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Wii Sports Experiment, Results! January 15, 2007

Filed under: Exclusive, Fanboy, First Look, News, Tips, Tricks, and Secrets — hey_suburbia @ 9:02 pm

Wii Sports Experiment header

Discuss this and other video game fitness in our forums, HERE.

———————————————————————–

UPDATE 1: I gathered some of the media appearances I made world wide, you can watch, listen, and read them here.

UPDATE 2: 3 independent studies from California State University, West Virginia, and Liverpool John Moores University have all concluded that the Wii is a viable workout:
“Kids burn 40% more calories”

“Through our testing it is clear that the motion sensor-controlled console can make an impact on a child’s heart rate, energy expenditure and the amount of calories burned”

Read about the studies, here and here

————————————-

Six weeks ago (December 3rd, 2006), I began what has become a huge obsession of mine. It is called the “Wii Sports Experiment” (Read my original announcement of this from Early December ‘06). I outlined a 6 week game plan for myself, the idea being that I would continue ALL normal activity and eating habits, and simply add 30 minutes of Wii Sports to my day. For the past month and a half, I’ve stuck to these guidelines very strictly.

wii store
Get everything you need at our store

For those of you not familiar with “Wii Sports”, you can watch a video review of the game and find out what it’s all about, here

I’ve been meticulously keeping track of the following for the past 6 weeks:

- Weight
- BMI
- Calories burned per session/per game (via BioTrainer, thanks Nancy!)
- Body fat % (via a Digital Body Fat Caliper and a body fat scale)
- Heart Rate (at rest)
- Wii Fitness Age
- Additional Notes/Soreness

I found out about traineo.com too late into my experiment, but I’ve now started tracking my data on their website. Traineo is a free and simple website that gives you the motivation and support to reach your weight loss and fitness goals. I definitely recommend checking them out.

Before I get into to this, make sure to check out the original announcement of the experiment and read some of the comments, I took most of the suggestions and tips into consideration. I wanted to make sure that I gathered the most honest and accurate data I could.

The day before the experiment I decided to do some training with the Wiimote, enjoy:

Download Quicktime version
720×356, 320.59MB

Weight:
For most people this is their most anticipated category. To be honest, I was genuinely surprised by my end results, so I’ll just get right to it. I lost 9lbs! Obviously this doesn’t compare to Jared and the Subway diet, but I started out at a weight that I’ve been at for the past 2 years. My weight has really never fluctuated from 180lbs. in those two years, this makes the weight loss that much more of an accomplishment for me, considering I did not change anything I ate or did. Also, this experiment took place during the holiday season, where I ate holiday dinners like I normally would and drank what I normally would have drank. One last variable I had working against me was the winter season, I did not get any outdoor exercise that I normally would have got in the warmer months. (I do have to admit it has been a mild Philly winter so far)

Weight Loss, side view
Click image to view it larger

after shot of weight loss, front view
Click image to view it larger

I was pretty surprised by these shots, In the side shot photos I can see a noticeable reduction in my belly area, upper chest, and my neck/chin area. (and no, my ass didn’t shrink, my pants are bunched up in the “before” photo). In the front facing shots I noticed an obvious visual difference in my body fat. My after picture reveals some abs that were hidden under those 9lbs. of flab. I also see my “love handle” area was reduced, smaller neck, smaller upper chest and better muscle definition. (granted I’m no body builder, but I do see some muscles in there, I think). These pictures were taken using the same lighting, same camera, same time of day, and I tried to stand in the same position. No “sucking in” or “tightening up”, all four shots were taken under the same exact conditions as much as I could control.

Mini Update: I’ve read a few comments from people saying that the forward facing after shot looked “manipulated”. I decided to upload a picture directly from my camera to put those in doubt, at rest. Here is an after photo with no color correction, cropping, contrast adjusting, etc… View it here.

To make sure I kept an accurate reading through out, I bought a professional scale and weighed myself 3 times each day for 6 weeks. I decided that I would weigh-in first thing in the morning, directly after work, and right before bed. I averaged each weigh-in per day and made a graph:
Weight Loss, graph
Click image to view it larger

BMI (Body Mass Index):
- Before: 25.2
- After: 24.0

According to the Heart Lung and Blood Institute, my BMI indicated I was overweight before I started and now I’m at a normal BMI. There is one catch though, your BMI is meant to broadly categorize populations for purely statistical purposes. So, its accuracy in relation to actual levels of body fat is easily distorted by such factors as fitness level, muscle mass, bone structure, gender, and ethnicity. So, take these readings with a grain of salt…

On a more obvious note, my waist (around the belly button/gut) went from 34.5″ to 31″.

Calories:
For my experiment I stuck to four main games and my fitness test (which randomly chooses three games to test your “Fitness Age”). I did calorie experiments for the following, here is what I found after averaging 15 minutes of “aggressive” play during 3 different days.

Mini Update: I just wanted to address a couple of the concerns brought up about calories I burned during my tests. I was using this to measure calories, http://www.biotrainerusa.com. According the instruction manual, it uses a tri-axis accelerometer with a patented super-microprocessor, the BioTrainer is able to measure the inertia of your body’s motion 40-times per second, process the data, and then accurately calculate energy expenditure (in either calories burned or activity units).

I used the BioTrainer three times per game, so I can’t say the results of the burned calories are 100% accurate. I just reported what device measured. For instance, if I kept my waist relatively still (that’s where I attached the BioTrainer) it may not count the calories of my arm motions as accurately as a more advanced heart monitored lab study.

- Tennis: Coming in a close second, Wii Tennis was the runner up in calorie burning activities for Wii Sports. I burned an average of 92 calories during a 15 minute period. Like most of my game playing during the experiment I played each game fairly aggressively and would perform full swings, move left and right, and not take any breaks.

- Bowling: One of my favorite Wii Sports games also clocked in at the lowest of the three games I tested for calorie burn. I burned an average of 77 calories during a 15 minute period. Again, I played aggressively, taken steps toward the lane and bowling with a full swing of the arm. No breaks were taken and I played the game fairly quickly.

- Boxing: The clear winner here. I burned and average of 125 calories during a 15 minute period. I would like to point out that I would punch with full power, move as if I were really dodging, and hoped/bounced around like a real boxer would.

- Baseball: I didn’t get a chance to run the calorie test on baseball, no reason… I was just pressed for time and didn’t get around to it, I love baseball don’t get me wrong.

Here is a compilation of footage I shot throughout the six weeks:

Body Fat %:
For most fitness guru’s and I guess the real question here, was “How much body fat did I lose?” The answer, a fairly significant amount. I took my body fat once a week (sometimes twice) using two methods, one was a Digital Body Fat Caliper and the other a body fat scale. I averaged the readings of the two and here are the results:

- Before: 19%
- After: 17.2%

According to The American Council on Exercise, I went from being in the “acceptable” category to being in the “fitness” category. This data really shows a lot of what I accomplished. I lost almost 2% of my body fat by doing nothing more than playing video games for an extra 30 minutes everyday.

My goal now (after the experiment has ended) is to get to 14% body fat, and I’ll be doing that by continuing my experiment even after it’s over. It’s funny how once you start something that you HAVE to do everyday, you begin to miss it if you don’t do it, even if you find it tiring or unpleasant. (Reminds of the kid in the book “How to eat fried worms” and how he continued to eat worms even after his bet was over.)

Heart Rate:
To be honest with you I only checked this when I started and when I stopped, so I don’t think the results are as rock solid as some of the others, non-the-less I saw a slight decrease in my resting heart rate.

- Before: 82
- After: 68

Wii Fitness Age:
This really has nothing to with actual fitness, considering a lot of the games score your Wii Fitness Age based on skill more than your fitness or endurance levels, even so I started at a fitness age of 46 and then after that I never went below 30 for the entire six weeks. I hit the lowest Wii Fitness Age on January 4th, with an age of 20.

Some other quick Wii stats: I’m Pro in Tennis with a 1876 score, pro in Bowling with a score of 1345 (high score 257, should be 300, but my dogs got in my way!), pro in boxing with a score of 1120.

Gathering data

Additional Notes/Soreness:
I left this area open to just talk about my daily regiment and to address any other issues that may have come up.

One of those issues that has gotten a lot of media attention is something dubbed “Wii elbow“, this seems to occur after your first few sessions of playing Wii Sports. I have to say I was not immune, my first 3-5 days were brutal. I was sore from shoulder to wrist, I even went as far as purchasing an Icy/Hot patch to sooth my pain. I remember sitting at work and just massaging my shoulder for hours, it really made me sore. I suppose this effect occurs when starting any new physical activity outside of your daily routine, so it’s really not an amazing discovery or anything, just a testament to the physical strain Wii Sports actually puts on your body.

Another area grabbing A LOT of media attention is the phenomenon of the “flying Wii remote”, dozens of websites sprung up showing off damages to brand new TV’s, broken remotes, and all sorts of cuts and bruises. I considered most of these accidents to be the fault of the user and I sadly found out I was right. My girlfriend was on the couch behind me using my G4 PowerBook, I was in front of her bowling a decent game in Wii Bowling. I was getting a little too into it when I did a large back swing, came around the laptop and on my forward swing I smashed the laptop monitor with a great deal of force. The monitor’s right hinge snapped off and the monitor went dead. Luckily, the monitor now comes back on, but it’s only supported by the left hinge, which makes for one wobbly laptop. So, the lesson is to take heed of the warnings that are posted before each game of Wii Sports, make sure nobody or nothing is in your striking distance.

wii store

I’d like to think that my experiment proves one or two things:

A.) You get back whatever you put into something.
b.) Video games can and are a great way to have exercise and not even know you are burning calories.

To talk a little more about “A”, I feel like a played Wii Sports everyday for 6 weeks in a semi-aggressive way. I moved my feet, I used full body motion, and I swung my arms to mimic the real thing. If you just stand there and make small moves or sit on the couch and play, I don’t think you’ll much if any results regarding exercise.

So, there you have it 21 hours of gaming, with some surprising results (for me). Feel free to ask me any questions or if you’d like to see some raw data.

You can contact me, here:

info@wiinintendo.net

Discuss this and other video game fitness in our forums, HERE.

Rocky Stairs

————————————————————————-

7 MONTHS LATER, UPDATE:

It appears that this experiment (and the fans who were inspired to create their own workouts) may have inspired Nintendo to take advantage of the “buzz”. Have a listen:

YouTube Preview Image

Reggie Fil-Aime (President of Nintendo of America): “Our objective with Wii Fit is all about expanding the audience and taking advantage of what our consumers are already doing with Wii Sports, they’re using it to workout and lose weight this [Wii Fit] just drives it in a whole new way”

You may or may not have heard that I had a book in the works, I had a terrific literary agent, a great ghost writer and even a publisher! The only thing that stopped the book from going to the presses was the fact that the publisher wanted Nintendo’s “blessing” in order to proceed (not an endorsement or sponsorship, just a letter from Nintendo saying it was OK to do the book).

After about 2 months in Nintendo’s legal department they got back to me with a letter saying they can have nothing to do with book, Nintendo could not even provide a statement saying they would not sue. It was a big blow to all of us, and I can see why Nintendo wants to protect their intellectual property. It just makes me cringe when Reggie Fil-Aime (President of NoA) says that Nintendo’s objective for Wii Fit is to “take advantage of what consumers are already doing with Wii Sports.” It’s almost a direct insult…

They did have a bunch of video of me at E3 on the big screens behind Reggie when they introduced Wii Fit, I guess that will have to suffice:
wii fit

Never the less, I still love Nintendo and play the Wii/DS everyday, go Nintendo go!

PS. I still have kept all the weight off and be on the look out for the Wii Fit experiment starting April 2008!

wii fit for sale
Buy Wii Fit  at WiiNintendo’s online store

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724 Responses to “Wii Sports Experiment, Results!”

  1. Gravatar AJ Says:

    Hey, Suburbia!

    Let me be the first to say: Congratulations!!

    One quick note. In the paragraph before the weight loss graph, you mentioned you weighed yourself three times a day for 6 months, but I’m guessing you meant 6 weeks?

    I love this website. Always something new every day. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t check it out. How much traffic are you getting?

  2. Gravatar Steel-froggy Says:

    Wow man, thats amazing. I an going to start that man, thanks.
    Not alot of people would try stuff like that.
    I congratulate you on your effort! =)

  3. Gravatar Wii Sports experiment - the results | Nintendo Wii News and Information Says:

    [...] All the details here [...]

  4. Gravatar Hochiminh Says:

    Wow! That’s quite a difference, man! I only weigh 125 pounds, so any more exercise for me and my skin bones would be rough!

    P.S.: Yeah, winter has been mild in Milwaukee also. Have fun in Philly!

  5. Gravatar Hochiminh Says:

    My wife and I LOVE WIi Sports Bowling. It’s the only game I can really get her to play. Plus, the Ramones RULE!

  6. Gravatar Fresqui.com Says:

    Experimento: 30 mins diarios de Wii sports durante 6 semanas , fotos antes y despues ¡ superminimize me !…

    Aqui , un amable señor ha constatado con mediciones y un control constante lo que esta en mente de todos , que con la wii se queman calorias , y bastantes.
    Durante un mes este tipo se ha dedicado a jugar con el wii sports media hora diaria religiosam…

  7. Gravatar Live Nintendo » Man Loses Weight Playing Wii | News, Reviews, Previews, Guides, Editorials, Rants and Commentary Says:

    [...] Read the full article here. Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]

  8. Gravatar NOSSI Says:

    cool idea, i´m getting to try it

    Bouncing Souls no one can beat us…

  9. Gravatar PoisonMushroom.Org - Combing the Net So You Don’t Have To » Blog Archive » Points of Interest - 1/16/07 Says:

    [...] Go Nintendo reports that WiiNintendo.net’s Wii Sports experiment was apparently a success! [...]

  10. Gravatar Biodroid Says:

    Si demas… pero prefiero pagra una mensualidad de un gimnasio q sale como 20 lukas a gastar como 270 lukas en un Wii, por lo menos es eso lo q vale en Chile.

  11. Gravatar 30 minutos diarios de ‘Wii Sports’ para mejorar la salud. at Haiteku Says:

    [...] [...]

  12. Gravatar Rob Says:

    Thats great! I noticed that you could used wii sports to boost fitness when my brother started sweating whilst playing tennis over Christmas! You should get those weights for you hands to make it more of a work out though ;)

  13. Gravatar oompa Says:

    I wouldnt have expected much change from wii sports, but i did dump 15 pounds in 2 months playing ddr and dieting sensibly. Nice to know theres another toy exercise out there, this might be enough to make get a wii.

  14. Gravatar yosefblog Says:

    Wii Sports Experiment…

    The Wii Sports Experiment seems pretty cool but I don’t trust anyone who dresses like Rocky. But seriously, I wouldn’t doubt hearing that he works for nintendo……

  15. Gravatar Robert Says:

    Wait til they have a game the combines the fun of WII Sports, the motion of WII Sports, and a dance pad. It’ll be the hottest exercise machine going.

  16. Gravatar Abe’s Computer » Archive » Wii Sports Experiment, Results! Says:

    [...] Six weeks ago, some guy began what has become a huge obsession of his. It is called the “Wii Sports Experimentâ€?. He outlined a 6 week game plan for him, the idea being that he would continue All normal activity and eating habits, and simply add 30 minutes of Wii Sports to his day. he kept to that plan meticulously, here are the results…read more | digg story [...]

  17. Gravatar John Says:

    Wow! Congratulations, now I need to try this. I was actually wondering the other day, what happened to that guy who was gonna play wii for 30 days straight?

  18. Gravatar MikeM Says:

    This has made my decision on getting a wii complete. Besides my workout at Sedgley woods in Fairmount Park playing disc golf this will work out well in building some stamina.
    Thanks and Great job!

  19. Gravatar Wii Blog Mii » Blog Archive » Les bienfaits de Wii Sports Says:

    [...] Lire l’article sur wiinintendo.net ! Vidéos et photos à l’appuie. [...]

  20. Gravatar Ak Says:

    WOW! Congrats dude, these are some seriously suprising results and made me buy one, wat cud be better, so much fun and so many advantages!

    GR8 JOB!

  21. Gravatar Wii Sports Experiment RESULTS! at Ryan Esaki - Commentary on things of Interest Says:

    [...] Read his blog for the rest of the details and pictures. Posted in Nintendo, Video Games, Wii | [...]

  22. Gravatar Grant Says:

    its takes 3500 kcal to burn 1 pound of fat. You lost 9 lbs. If your caloric energy balance remained unchanged this means you would have to burn 750 calories a day.

    I’m glad you lost weight and I’m glad you are motivating people to become more active but its unlikely that your results are typical. cool site though. I dugg it.

  23. Gravatar Play Wii 0.5 hour a day, lost 9 lbs in 6 weeks « I’m back! Says:

    [...] [...]

  24. Gravatar Wii Juegopata.com » Archivo del weblog » Pierde peso con wii sports Says:

    [...] Videos y más Información en el siguiente enlace. Wii Sports Experiment                 [...]

  25. Gravatar Gavin Says:

    Instead of spending $250 on a GC 1.5, you could have just worked out.

  26. Gravatar Rocky Says:

    chinese word”好撚å‹?ï¼?” Ho Lung Ging
    that means very great!!!

  27. Gravatar Wii Sports Weight Loss » David and Kathryn’s Blog Says:

    [...] Interesting account of how a Wii can help you lose weight here.   « Booked it |   [...]

  28. Gravatar JK87 Says:

    Sorry, but your numbers just don’t add up. Based on your numbers for each sport, if you played each equally over hte 6 weeks, and truly for just 30 minutes a day, you would have burned just 8200 calories, which is less than 2.5 pounds.

    Even if you boxed the entire time your calories burned would be just 3 pounds worth.

    You either subconsciously ate less, or you lost a whole bunch of water weight. Not to menton…9 pounds lost would NOT decrease your waist size by 2.5 inches.

    I also find it hard to believe that you got your Nintendo Wii and then only played it 30 minutes a day when everyone else was playing it 5 hours a day.

  29. Gravatar JK87 Says:

    Also, merely watching TV for 21 hours burns 1700 calories. So really, you only burned an additonal 6500 calories by playing Wii, by your own numbers. That is less than 2 pounds.

    LEt me ask you…before you got your Wii, what exactly were you doing? Possibly surfing the internet or watching TV…while SNACKING on high calories foods, perhaps?

  30. Gravatar Wii Sports Fitness Training » gHacks tech news Says:

    [...] He decided to add a daily 30 minutes session of Wii Sports to his normal activities and keep track of several elements such as bmi, body fat and weight. He would not change his other habits like eating. The results that he posted on his website are incredible and could help Nintendo enter the fitness market as well. [...]

  31. Gravatar NimBlog » Blog Archive » Pelaa ja laihdu Says:

    [...] Uuden sukupolven konsoli Wii on myös laihdutuslaite. Itselläkin vähän liikakiloja. No, omaa Wiitä odotellaan jo… [...]

  32. Gravatar The New Pink » Blog Archive » Nintendo Wii Sports can help you loose weight Says:

    [...] After six weeks of Nintendo Wii Sports he lost 9lbs just by adding a thirty minute game into his day. He also worked out how many calories each game burned and therefore which one was the most effective for loosing weight. See the blog for videos of the experiment and the whole story. Bookmark to:           [...]

  33. Gravatar primate|blog » Blog Archive » Confirmado: el experimento Wii ha sido un éxito Says:

    [...] ENLACE WiiNintendo.net [...]

  34. Gravatar Blogmund.de » Wii-Sport Workout Says:

    [...] Einen ausführlichen Abschlußbericht kann man hier finden. [...]

  35. Gravatar GYP: Links » Blog Archive » Lose Weight the Wii Way! Says:

    [...] .::{WiiNintendo.net}::. [...]

  36. Gravatar Leo Says:

    Excellent report, and cudos for the last picture. Awesome. Got to get my one of those wiis, hehehe. :)

  37. Gravatar Motorcycle Guy Says:

    Wow, I always figured the wii being a useful exercise machine was really a myth.

  38. Gravatar Looneygamers Says:

    Wii Sports has health benefits…

    A Wii fan and quite possibly a couch-potato-turned-into-a-health-freak had chalked out a Wii Sports 6 weeks programme for himself. He calls this game plan the ‘Wii Sports Experiment’. The idea behind this is that he wouldn’t alter any of his day to …

  39. Gravatar Eric Says:

    Very nice, fellow Philadelphian! I love the Rocky-esque picture.

  40. Gravatar Ryan Mercer Says:

    Nice, another person losing with Wii :)

    -Ryan Mercer, The Jared of Wii
    http://www.ryanmercer.com

  41. Gravatar Petet Says:

    Man, that sounds great. I’m definitely gonna try this out. I’ve been puttin far too much weight on since Uni, and if this can at the very least help me lose a little weight, then I’ll be happy.

    I’m gonna give it a go. I’ll come back if I’ve gotten anywhere :P

  42. Gravatar www.wayole.com Says:

    Adelgazar con la Wii…

    ¿Se puede perder peso jugando a la wii? Algunos ya publican sus experiencias en sus blogs…

  43. Gravatar Los gordos van a desaparecer del mundo at Nivel99.com Says:

    [...] Todo Japón esta contento y feliz, su plan comienza a dar resultados, occidente está adelgazando, claro ejemplo de ello es el caso de este blogger que ha conseguido adelgarzar 7 libras en un mes, los japoneses lo han vuelto a lograr, abaratando el coste del alimento y consiguiendo mantener su mercado de Geeks durante años. Ahora ya sabemos como Miyamoto e Iwata consiguen mantener ese tipo de quinceañeras tan envidiable. [...]

  44. Gravatar clean up » Blog Archive » Hey, it’s me Says:

    [...] This guy’s lost 4kgs just by playing Wii! Imagine how much he would’ve lost if he had played Rayman sports instead of Wii sports? [...]

  45. Gravatar planner Says:

    what a great experiment. The question is are you going to continue with it?

  46. Gravatar || Helektron.com || » ¿Quieres perder peso? Says:

    [...] Por medio de menéame me entero de esta página web donde están haciendo un experimento de 30 minutos diarios de Wii sports durante 6 semanas , con fotos antes y despues. [...]

  47. Gravatar carina Says:

    That’s awesome! Kudos for the experiment and the awesome videos :) If I hadn’t wanted a Wii before, this sure would’ve convinced me. Cheers.

  48. Gravatar Stogie_bear Says:

    great experiment and very interesting reading, the first video was okay with the copy from the Rocky movies, the 2nd was also pretty good, but horrible music

  49. Gravatar ¡Jugar a la Wii adelgaza! at AnaitGames, elegantes al 100% Says:

    [...] ¿El resultado? ¡Ha adelgazado 9 libras, es decir, 4Kg! Toda la información, con gráficos, imágenes y videos, aquí. [...]

  50. Gravatar O Wii é diet at PiTTlândia.net Says:

    [...] Além de ser a parada mais inovadora e maneira dos últimos anos, o Nintendo Wii ainda serve para emagrecer e entrar em forma. Um carinha desocupado (e feliz) lá dos Isteites resolveu fazer um experimento com seu Nintendo Wii e o jogo Wii Sports, que vem de graça com o console e é mega-maneiro: passou 6 semanas jogando Wii Sports todos os dias, durante 30 minutos, sem alterar em nada todos os seus outros hábitos alimentares e de exercícios. [...]

  51. Gravatar yoshi Says:

    Congratulations on the loss in weight success.

    It is a good usage.
    Attention seems to be attracted in boxing,
    combative sports, and minor sports depending
    on the usage of Wii, and the presentiment in
    which being interested depending on
    the idea seems to happen does.

    Effective is operation to the loss in weight to
    which the body is twisted.
    I want also to practice Wii
    immediately when securable.

  52. Gravatar Jacki Says:

    Congratulations! I have been thinking about starting a Wii Sports regimen, and this experiment makes me think it would be a good idea!

  53. Gravatar Kotaku Says:

    Lose Weight With Wii Sports…

    Playing Wii Sports not only helps you lose weight, but makes you shorter and your pants bigger. Suburbia at WiiNintendo.net began what he calls the “Wii Sports Experiment” in December. He blogs: I outlined a 6 week game plan for……

  54. Gravatar miWii » Blog Archive » En forma con WiiSports Says:

    [...] Wii Sports Experiment, ¡Funciona! Media hora diaria de Wii Sports durante 6 semanas: 4 kilos menos, reducción de la masa corporal, frecuencia cardiaca… [...]

  55. Gravatar chris Says:

    Plow United? Awesome.

  56. Gravatar john Says:

    You have a pug??

  57. Gravatar OkWii.com » Blog Archive » Wii Sports Experiment, Results! Says:

    [...] Six weeks ago, I began what has become a huge obsession of mine. It is called the “Wii Sports Experimentâ€?. I outlined a 6 week game plan for myself, the idea being that I would continue All normal activity and eating habits, and simply add 30 minutes of Wii Sports to my day. I kept to that plan meticulously, here are the results…read more | digg story Filed under Incoming having Leave a Comment [...]

  58. Gravatar Pixel y Dixel » Wii Sports Experiment: haciendo ejercicio con la Wii Says:

    [...] Wii Sports Experiment: haciendo ejercicio con la Wii Escrito por Pixel el 16.01.07 @ 2:46 pm [...]

  59. Gravatar reefinyateef Says:

    Awesome job! I’m a skinnybones so I doubt I’d lose any actual weight, but I definitely get really into the Boxing so I’m sure it’s keeping me somwhat fit :)

  60. Gravatar Jordy Says:

    Fantastic! you are looking pretty hot in those after pictures ;)

  61. Gravatar Stian Says:

    I’m curious about how you made that Weight Loss Graph… I have a similar project, but I can’t find any suitable (worthy) “graph making” software. Do you mind telling us? :)

  62. Gravatar Alex Says:

    so 77 - 125 calories burned per 15 minutes, and he said he did it for 6 weeks, 30 minutes a day which is 21 hours total. figure average 400 calories burned per hour x 21 hours, and that’s 8400 calories burned. 3500 calories burned = 1 lb. Based on the calories burned, he should have lost 2.4 lbs.

    even if you put the max 125 calories down for a 15 minute period, that still only accounts for 4 lbs lost. So maybe he was burning more calories than he thought? not really likely either, to burn the calories to actually lose 9 lbs of real weight in 21 hours, you’d need to run on a treadmill at over 10 mph for all of it, being someone his size.

    sorry to ruin the magic of the idea, but there’s more to the story, either water weight loss, or changed eating habits, or he did other exercise, etc.

  63. Gravatar The Kambing Farm » How to Lose Weight with Nintendo Wii? Says:

    [...] According to pictar,http://wiinintendo.net/2007/01/15/wii-sports-experiment-results/ [...]

  64. Gravatar Kirby Says:

    Id like to see this with the diet listed as well. I’d alsoassume he played more Wii Sports on the side, but that’s something that would be part of his daily life regardless of this experiment (aka playing games with his friends, etc). So, yes, he probably burnt more on the Wii then listed, but if you went on this “experiment” yourself, would you quit playing any other Wii games aside from the 30 minute requirement? Obviously you would play more then the 30 minutes if friends came over. It’s the same as if you went to the gym and your friends asked you to play the Wii later. You would still play it even though you worked out.

    But ya, good job on the experiment. The daily diet would be the only thing you left out of this. Saying you ate “what you normally eat” plus Xmas stuff doenst help if you are someone that eats a grapefruit for breakfast, some yogurt for lunch and a small salad for dinner and hates sweets. Even a list of average meals for you would be more useful.

  65. Gravatar ExtraLife - Scott Johnson’s Comics, Podcasts, Blog, Artwork, Humor and MORE! » Blog Archive » Wii Sports Experiment, Results! Says:

    [...] Read the whole thing. [...]

  66. Gravatar Multiplayer.ro » Blog Archive » Wii Sports Experiment, Results! Says:

    [...] read more | digg story [...]

  67. Gravatar Wii Sports Experiment auf Solverat Says:

    [...] Hat der Typ doch tatsächlich mit Wii zocken 4 Kilo abgenommen! Bereit für Social Bookmarks? Dann klick hier!        [...]

  68. Gravatar Dusty Says:

    Good job dude!!! Congrats!

  69. Gravatar Wii Fitness | mothmothmothmoth Says:

    [...] The Wii Sports Experiment Six weeks ago, I began what has become a huge obsession of mine. It is called the “Wii Sports Experiment� (Read my original announcement of this from Early December ‘06). I outlined a 6 week game plan for myself, the idea being that I would continue ALL normal activity and eating habits, and simply add 30 minutes of Wii Sports to my day. For the past month and a half, I’ve stuck to these guidelines very strictly. [...]

  70. Gravatar Edward Says:

    Alex: your raw calculations are correct except you are leaving out the idea that as he worked out each day he was building lean muscles and increasing his metabolism so that every day his resting calorie burn would be increasing more and more - on top of those direct calories consumed while actually playing the game.

    …speaking as someone who lost 53 lbs the “hard way”… mountainbiking & hiking :)

    cheers,
    Edward

  71. Gravatar Hipp Generation » Wii Sports Experiment, Results! Says:

    [...] Six weeks ago, I began what has become a huge obsession of mine. It is called the “Wii Sports Experimentâ€?. I outlined a 6 week game plan for myself, the idea being that I would continue All normal activity and eating habits, and simply add 30 minutes of Wii Sports to my day. I kept to that plan meticulously, here are the results…read more | digg story [...]

  72. Gravatar www.BoerSeun.com » Have you stuck to your new years resolution of losing weight? Says:

    [...] Go check out his results and get yourself a plan to continue your new years resolutions! .:: http://www.wiinintendo.net   [...]

  73. Gravatar Alex Says:

    edward, i agree there are more factors to the calcs, but i don’t believe he would have had that much of an impact on his metabolism in 6 weeks. regardless, even starting off with that kind of momentum, it’s not something others can expect to match, nor would he be able to maintain that rate of loss doing the same plan.

    and congrats on the weight loss. I went from 450 -> 225 (yes no type) in about 2 and a half years through simple controlled calorie dieting (no surgery), light circuit training, and cardio, so I’m fairly knowledgeable on the subject myself ;)

  74. Gravatar Wii Sports Experiment at roblog Says:

    [...] Ich las im Dezember ein Posting von einem Typen, der kurz nachdem Nintendo Wii inkl. Wii Sports rauskam, ein Trainingsexperiment durchführen wollte, um zu beweisen, dass das Spielen tatsächlich positive Auswirkungen auf den Körper hätte. Tatsächlich schaffte es der Typ 4,5kg abzunehmen und seinen BMI zu verbessern. Aber lest am besten selbst, die Story ist ganz interessant. Six weeks ago, I began what has become a huge obsession of mine. It is called the “Wii Sports Experiment�. I outlined a 6 week game plan for myself, the idea being that I would continue ALL normal activity and eating habits, and simply add 30 minutes of Wii Sports to my day. For the past month and a half, I’ve stuck to these guidelines very strictly. [...]

  75. Gravatar culturedgamer.net » Blog Archive » Wii sports experiment results are in Says:

    [...] We reported back last year on one gents noble experiment to stand in front of his TV and wave his hands around like a madman playing Wii sports for six weeks. The results are in and it looks like it was a bigger success than imagined. The full results (including charts!) are here but the short version is as follows: [...]

  76. Gravatar Collabofit » Blog Archive » Losing weight the Wii way. (Wii is Nintendo’s latest videogame system) Says:

    [...] Read the rest of his story at .::{WiiNintendo.net}::. [...]

  77. Gravatar Feed On Me » Blog Archive » When its fun, it isn’t exercise… Says:

    [...] So this dude over here did a 6 week experiment with the Wii… He didn’t change anything with the way he eats or within his lifestyle, he just started playing the Wii… For 30 minutes a day, and the results are clear… Check out it out over here [...]

  78. Gravatar Navi Says:

    Holy fudge! absolute cuteness. that is all.

  79. Gravatar The Fluid Imagination Blog » Blog Archive » Wii Sports Experiment: Results Says:

    [...] From Wii Sports Experiment: The Results: “To be honest, I was genuinely surprised by my end results, so I’ll just get right to it. I lost 9lbs! Obviously this doesn’t compare to Jared and the Subway diet, but I started out at a weight that I’ve been at for the past 2 years. My weight has really never fluctuated from 180lbs. in those two years, this makes the weight loss that much more of an accomplishment for me, considering I did not change anything I ate or did.” This guy lost 9lbs thanks to a month of playing Wii Sports. Who needs another excuse? [...]

  80. Gravatar Charlotte Says:

    I’ll be trying this as soon as I get my hands on a Wii. Thanks for taking this on and sharing the results!

  81. Gravatar Jenny Says:

    So did the girl in the video lose any weight?

  82. Gravatar Wii Gets You Fit - It’s Official at iain tait | crackunit.com Says:

    [...] Absolutely awesome. I was waiting for someone to come out with the ‘Wii can get you fitter‘ story, but I had no idea it’d be done so brilliantly thoroughly. [...]

  83. Gravatar Wii Sports Experiment, Results! · Monkey Attack Says:

    [...] http://wiinintendo.net/2007/01/15/wii-sports-experiment-results/ SocializeThese icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]

  84. Gravatar Eric Says:

    Awesome- great job! I just want to point out that you didn’t lose only 2% of your body fat. You lost 9.5% of your body fat! You went from 19% to 17.2%. That 19% body fat represents 100% of the fat you have in your body. The reduction to 17.2% is a reduction of 9.47% of your original amount of fat.

    Again, great job; very inspiring!

  85. Gravatar Marcus Byron Cheney Says:

    WOW

    thats really amazing.

    just like this site

    http://mbcpoetry.wordpress.com

  86. Gravatar » Wie? Wii Says:

    [...] De Wii, wie kent hem niet?. Mike wil er nog niet aan, omdat hij bang is de televisie te slopen. Nu schijnt de Wii naast het slopen van je televisie ook nog een ander nut te hebben. Als je maar de juiste spellen speelt, ben je zo je bierbuikje kwijt. De Wii lijkt me niet geschikt voor Dieben, want dan blijft er wellicht niets meer over…. Lien @ 18:38 [...]

  87. Gravatar Fashionista007 Says:

    Someone should definitely start a website for Wii Sports weight loss where ppl can post their diet and Wii Sports activities for the day. There could be forums, blogs, weigh ins, etc…the possibilities are endless, yea Nintendo!!

    To all who have poo’d all over this guy for not burning enough calories and losing weight via video games instead of traditional exercise…I say BOO to you!! I personally hate exercise because it’s boring but since I’ve gotten the Wii I’ve lost 5 lbs from boxing. Everyone knows that in the beginning of a “diet” you lose water weight. Plus I’m sure he had to drink more water or something to replenish fluids. He should be applauded, not dissed for this! The Wii is the best and most innovative gaming system ever. And this comes from a person who has every gaming system and is getting an XBox 360 when I get enough money. But the Wii is the best thing EVER period. And it is not expensive when compared to the price of a monthly gym membership.

  88. Gravatar Wii sportexperiment | smidigt.se Says:

    [...] Wii Sports Experiment - kan man gå ner i vikt med Nintendo Wii? Det ville den här killen prova. Han fortsatte med sina vanliga matvanor, men med 30 minuter Wii om dagen. På sidan presenteras resultaten tillsammans med videoklipp och diagram. [...]

  89. Gravatar Alex Says:

    fashionista - i think it’s great that he’s doing what he’s doing and that he lost the weight. I think a Wii could be a great tool to burn some extra calories and get extra activity while having fun, and i think it’s awesome that nintendo brought it out. considering this whole country is basically overweight and the gaming industry holds their own little part of the reasons for that, it’s awesome to see something to counter it come out. but i also think it’s very unrealistic to expect that anyone can do exactly what he did and see the same results. and if you’re really serious about weight loss, there are much better ways to go about doing it.

  90. Gravatar Fester8542 Says:

    Great article man!

  91. Gravatar Agustin Says:

    His results do not suprise me. Many people who have just started working out will drop weight rapidly. I dropped almost 20 lbs in 2 weeks when I started working out a few years ago.

    The #’s did not add up for me, either. But after that things became as expected.

  92. Gravatar Perdere peso giocando col Nintendo Wii at Gaming Says:

    [...] Arrivano le prime testimonianze riguardo presunti benefici che porterebbe una costante attività fisica praticata con il Nintendo Wii, già da più di un mese in vendita anche in Italia. Superbia, su WiiNintendo.net, ci comunica i suoi primi risultati di quello che lui chiama Wii Sports Experiment. Così ci racconta: Ho già raggiunto la sesta settimana del mio programma di attività fisica legato al Nintendo Wii. L’idea era semplicemente di continuare la mie normali attività giornaliere, la stessa alimentazione, con l’unica differenza di aggiungere 30 minuti di gioco con Nintendo Wii al giorno. [...]

  93. Gravatar Wii Sports Experiment, Results! » Says:

    [...] Six weeks ago, I began what has become a huge obsession of mine. It is called the “Wii Sports Experimentâ€?. I outlined a 6 week game plan for myself, the idea being that I would continue All normal activity and eating habits, and simply add 30 minutes of Wii Sports to my day. I kept to that plan meticulously, here are the results…read more | digg story [...]

  94. Gravatar Rick Says:

    Awesome job man, I wondered who would be the firs to do this…. great to hear you’re happy. 9lbs in that time is really good too, this is a boost for gamers!

  95. Gravatar synergi Says:

    Great job! You’ve convinced me to get a Wii when our store gets them in stock this weekend.

    To everyone stuck on numbers don’t be. The body is a funny thing. People can stall for months yet they’ve burned off enough calories to where they should be loosing.

    Also you have to take into consideration that when you exercise, you continue to burn at a higher rate for several hours after you are done. There is no way to track just how much.

    Also, he was doing an activity he’d never done before. That means his body wasn’t use to it and he could have burned even more to compensate. There are just to many variables you have to take into consideration instead of saying he only burned this so he should have only lost that. It does not work that way, its different from every person.

    Also saying he couldn’t have lost those inches off his waist from only loosing 9 pounds is completely wrong. You can loose inches and not drop a single pound of scale weight. Give the man a break..

    Excellant experiment. I had been looking forward to seeing your results. Considering you weren’t that out of shape to begin with makes it even more impressive.

  96. Gravatar Dukjin Says:

    Hahaha! Congratulations! That is awesome.

    I’m a rehab doctor and I’ve been recommending the wii sports to people with disabilities (because they can do exercise with their upper bodies that might be otherwise hard to do in a FUN way. Going out to a bowling alley or play tennis every day is hard when you have to get a van loaded up or wait for medicaid taxi service…

    Thanks for this story, which adds one more piece of data I can add to my recommendations!

    -Duk Im
    pediatric rehab medicine
    rehab.blogs.com

  97. Gravatar hey_suburbia Says:

    hey guys, thanks for all the positive feedback!

    To address a couple of the concerns brought up about calories:

    I was using this to measure calories:
    http://www.biotrainer.info/

    I did it three times, so I can’t say the results of the calorie burn are 100% accurate. I just reported what device measured. I can say with 100% certainty that I did lose 9 lbs. And did NOT change my diet at all.

    Thanks again everyone!

  98. Gravatar joe Says:

    RAWR I”M SO ANGRY AT YOUR DATA!!!!!!!

  99. Gravatar Wii Sports Workout WORKS! | The Wii Experience Says:

    [...] The results are in from the WiiNintendo.net Wii Sports fitness challenge and the bottom line is 9 lbs. were lost during the 6 week experiment. The rules were simple: Play Wii Sports for 30 minutes per day for 6 weeks while continuing all other normal life routines and activities the subject was used to. What began as a 181 lb. man ended up as a leaner 172 lb. man who could see a few stomach muscles peeking through his former spare tire belly. Here’s a few quotes from the site and pictures concerning experiment and the results: To be honest, I was genuinely surprised by my end results, so I’ll just get right to it. I lost 9lbs! Obviously this doesn’t compare to Jared and the Subway diet, but I started out at a weight that I’ve been at for the past 2 years. My weight has really never fluctuated from 180lbs. in those two years, this makes the weight loss that much more of an accomplishment for me, considering I did not change anything I ate or did. [...]

  100. Gravatar Gameplay blog » Wii Sports É ÐÏÈÕÄÅÎÉÅ Says:

    [...] îÅËÉÊ Suburbia ÒÅÛÉÌ ÐÒÏ×ÅÒÉÔØ, ÍÏÖÎÏ ÌÉ ÐÏÈÕÄÅÔØ, ÉÇÒÁÑ ÎÁ Wii? ÷ ÔÅÞÅÎÉÅ 6 ÎÅÄÅÌØ ÏÎ ÉÇÒÁÌ × Wii Sports ËÁÖÄÙÊ ÄÅÎØ ÐÏ 30 ÍÉÎÕÔ É × ÉÔÏÇÅ ÓÂÒÏÓÉÌ 4 ËÉÌÏ. ïÞÅÎØ ÈÏÒÏÛÉÊ ÒÅÚÕÌØÔÁÔ, ÕÞÉÔÙ×ÁÑ, ÞÔÏ ÏÎ É ÂÅÚ ÔÏÇÏ ×ÅÓÉÌ × ÐÒÅÄÅÌÁÈ ÎÏÒÍÙ - 82 ËÉÌÏÇÒÁÍÍÁ. [...]

  101. Gravatar » Blog Archive » Wiikout Says:

    [...] This guy lost 9 pounds over 6 weeks from doing a workout regime using Wii sports. He did a pretty controlled study and was skinny when he started. [...]