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The DDR Workout - It's Official
webster1 writes with a followup to a recent Ask Slashdot question. "An AP news story just released says that Dance Dance Revolution is becoming the weight-loss routine of choice for many young gamers. One quote says '"At first I was playing it for fun, but when you see results you're like, Yeah!" said Matt Keene, a 19-year-old from Charleston, South Carolina, who used to weigh more than 350 pounds and wear pants with a 48-inch waist.' It's for grown-ups too. Even Jason Enos, product manager at Konami Digital Entertainment-America, which distributes the game in the U.S., has lost 30 pounds playing the game. There's even a site for DDR wieght loss fans: www.getupmove.com - My wife and I have been playing for months now with this goal in mind, though we aren't yet seeing these results." (A post from a few months ago talks about getupmove and gives some calorie-burn specifics.)
I'm sure he could, but where's the fun in that? The whole reason that this DDR workout and similar programs are taking off is because they're fun and hard work, as opposed to a "low impact exercise regime", which is as boring as it sounds. Sure, a regime like that would be better, but for most people, they'd rather have fun doing a sligtly less effective workout, than to be bored to tears being effecient.
It's too bad im an uncoordinated computer geek...
The whole point is to become coordinated. Were you a really good typist when you were born? Did you know how to type at all? How'd you type out that sentence? Most geeks I know are better than average gamers, and faster than average at typing. What improved those skills? OMG....WHAT?.... PRACTICE?
What lead to maintaining that practice? OMG..... WHAT?.... COMBINING IT WITH STUFF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN?!?!?
Don't be down on yourself.
Ultimately weight loss is not about how much you eat or how much you exercise. What you need is a negative energy input, on in plain English: You must burn off more calories than you take in.
The reason this works for some and not for others may well be the fact that people naturally increase their energy input (eat more) when their energy output (exercise) increases.
But regardless of if you loose weight or not, any activity causing your pulse to rise will make you more fit. Which is a good thing.
.: Max Romantschuk
I too thought that at first, but it turns out the real skill you learn from DDR is how to enjoy looking silly in public. Even if you never get the coordination, being able to set aside your natural nerdly inhibitions (without the aid of alcohol) is always a good skill to have...
I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
Gotta agree with this one. DDR wasn't the cornerstone of my health plan (also trying to eat less and do weight training), but I found it to be a fun way to unwind after work and get decent aerobic workout.
Personally, I think that DDR is a very good thing for the industry.
-it broadens the gamer demographic (my aunt thought the ps2 was the devils work, now shes a ddr junky).
-it served as a shot-in-the-arm to the arcades. Don't know if it will save them, but hasn't hurt nontheless.
-finally, the media writes a story about a game that hasn't inspired someone to go on a shooting rampage!
The first rule is "whatever you do, it must be fun".
The second rule is "whatever you do, it must be fun".
Anything else is secondary. Here some kids have found a fun and effective way to exercise and it'd be almost criminal to bring them down by pointing out trivial matters like associated costs.
The owls are not what they seem
I think you made a very important point. The problem of pathological shyness is often related to the neurotic anxiety that could be described as "OH MY GOD I'M GONNA TO LOOK SILLY IN PUBLIC AGAIN". I think every geek and nerd has experienced this kind of panic at least once. It's like when a gorgeous girl approaches you and says "Hi, how are you?". If you are too much afraid of looking silly in public, you'll get that kind of panic, the panic will eat your tongue and you will probably mumble some uncomprehensible "Um... errr... ahem... nice... I mean, fine... I mean, ok... I mean, cough, how are you....". Then you'll start to realize, that the fear of looking silly in public made you actually look silly in public and then you will feel very silly. In public. So the panic will incrase and you will look even more silly (in public).
But if you get rid of that fear and STOP being afraid of looking silly in public, you might just have a friendly laugh with the gorgeous girl and say something like "Now, that was surely the Guiness top ten of the worst small-talk ever... speaking of Guiness, can I get you something to drink?", and the problem will be gone. You would no longer look silly, because you HAVE LEARNED HOW TO ENJOY IT!
The first rule is "whatever you do, it must be fun"
When I started High School I used to be slightly overweight but physically "able", with lots of energy. Over time High School wore me down with misery and then I got into computer jobs and I was sitting down 96% of the day. I looked around one day and found that I was now considered obese and couldn't run more than 100 feet without becoming exhausted.
I've been trying to find some way to get exercise but nothing seemed to stick. I gave up on going to gyms after a month (it was just so dreary). My doctor recommended running but I gave up on that pretty quickly too since it was so boring.
Ultimately, I found what works for me is martial arts. Right now I'm studying Taekwon Do and managed to stick with it for eight months. I've gotten stronger, my stamina has improved, I'm learning to kick some ass, and best of all--it's fun! My wife and I go to classes together. My scale weight is still about the same, but I've added some muscle mass, so it means something must've been eliminated, right? Maybe it was fat! Awesome!
Conversely, the most shocking part is how long it's taking me to regain the strength and stamina that I had when I was 16. After eight months of training I'd say I'm only 20% of the way back to how I was. And even that wasn't impressive, I couldn't do mile runs or chinups -- I still can't. It's going to be a long struggle before I'm as physically fit as I want to be. But for the first time ever I have hope.
I owe my myself and my wife a future where we're in our 70s and want to go out with the energy to experience life. Not sit at home and watch TV because we're too weak to do anything else--burdening our loved ones with our troubles. We're all lead to believe that being elderly means that you simply have to be exhausted and weak all the time. It doesn't have to happen, most people just let it happen.
If I can impart wisdom on some of you youngsters (I'm fucking 24 and I can call people youngsters, jeez), it's this: don't go into school or the workforce and forget about your health. Making the A or getting the paycheck will seem like the only thing you can focus on, but you'll ultimately regret letting yourself go.
I know someone in their near 50s who can't go up a flight of stairs without needing to rest 20 minutes on the couch afterwards. She only has enough energy to stay upright for about 30 minutes a day, and if she runs an errand that takes more than an hour she has to take a nap afterwards.
How much time would it take her to get her vitality back? Five years? Maybe she can get it down to three if she puts her entire life on hold? It'd be a hopelessly monumental task for her.
The poster is absolutely right. It must be fun It must be fun. Find exercise you enjoy, otherwise you won't do it. Your future is at stake here, don't let it go.
Now, if I could just find a fun diet...