I know what you're probably saying right now. "Yea, right" or "what is this guy, some kind of a joker". Well, ordinarily you would be right on the mark with those comments, but there is a video game out there that not only can be a ton of fun, but can also give you a pretty good workout and make you lose weight in the process.
If you are a teenager or the parent of a teenager with a "Sony play station 2", then you likely already know what game I'm talking about. If not, the video game in question is called "dance, dance revolution" or DDR for short. This is a game that started out in video arcades, but now there is the home version you can buy. Let's look at how this video game can become part of a weight loss and fitness program.
The game itself is played on a mat with four arrows pointing out in each direction, two out to the sides and one forward and one back. The corresponding arrows on your TV screen are your target arrows. When the moving arrows coming up from the bottom of your screen overlap the target arrows on the screen, you step on the appropriate arrows on the mat. All of this happens to your choice of upbeat music.
The nice part of DDR is that there are skill levels ranging from beginner all the way to advanced levels. As you complete one song or segment, you get a score for it. You can then try again and again to continue to beat your scores. The fact that it is competitive in nature makes it a lot of fun, plus as you are playing this game, you are moving your body the same as you would doing dance aerobics.
As with any aerobic exercise, it stands to reason that if you played DDR for 20 to 30 minutes per day, you would expend a lot of energy and burn fat. But as if logic alone wasn't enough to confirm that this video game could give you a good workout and make you burn fat, there are people who use DDR making claims of losing anywhere from 5 to 95 pounds of fat! These claims are all coming from people who aren't being paid to endorse DDR, but just people who are seeing these kinds of results from using it.
Since you probably already have a TV set, all you would need to get started doing this is a "play station" and the game with the mat (the mat is the controller). If you already have a "play station 2", you can get the game and mat for around $60.00. If you don't have the "play station 2", you can still get everything you need for under $300.00.
If you enjoy music and dancing, and you are getting bored with jogging or riding the exercise bike, then DDR is a great way to get in some exercise each day, plus you'll have a lot of fun doing it once you get the hang of it. If you are having fun while you are exercising, you will not only be more likely to stick with it, you will probably look forward to doing it, and if you don't believe DDR can give you a challenging workout, just ask any teenager how they feel after 20 to 30 minutes of doing it. |
