Thoughts on Two Weeks of Wii (with Bonus Wii Tennis Tips)

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Drive yourself to good fitness I had previously mentioned that we got a Nintendo Wii. I have two weeks of playing time in and I have to say that it is a winner when compared to watching television. In fact, I’d take the extra step and say it might be equal to an aerobic exercise at the gym.

Wii Tennis is a good workout

My favorite game is Wii Sports Tennis. This is the only game where my wife and I can play on the same team. (When we are on opposing teams, we get a little too competitive and it doesn’t end up well). I focus about 90% of my time on this game. After a day or just a couple games a day, my wife and I noticed that we had a case of Wii Tennis Elbow (Wiibow?). We took a day off and have been fine since.

So what about burning calories? My wife really puts her arm into every shot. She says she builds up quite a sweat that way. (I build up a sweat from trying to dodge her swings.) However, if you want a scientific study, this study showed that Wii Tennis burns 92 calories in 15 minutes - nearly 400 an hour.

Wii Boxing is a great workout

For awhile Wii Sports Boxing was up there with Wii Sports Tennis, but I got more involved with Tennis. I simply didn’t want to plug and unplug the nunchuck controller. This game has a punching component which is a little like Tae-bo workout. It adds a dodging and blocking component, so I’m moving everything from the waist up. I winded afterwards and realize that I clearly am getting a great workout. The previously mentioned article measured Wii Boxing as burning 500 calories an hour.

The Key to the Wii is Motivation

As great as I feel after I get back from the gym, I often don’t feel like going. It seems like I have too many other things to do and it gets pushed off. However, with the Wii our entertainment has become our exercise. This is a great way to not only be productive, but motivate ourselves into shape.

Bonus: Wii Tennis Tips

I am a 1700 skill level (2000 is near the top) tennis player now and it goes up a little with each game I play. I’m sure there are better people out there than me, but for beginners this may help

Fast Serve - I found that I can fast serve more often when I press A to toss the ball up in the air. It’s worth trying if you can’t get the swing timing right.
Net Guy - If I can hit it with the net guy I do. He rarely hits the ball out and if you miss you get a second chance with the back guy.
Swing Early - This is especially true with the net guy. If you swing early you can often spike the ball in such a way that the computer had to dive out of bounce just to return it. This sets you up to slam it on the other side of the court.
Tire Them Out - The computer players start to sweat after awhile. Their abilities goes down and you can take advantage of that. Annoyingly they are very good at slow lobs when they are tired, so they can get back into position. This leads to a drawn out game. I’m happy with that because it means more exercise.

That’s all I have for now. I haven’t worked on any spin shots or anything of nature. Maybe in the next two weeks I’ll get that down.

Photo Credit: Thivierr

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Posted by Lazy Man on April 10, 2008 in Exercise, Motivation.

3 Responses to “Thoughts on Two Weeks of Wii (with Bonus Wii Tennis Tips)”

craig Says:
April 10th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
My skill level on Wii tennis is 2177-I am totally addicted to it
Writer's Coin Says:
April 11th, 2008 at 4:20 am
Welcome to the Wii community! It’s a lot of fun and wait until you get Guitar Hero (granted, not much of a workout but it’s so fun), M and I play it all the time.
True Diet Reviews Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Try playing the baseball skill game that makes you swing the bat 30 times and the pitches come faster and faster.

I am always out of breath after that one!