Wii Fit Plus

I wasn't expecting to get "Wii Fit Plus" till Christmas, so it was a nice surprise when my husband brought it home for me a couple weeks ago. I've had time to enjoy it now and it's a nice addition to the original Wii Fit.

"Wii Fit Plus" was a bargain for a video game at only 20 dollars at Wal-Mart. But unlike most games, "Wii Fit Plus" doesn't operate on its own. You are required to own the original "Wii Fit" game and balance board in order to play. "Wii Fit Plus" builds onto the original game.

New Yoga Positions:

Spine Extension

Gate

Grounded V

These are all rated as being for advanced users, and I agree with that assessment. (Grounded V is a workout!)

New Strength Training Exercises:

Balance Bridge

Side Lunge

Single Leg Reach

These are also rated as being for advanced users, and while they are tougher than some, they were all fairly manageable.

New "Training Plus" games:

"Wii Fit Plus" comes with 15 new games under the category "Training Plus". These are a fun addition to the original games on "Wii Fit". Some of these are a more of a mental challenge than a physical one. I am not sure why they created the "Training plus" category for these games as they could have been fairly neatly divided between the original "Aerobics" and "Balance Games" categories, as they did with the Yoga and Strength training.

The new games are:

Perfect 10-
A game where you hit numbered mushrooms with your hip area to add up to 10. Progresses to
15 and 20 as you go along.

Island Cycling-
A sort of walking game where you are pedaling a bike and steering with the Wii Remote.
Fun, a good workout, and challenging. But the higher levels were confusing, and a bit frustrating.

Rhythm Kung Fu-
Dancing in the Dojo. Copy the movements of the other Miis. One of my favorite new games as it incorporates a musical element.

Driving Range-
Work on your golf swing. Mine is terrible.

Segway Circuit-
Ride a Segway along the beach to pop Beach Balls held by moles. Then chase down the last mole before time runs out. The cat that runs along side will help you. Zany and fun! Controls are similar to biking, except that you lean instead of "pedal".

Bird's Eye Bull's-Eye--
Flap your wings and land on targets. I like this one! Sort of goofy and peaceful at the same time.

Snowball Fight-
Lean left and right and aim and throw snowballs with your Wii Remote. Fun but not very physical.

Obstacle Course-
This is a good workout. Walking, dodging, "jumping". I haven't gotten very far yet, but it's fun!

Tilt City--
Tip left and right to put balls in pipes and create different fireworks. A pretty concept for a game and challenging.

Rhythm Parade--
March to the beat and "catch" your baton with the Wii Remote and Wii Nunchuck to increase the members of your marching bandThis game requires a lot of coordination and is a good workout. One of my favorites as it has a musical element.

Big Top Juggling-
Balance on a ball and juggle increasing numbers of balls. My daughter rocks at this game! I can't get past 2 balls. A decent workout, but hard to get the hang of for me.

Skate Board Arena-
Kick off and balance as you learn how to do different tricks and perform a grand finale. I am okat this one. It's a lot of fun and a good workout.

Table Tilt Plus-
A super difficult version of the original "Wii Fit" game.

Bubble Balance Plus-
Another difficult version of a game on the original "Wii Fit"

Basic Run Plus-
Much like the original "Run Plus" but you chase cats instead of people and dogs, levels are unlocked as you go, and there is a quiz at the end about what you observed. Some of thequestions are tough!

"My Wii Fit Plus" Section:

A nice addition, which is completely new to "Wii Fit Plus". It centralizes some features, like trainer selection, favorites, and graphs. In addition you can set and track your calorie goal for the day and compare what you've burned to a list of foods. (All the games and exercises now have a MET rating for how much you burn doing them.) You can also do "Wii fit plus" routines with specific goals in mind, or set up your own workout of strength training and yoga. This can save a lot of time, as you don't have the lag time between games and exercises.

Other New Features:

There are a lot of little additions besides the new exercises. I will probably forget something but I'll list what I've found here:

You can now add pets and babies as Miis, which is cute, if nothing more. (We have two cat Mii's added, but they don't weigh in much!).

There are new balance exercises to determine your Wii Fit age, some which require a bit of mental dexterity as well. (And in the "My Wii Fit Plus" section you can now practice these!)

There is a new multi-player function, which allows you to take turns with other players on the games.

There is now a space to record your daily steps and waist size.

Minor Complaints:

I think "Wii Fit Plus" is great, but there were a few things that I'd change.

You still can't go back and log activities from the previous day if you forget. Now in addition, you can't log your steps from the day before. (I just log them as the next day's steps as I check my steps at bedtime and don't want to go back downstairs and enter them.)

The new routine set-ups are nice, but it would have been better if you could choose from ALL the activities, not just Yoga and Strength training, and if, within the Strength Training exercises, you could choose how many you do. (For example, I'd rather do 20 jackknives, but the pre-set is 10.) I have the same complaint about the "Wii Fit Plus" Routines. (I'd like to choose how long I run.)

The new "Training Plus" games are fun, but I would have liked this better is they were split between existing categories. I like to look at the graph to see if I am getting a fairly balanced workout, and the "Training Plus" exercises are lumped together on the graph.

In Conclusion:

If you have "Wii Fit", "Wii Fit Plus" is a great addition for your workout and adds some new elements to the game which might inspire you to get moving. It's got my daughter interested in the game again, after she had gotten bored with it. The calorie counting is especially nice as you get a little sense of accomplishment to push you along. All in all, "Wii Fit Plus" gives me great motivation to keep exercising and keep losing weight!

I highly recommend "Wii Fit Plus"!