Fran Larson

How To Get Fit While In Your Own Living Room: You Can Really Burn Calories From Wii Games


Posted: Thursday, October 22, 2009

by Fran Larson
http://www.franniesquotes.com/

I havent exercised in over a week, because of this sinus infection, I lamented to my friend, Nancy.

What about the Wii Game. Have you done that lately?

Why hadn't I thought of that? I think of working out in the gym and walking four miles as the only thing that counts, but maybe Nancy had a point. My favorite Wii game is tennis, so this is what I found from: http://www.medicinenet.com/

A friendly game of tennis burns about 8 calories a minute, while Wii tennis burns about 5. That's not bad for a game, Bryant says, but it still represents almost a 50% difference. The study concluded that boxing is by far the most strenuous of the original Wii games, burning as many as 7 calories per minute, compared to 10 to 10 1/2 for actual sparring. (http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/wii-calories.htm)

On the days that I walk four miles, ride the stationary bike for 1 hour and do weights and weight machines; I will usually burn around 800 calories. Some days, I only walk the four miles. That equals 408 calories. (4.0 miles/hour (15-minute mile): (Burns .042 calories/pound/minute. per Ray Kelly at /swa23371.htm)

Here is the result of a 6-week experiment conducted by Mickey DeLorenzo.

He did a half hour of Wii activity every day -- no dieting or additional exercise included. During these workouts, DeLorenzo emphasizes that he swung or punched, depending on the game, as hard as possible to maximize his results. According to his calculations using a calorie measurement tool made by BioTrainer, he burned:

125 calories in 15 minutes of Boxing

92 calories in 15 minutes of Tennis

77 calories in 15 minutes of Bowling

[source: howstuffworks.com ]

Some days I have to stay indoors because of allergies but this is so encouraging. If I do the three wii games listed above, I will have expended 294 calories.

I think Ill do just that.

Francine Larson:

Co-Author of Character Keys to a Bright Future.

She is a freelance writer

Francine Larson has a new book that just came out, "The Lure of Annabelle Key Lighthouse," an exciting Christian Teen Novella. You may view it at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/115229

See more articles by Francine Larson at:http://www.examiner.com/modern-love-in-tampa-bay/francine-larson

She also writes for The Highlands at Scotland Yards. She writes poetry and short stories. She is a contributor for Yahoo (http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/685738/francine_larson.html)

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Dianne Lehmann
 2 years 191 days ago.
136 fans.
Hi Fran.
 
I read your article as you suggested. I had no idea that so many calories could be burned by playing a game. Looks like you decided to answer your own question with a little research (well a lot of research, actually). I don't own a Wii, but I also don't have too many outdoor allergies. So I will stick to the walking, hiking and horseback riding, plus my daily weight workout.
 
Thanks for all your hard work. It was interesting.
 
Dianne
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