Kits to help your fitness motivation
Games, gadgets and computers are often pilloried for promoting unhealthy lifestyles. Sitting in front of a computer, games console or TV for hours on end isn’t especially good for your health, but there are plenty of ways in which technology can give you a fitness boost.
Gaming, computing and even smartphone use doesn’t have to be all about sitting down and staring at a screen. In recent years there has been a deluge of fitness-related gadgets, gizmos, applications and games.
Indeed, not only can technology make exercising more fun, it can also help you keep in shape while doing something a bit different.
Growth of get-fit gadgets While the Wii and Playstation Move require players to grasp dedicated controllers, the Kinect add-on for the Xbox 360 detects movements using a sensor that tracks body movements. This enables more freedom and a far wider and more varied range of movements.
But in all cases, the point of these control mechanisms is to offer new, more active ways to interact with entertainment and fitness titles. Some disguise their ‘fitness’ elements (dance games, for instance), while others (such as the aforementioned Wii Fit Plus) are marketed as proper fitness routines.
Like traditional exercise videos, many fitness games tend to revolve around a regular workout routine, but pack in many more interactive elements. They typically track progress and give feedback on how well things are going.
They can also warn if a particular exercise is being performed incorrectly: attach Nintendo’s Balance Board accessory (around £90 when bought with Wii Fit Plus), for example, and the Wii Fit Plus game can detect if a stretch or hold is being attempted correctly, based on weight distribution.
Fitness games can also give advice, encouragement and an unbiased pair of virtual eyes to help assess how well things are going.
More than fitness Active gaming doesn’t begin and end with dedicated fitness titles, though. Sports games have long been a staple of both computer and console gaming – but the advent of motion-sensitive controls has given the genre a serious fitness fillip.
Wii Fit Balance Games Cheats - News
They can also warn if a particular exercise is being performed incorrectly: attach Nintendo's Balance Board accessory (around £90 when bought with Wii Fit Plus), for example, and the Wii Fit Plus game can detect if a stretch or hold is being attempted
