So, let's back up here a moment. Before today, I had only been walking on the treadmill for about 30 minutes every now and then at about a 2.5 mph pace. Barely enough to break a sweat or get winded. Yet, I did. I did push myself one day to do a few minutes at 3.0 mph, but I had not revisited the treadmill since that fateful day.
Well, as luck would have it, last night I acquired an XBox 360 and Kinect. I had been interested in one for awhile after seeing endless commercials during The Biggest Loser for various *fitness* games. Games. Such a misleading word when it comes to fitness. But I digress. I had played with the Kinect only once before with my youngest nephew when he received one for his birthday last year. It was fun!
So, naturally, after polling my friends on FB, MyFitnessPal and SparkPeople, I trudged my way to the local Walmart to purchase a Zumba game. Again, there's that word...game. Again, quite misleading. I rushed home and started to put together the new game system. (I still feel strange using the word game here).
After about an hour or so of trying to figure out how everything is connected, downloading all of the updates, and calibrating the Kinect (and testing out the adventure game that came with the set), I was ready for Zumba Rush (because it was either that or the Zumba Core at Walmart).
One of the menu options for Zumba Rush is to learn the steps slowly then moving to the normal speed. I spent a good 30 minutes trying out various dance steps and trying them out (yet failing miserably at my first attempts). I was already worn out by then, but had not set up an XBox Live account to keep track of what I was doing (or how many calories I was burning).
I then realized I had to set up the XBox Live account and started actually tracking my progress on Zumba Rush. The next thing I tried was individual songs. I started out with a basic song with easier to follow moves. Not so bad, I received 2 stars for my efforts. Then I tried another more challenging song, and found myself moving back to the easy one for a few more tries to perfect those moves before I try that one again.
All in all, I loved it! I'm exhausted. Worn out. And plain old feeling the fact that I had not done any workout like that before. It's fast paced and a little difficult for a beginner to keep up, but if you focus only on the footwork in the beginning, it makes it a little easier. I'm already making plans on trying this again tomorrow after work!
What about you? Are there any fitness *games* that you've tried out and enjoyed on a gaming system? I'd love to have your feedback!
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