EA Sports Active

As many of you may recall, I decided a while back to man up and take the 30-day challenge on EA Sports Active for Nintendo Wii.

Saturday will officially mark the 30 days since I began the challenge. And no, I will not have completed the workouts by this time. I'll be going about three days over - due to soreness and rests because of skydiving and such.

Anyhow, I think I still have some pretty good insight into the program that I'd like to share with y'all today.

As expected, there is some good, some bad and even a few surprises in the following review.

Has anyone else tried this? How does it compare with say, Wii Fit? As a non-Wii Fit user, I'm intrigued. Maybe one day I'll try it out and do a head to head comparison...

Until then, here's my review on the first 30 days using EA Sports Active for the Wii.

Raves:

• It's harder than you might think, and really gets your heart pumping.
• You can choose your level of intensity depending on how you feel that day.
• You can create an avatar that looks like you.
• It doesn't track your weight. This is good for those of us not trying to lose pounds, but more to shape up. 
• It really focuses on your legs - something I've always needed help with.

Rants:

• The resistance band doesn't do enough for my arms.
• It's very sensitive to movement - if you're shaking from the intensity of the workout it'll make you redo it.
• No matter how well you perform, your "trainer" tells you that you could be doing better. These must be canned, automatic responses.
• Even when you choose to listen to all types of music, the songs repeat frequently.
• Often the trainer tells you to set your own pace, then a minute later tells you to wait for the ding sound to switch positions. MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

Surprises:

• You sweat, a LOT. (+)
• There's a journal section that allows you to track other activities and lifestyle choices. It provides basic advice on how to make better choices. (+)
• Trophies are earned for milestones - positive reinforcement and an additional challenge to earn all the awards. (+)
• Goal setting options are very basic and don't provide much detail on progress. (-)

I'd really love to try out Wii Fit to see how it compares. In the past month I've seen a few changes in my body, but it's hard to tell if it's been from that or my other activities.

For instance, my arms have toned up, but I have a feeling steering a parachute every weekend helps with that.

Bottom line - I recommend this product. It's a great at-home option that's sure to make you sweat and get your heart rate up. And it's surprisingly challenging. 

Sure, you may look funny running in place as your avatar travels around the track, but it beats the smell of a sweaty gym any day.

Cheers!

-A