Review: My Fitness Coach

One of the tools I've been using for my workouts, and to track my progress, is the Wii game My Fitness Coach. It really isn't so much a game as a customizable workout program.

When you first set up a profile, you're asked to complete a physical challenge so Maya - the computerized trainer - can see what your starting point is. This challenge includes a cardio heart rate test, strength tests, and body measurements. From there, Maya recommends a program focus (mine was weight loss, obviously) and a workout commitment schedule.

Once you're ready for a workout, you choose your location, music, and length of your workout. If you have any exercise equipment, like hand weights, a step, or an exercise ball, select those so Maya can work them into your program.

The real genius of this program is that there are over 400 different moves that can be incorporated into a workout, making it highly unlikely that you'll ever do the same workout twice. For someone like me who gets bored easily, this is perfect.

Also, after each section of the workout, Maya will ask you how you felt about that session. If you answer that it was too easy, the program will adjust in the future to make it more difficult. If it's too difficult, it will make that section easier next time. (And of course, if you answer that you were working hard, it will continue that level.)

I also like seeing the time count down for each workout. The exercise bar also moves along the bottom of the screen, showing you how much longer you have for a current exercise and what is coming up next.After every 10 workouts, you complete the physical challenge again to gauge your progress. It's great to see the measurements going down while my endurance goes up.While I love My Fitness Coach, it's not a perfect Wii game or workout program. The game doesn't give you the ability to look back at the calendar and see which days you worked out. And while it shows the physical challenge results in a comparison chart, there are no numbers to see, only bar graphs. I'd kinda like a reminder of the numbers without having to write them down in my notebook.

And of course, the program is only as good as your honesty. There's no way for the game to check that you're doing what you're supposed to be doing - you have to be honest in answering questions and doing the exercises she shows you.

I've been using My Fitness Coach for over a month now, and I'm very pleased with the game. It's a great workout - better than Wii Fit, in my opinion - and it doesn't require the Wii Fit step. In fact, the only requirement for this game is a Wii - hand weights, step, etc. are all optional. It's perfect for people who require a lot of variety in their workouts.