Jenn Hethcoat and her 3-year-old son, Brendan, practice some soccer moves using the Nintendo Wii Fit game. Jenn uses the game about four times per week to get in shape. She also is one of the founding members of a Web site called Wii Fit Mommies, where moms blog about their experiences and find inspiration.
Lawrence resident Jenn Hethcoat says one of the benefits of using Wii Fit is being able to spend more time with her children, Brendan and Lillian.
Jenn Hethcoat, a mother of two, works out for at least 45 minutes four times per week. Her routine consists of balance exercises, aerobics and yoga.
However, unlike others trying to lose weight, she doesn’t go to a fitness center, she’s not enrolled in a special class and doesn’t have a home gym — unless you consider a Nintendo Wii Fit a home gym.
Hethcoat, who lives in Lawrence, is one of four founding members of the Web site Wii Fit Mommies, a fitness blog started shortly after Julie Maloney, of South Carolina, shared how she lost 60 pounds using the gaming system. The women created the site to give people a place where they could work together and motivate each other in their weight loss while having fun doing it.
Three weeks after beginning her workout routine — and without adjustments to her diet — Hethcoat says she lost 8 pounds and has noticed improvements in her posture.
Hethcoat has tried other fitness programs. She and her husband belonged to a gym for years. She also took spinning classes for awhile. When she had a child, she started walking, pushing her son in a stroller. When she had a second child, walks became more difficult.
“That’s the one thing I like about the Fit,” she says. “I can do it right here and with both of my kids. I can do it any time. I don’t have to change my clothes or worry about the weather. There are no excuses.”
Hethcoat admits she wasn’t sure if the Wii Fit would give her a true workout.
“I didn’t know how that would work exactly, but the first time I got on I thought it was easy,” she says. “I was just having fun, but the next day I could feel my muscles. The more and more you work out, the more levels you unlock the more difficult the workout gets.”
The Wii Fit Mommies site (http://fitness.coolmomguide.com) includes weekly Fitness Friday posts written by both the mommies and a featured forum member. Since the site launched in December, it has gained more than 400 members. The members share their stories of previous weight-loss failures, as well as weekly diary entries detailing their challenges and successes as they work toward their individual weight loss goals.
Hethcoat’s goals are simple. One is to lose weight; a second is to be more active, playing with her children.
“The third one is for my kids, for my daughter specifically, to grow up not watching me worry about my weight, so that’s never an issue for her.”
Andrea Hudy, strength coach for Kansas University athletics, says while the Wii Fit alone does not provide an adequate workout for a highly competitive athlete, it could be beneficial based on each individual’s needs.
“We use many types of resistance training activities and many types of conditioning activities beyond the scope of what the Wii has to offer to help our athletes prepare for the rigors of competition,” she says. “On the other hand, I have often considered purchasing a Wii Fit for some specific activities, such as balance, to help our athletes.”
She explains the Wii Fit has many characteristics of a legitimate exercise program.
“The Wii has the following tracking options — body weight, BMI, balance, agility and Wii fit age. So you do get tracking of improvements in areas and it has a feature that lets you record and track other exercise that you can perform in addition to the work with the Wii,” Hudy says. “The Wii Fit gives you a personal trainer that demonstrates every exercise and performs it with you, encourages you and evaluates how you did each time and it allows you to set the number of repetitions. All of these are features that I would think add legitimacy to any exercise program.”
Hudy explains a person could get a genuine workout if he or she improves weight and BMI, as well as balance and flexibility. So it is possible to see benefits with the Wii.
“It gets you moving and increases your awareness of your fitness level. It encourages you to exercise more,” she says. “I would encourage people to find what works for them and to have some fun with their programs.
“We cannot all be Division 1 athletes, but we can all be more active and healthy. I would encourage people to find what works for them. I have found the Wii to be friendly for all ages and fun for all age groups. It is always popular at family gatherings and gets the children up and moving. That is good to see.”
Comments
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tumbilweed (anonymous) says…
Still not as good as getting real thing outdoors in real air, but at least this keeps people from thinking that you have to drive your car to a gym somewhere to exercise, which is such a joke.
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
My mom uses this for exercise and there is nothing wrong with sitting in your house doing any kinda of workout. My mom has ra so going out jogging is not really an option and this also is a good thing for a person that has an image issue to do something that in the long run might help them feel better about themselves.
redmoonrising (anonymous) says…
Wondering about this for someone like me who has terrible balance and a spine full of metal? Wondering too if there are some a person is unable to do for health reasons it lets you choose options? I would love to improve my balance and flexibility. Might be my next investment as I spoke to someone recently who used it and loves it. Sounds like a viable choice for me.
feeble (anonymous) says…
The hula hoop game can be murder on the knees. However it is possible to string together the 3 and 6 minute exercise sessions into something that actually might break a sweat, but you will need to go for at least 45 min to see any moderate benefit. I personally enjoyed the rhythm boxing exercise.
The primary benefit is getting people who would be otherwise sitting on the couch, watching TV or playing video games, to not be so sedentary.
hjenn2 (anonymous) says…
Thanks Ashley! Great article.
I would encourage anyone who is interested in participating in our forum to come on over and take a look around: http://fitness.coolmomguide.com ! We have tons of great motivational tools and in forum contests with GREAT prizes. Our next event is the Wii Fit Olympics this Saturday :) It is a fun way to interact with other people who are using the Wii Fit.
This really is a great way to get active and get fit when you have limited time and resources. I agree with tumbilweed, nothing is as great as getting outside and getting moving... but this really fills the gaps when that isn't possible.
Feel free to email me or get more details on my blog as well: www.thecouponcoup.com.
jenn
snugems55 (anonymous) says…
Wonderful to read the article on the Wii Fit. I am 53 years old, have 5 children and 5 grand kids. I care for 3 of my grandchildren everyday ages 7, 8 months and 9 months. I have been using the Wii and the Wii fit since August 2008, and to date have lost 42 lbs. I am 5'1" and weighed 155 lbs. when I started. Did the yoyo diet thing, could never find any exercise program that kept my interest. Had terrible problems with my knees, could not even climb stairs, walk or even stand to go to the mall to shop. The Wii fit has changed all of that for me. I am a whole new person and I feel "GREAT". I am so much stronger and keep working everyday to stay toned. I can even run or jog without any discomfort to my knees. I was glad to read your story, so many people do not believe that a video game has done this for me. I went from a size 14 to a 2. Keep up the good work, I know I will. So great to find something that works so well without having to leave your home and doing at your own pace and convenience.