I’ve never been much of a video game fan. I like playing them, sure, but I don’t get horribly excited about new consoles, and I just don’t have the time to dedicate to them. The extent of my gaming generally consists down to the classic retro adult arcade known as Ground Kontrol.

After hearing a friend talk about the Nintendo Wii and how he was sore after playing it, I decided to investigate why he said that. I learned that the Wii offers physical simulation (which quickly distinguishes it from the more popular rival PS3) A quick google query lead me to this wonderful article about how Wii users are exterting themselves to the point where their muscles are sore.

If one is simulating sword swinging, I can imagine some of the games get quite intense. This continuous motion, combined with the crack like addictive qualities of video gaming, might just well help you burn off some calories, and get your heart rate up to boot. Boxing is packaged, which as you can imagine, might include swinging your arms around quite a bit.

One quote that really got me:

Ryan Mercer, a customs broker in Indianapolis, lifts weights several times a week. But that hasn’t helped much with the Wii. After playing the boxing game for an hour and a half, his arms, shoulders and torso were aching. “I was soaking wet with sweat, head to toe — I had to go take a shower,” he says. And the next morning? “I had trouble putting my shirt on,” says the 21-year-old avid gamer.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 27th, 2006 at 6:11 pm and is filed under Losing the lbs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.