WiiFit

It's a good thing my New Year's resolution wasn't "Run more" because I haven't been able to work out in the great outdoors for awhile.... DUDE IT'S COLD HERE! Below freezing in Florida?! Yes, it's true. You might say Jules, go to the gym and run. And that would be a good suggestion, except for the fact that I loathe cardio machines (I used to be a devoted treadmill and bike user all 4 years of college. Perhaps I overdid it for all eternity) so I decided I had to be creative. Michael and I received a WiiFit as a wedding gift (no joke, and yes we registered for it) so I thought this would be the perfect time to test it out. Do you know about the WiiFit? I will tell you.

The WiiFit is essentially a white platform that looks kind of like a step-aerobics step. [Please take a moment to time travel to the 1990s. Don't forget your thong leotard, shiny spandex pants, slouch socks and high-tops] You set the Fit on the floor in front of the TV and Wii videogame console, press a red button to sync the devices, and you're set. I did all of that, and then had to register my Mii. This involved taking a 'body test' where the fancy pants machine asked my birth year and height, measured my weight, calculated my BMI and took two short balance tests to assess my 'WiiFit age' in order to better track my progress. I scored a 37! DUDE! WTF?! I thought I was in decent shape. Oh well, I have never been good at video games, so why start now? I plugged along and started the real exercise options.

First up: Step aerobics [we are evidently still in the 90s] It very much reminded me of Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) which was quite popular my senior year of high school. Arrows and footprints and a platform. I spent quite a bit of time with DDR and would totally rock this aerobics game. I started the workout, followed it to a T and was feeling great; I knew I would get a good score. Except I didn't!!!!!! I had 50% 'ok' and 50% miss. Not one perfect even though I kept up with the routine the entire time. Hmmmmm perhaps I'm still getting used to the board. Repeated exercise, exact same score. Perhaps I am not meant to do aerobics.

On to yoga. I don't especially enjoy yoga but evidently I am good at it. Go figure. I can stand on the board and keep my center of balance in the yellow circle on the screen. I learned that I am quite adept at deep breathing, the Tree pose, Sun Salutation, and a bunch of other weird stretches with silly names. I felt ridiculous so decided to venture into more familiar territory: strength training.

In the strength training menu, I selected something that required balancing on one leg (don't ask why). My first instruction was "Raise left leg" so I, of course, raised my left leg. But the damn platform kept flashing "Raise left leg" on the screen. Hmmmmm. Perhaps the platform has switched its left and right. So I raised my right leg, and wouldn't you know, it stopped flashing "Raise left leg" at me. I glanced down at my WiiFit platform, and I'll be damned: the board was UPSIDE DOWN!!!! The Wii logo was (upside down) by my heels and the bottom of the board was up by my toes, facing the TV. No wonder I did so abysmally at step aerobics. I immediately flipped the device around and re-attempted aerobics. I got a super-duper score!!!! And felt much better about myself. I might not be a genius, but dammit, I am physically fit. I re-took the 'real age' test and scored a 27. That's more like it.