Review of Yourself!Fitness


http://www.yourselffitness.com

Do you think that computer and video games are just for kids? Do you think that spending an hour a day playing video games is bad for your health? It is time to think again.

ResponDesign, a company dedicated to making games that are good for you, has created a new game that will actually help you get into shape. Yourself!Fitness is a completely new type of game. This game features Maya, your personal trainer, as the main character. She will help you to stay motivated, track your progress, and give you new fitness routines each day. She also provides detailed menus according to your calorie needs. Prevention magazine was involved in the project, and as you switch between different sections of the program, you will see tips from Prevention on staying in shape and living healthy.

Maya knows hundreds of exercises, and you will not get the same workout twice. There are aerobic exercises, strength training, and yoga. Maya will lead you through a series of questions and fitness tests when you first set up your account with her, and then set up a schedule for you to follow. You can work with or without equipment; she can incorporate a heart rate monitor, stability ball, weights and a step into the workout if you have any of those available.

I used the PC version, but the game is also available for Xbox and Playstation. The program hangs in a couple of places. Every time I try to enter my flexibility results in the original assessment, my computer locks up and I have to reboot it completely. When I skip that, it works fine. I have also had the program quit responding in the middle of a workout when moving from aerobics to flexibility training. There is supposed to be a patch available to fix some of the errors on the PC, but I have not installed it yet.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give the program a nine. It is innovative, and much better than workout videos because of the custom feedback. If you are not feeling well, you can turn down the intensity. Maya will ask you how each segment felt to you, and adjust the next level accordingly. You also earn rewards for attendance; you can earn new exercise locations and music.

I would like to see a lot more of Maya. I hope that they will come out with new versions of the game, with additional equipment. I would love to have her work with my treadmill, or lead me through a spinning class. In addition, the dietary guides should ask more questions: likes, dislikes, food allergies, and if you are vegetarian. A weekly shopping guide would also be handy.

This was definitely a worthwhile purchase, it cost about the same as two exercise videos and I get a lot more use out of this than I would videos. I am thrilled to see the direction this company is taking, and will look for new titles from them as soon as they are released.

Meri

 

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