I suggest.

1. Get an Exercise Ball (Stability or BOSU ) - Will add difficulty to many Wii exercises and you can experiment with ways to add the balls to your Wii fit exercises.
2. Perform a general warm up. - This can also be a cardio session, the Wii trainer never mentions this and it is important to circulate your blood to your extremities before you can the the most benefit out of stretching, weight training, yoga and balance exercises.
3. Drink some water- The Wii never mentions how vital and important water can be for your exercise program and losing weight.
4. Exercise away from the Wii - If you need to improve your fitness for whatever reason, try to exercise at least 3x a week. Combine this with the Wii fit exercises and you may actually physically change.

I also want to clarify something I was quoted as saying in the article. What I said about balance being what is selling in the fitness field right now sounded a little different than what I actually think.

Right now the core and balance very big in the fitness industry. I should know I did my Master’s Degree on it. While they are important, I think the world of fitness has overblown the aspects of the core and balance to use them to sell the brand new slew of fitness products such as stability balls, etc. as well as services.

Balance and core are indeed the “it” thing in the fitness industry and in 10 years I guarantee there will be something which is deemed more important.

What this has done is taken the focus of of things which I think are far more important such as weight training large muscle groups and high intensity cardio. I think this has brainwashed the new generation of personal trainers into putting their clients through ineffective training programs which neglect the exercises which were proven to have been effective years ago and replaced them with unproven “walk the tightrope” type balance and core exercises.

Creativity is a great trait to have as a personal trainer but it should only be used if the basics are covered to increase the quality and enjoyment level of personal training sessions.