Unless you have been locked up at home for several months without Internet or television, you cannot have missed the release of Wii Fit. Between the posters which present the famous "plateau" to us (using the word "scale" would no doubt run the risk of frightening those who have a weight problem and do not assume it), the generalist press which takes hold of the casual game by excellence on the casual console par excellence, the small TV reports that present this new kind of title, everyone is talking about Wii Fit... But be it. If this is your case, then a little introduction is in order. Wii Fit is a kind of sports coach intended to make you shake your butt to be in better shape and lose weight. Sold in an imposing and heavy box, it is accompanied by the essential Wii Balance Board, the famous "plateau", therefore. Working wirelessly thanks to four batteries (supplied), it is a kind of scale which measures not only the weight of the player but also the pressure exerted by each of the feet and follows the movement of his center of gravity.
Veronique and Dawiina
First step, the selection of the Mii which will represent you in the interface and certain tests. Then you have to enter your date of birth and your height. For weight, don't count on cheating a few kilos out of coquetry, the game doesn't ask you to but measures it on its own. From there, Wii Fit calculates your BMI (Body Mass Index), an acronym you've probably heard on one of the countless TV shows devoted to diets and eating issues. You can very easily calculate it yourself, just divide your weight by your height squared. The number obtained allows you to place yourself on a scale. Basically, up to 18,5 you are too thin, then up to 25 you have a normal build, up to 30 you are overweight and beyond that you are considered obese. Obviously, this is a very general concept which must sometimes be put into perspective, but it nevertheless often gives a very fair idea of your condition. From there, the game asks you to set a goal: how many kilos or what BMI do you want to achieve and in how long? This will allow you to judge your progress, but be careful! On the one hand, stay realistic, it would be totally absurd to want to lose 10 kilos in two weeks; either it is impossible or it is dangerous. On the other hand, don't rely solely on Wii Fit to achieve your goal. Also adopt a suitable diet. Because it's nice to want to lose those pretty love handles, but if it's to swallow a pizza and a packet of cookies every night, you won't achieve much... But from the when you have a modicum of common sense, Wii Fit will prove to be a great help. After this long but essential digression on the BMI, let's resume. After a short test, the game then assigns you a physical age. Of course, this is a figure which has no scientific value, but it gives you an idea of your shape and its evolution thereafter. Because we were talking about weight, but Wii Fit is just as suitable for those who have no pounds to lose: it maintains, helps to relax, to strengthen certain parts of the body...
After the effort, the comfort
Wii Fit offers more than 40 activities divided into four categories. First of all, there are yoga and gym exercises. It is a question of reproducing the movements of your coach (male or female, you choose), namely the figures to be performed are more or less complex and each one offers several levels of difficulty which are unlocked as you progress. In absolute terms, the scale would not be essential, we could very well use these modes as we would use a fitness DVD. But the whole point of Wii Fit lies in its ability, via the device, to measure your performance. It therefore calculates the displacement of your center of gravity during the exercises, the pressure exerted by your feet (or your hands in certain cases, as for push-ups, and yes!), manages to detect a precarious balance or on the contrary an excellent posture . So much so that it gives you scores to measure your progress over the days. And then an immediate feedback to know if we did things well or not turns out to be much more motivating! Don't think it's just a gimmick, the accessory is pretty amazingly accurate. That was for the sporting part, the most serious. There remain the two other more playful modes: balance games and aerobics. It involves, for example, moving the hips to spin hoops, advancing on a wire in balance, controlling with the body the inclination of a plate to fit marbles into holes, stepping, simulating jogging (no need for scales here, the Wiimote in your pocket is enough), catching soccer balls, slalom on skis... So these are no longer simple exercises but real mini- games, which are wonderful moments of relaxation after a slightly more "serious" session. However, it also remains physical, each test asking you for a certain skill. Not easy to ensure several minutes of hula hoop!
In absolute terms, the scale would not be essential, we could very well use these modes as we would use a fitness DVD. But the whole point of Wii Fit lies in its ability, via the device, to measure your performance.
Yoga, gym, aerobics or balance games, you won't be able to access everything from the start, you'll have to earn it! Depending on your performance as well as the time spent in Wii Fit, you will unlock new events. But don't worry, if you play a little every day, this system will seem like a nice way to get rewarded. Moreover, it is more than recommended to practice the game on a daily basis if you want your efforts not to be in vain. No need to spend an hour there, but choose the exercises that seem best suited to your goals before taking the physical test. The latter can only be passed once a day (we stamp a calendar as we do in the brain coaches of the DS, for example) and each time redetermines your weight, your BMI and your physical age. It is the results of this test that will allow you to have a real follow-up of your training.
sport-pleasure
Technically, we expected it, Wii Fit is not a slap, far from it. The visual style is simple and casual to death, but we can hardly blame him, since it is in perfect coherence with the intended target. It's very easy to navigate through the menus, everything is very clear and that's ultimately all that matters for this type of software. Yes, software, because in the end, despite the very fun little games, it's hard to talk about a game. But we have to admit that this first one is terribly successful: Wii Fit is undoubtedly the most motivating way to have daily physical activity. It's well done, effective, a little fun and it's much easier to get in front of your television to start working than to go to an expensive gym, to go for a run outside when the weather is not very nice or simply when you don't want to expose yourself to others. Again, this is not a miracle method to lose weight or maintain, you have to really get involved for it to be useful. But we have rarely wanted to move so much, and for that alone, Wii Fit deserves to be praised.
