With the growing popularity of the Wii Fit, more and more people are making the living room their fitness venue of choice. It's certainly cheaper and more convenient than going to your local gym, but is it as good a workout? Let's put the Wii Fit and The Gym head to head and find out...

There are two factors that make a workout a good workout - the "enjoyability factor" and the "results factor". Some workouts bring phenomenal results if you stick at them for long enough, but they're too hard and too boring, which might put you off after just one attempt. Other workouts are great fun and easy to do regularly, but are so low-intensity that they bring no real fitness gains. Before choosing between the Wii Fit and The Gym you need to consider both factors based on your personality and fitness goals.

The Wii Fit pros...

•you don't have to travel to use it, it's right there in your living room
•it is something you can easily fit into your daily routine at home
•it offers yoga, strength training, aerobic and balance workouts
•the workouts are great fun and you can do them with friends

The Wii Fit cons...

•the variety of exercises are limited, meaning limited fitness gains
•the intensity of exercises are limited, meaning limited strength gains
•if the novelty wears of it can conveniently be hidden under the sofa

The Gym pros...

•there is a vast selection of resistance and cardio equipment
•the fitness possibilities and results are endless, the sky is the limit
•it's a more motivating exercise environment, so you workout harder
•it's far more social, so you can meet new people while exercising

The Gym cons...

•you have to travel to the gym to do your workout
•some people might feel intimidated by the gym environment
•it can get monotonous, especially if you stick to the same routine

So which is best?

Whilst the Wii appears to favour the enjoyability factor over the results factor, the gym goes the opposite way and offers far better fitness gains at the expense of the fun factor. It really comes down to how much you want to enjoy your workouts versus how much you want to see results. My honest opinion? You just aren't going to get very fit using a Wii Fit, nor are you going to be wetting yourself with excitement at the gym. The Wii Fit is ideal for people who want to enjoy exercise and be a little more active, the gym is for people who are serious about getting slimmer, leaner, stronger and fitter.

The two don't have to be mutually exclusive. Perhaps if you are very unfit and just getting into exercise then the Wii Fit might be a good place to start to build up your fitness and confidence before joining a gym. If you are already at a good fitness level then the Wii just isn't going to challenge you, but it is great fun!



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