In addition to the game itself, EA SPORTS Active comes with two additional accessories – A leg strap and a resistance band.  My first half an hour or so with the game was spent reading the instructions on how to use these two contraptions.  The resistance band has two canvas hand grips that will need to be attached to it but the process is fairly straightforward.  The leg strap, however, was a bit more convoluted.  I don’t feel it was difficult to figure out at all, but finding the right placement on your leg so that it’s comfortable AND doesn’t slide is a bit tricky (at least it was for me).

Once I proved I was more intelligent than some rubber and velcro I fired up the game itself.  EA SPORTS Active does not use the default Mii avatars that are standard in the Nintendo Wii so when you’re setting up your profile you’ll need to create a new one.  I don’t consdier this a bad thing, personally.  One of the features I do not like about the Nintendo Wii in general is the overly cartoonish facet of the Mii’s and how they dominate many of the games from Nintendo itself.   Call it a psychological hang up if you will, but the Mii’s make me feel like I’m playing a game designed for children and it just doesn’t work for me in Wii Fit.

Once I was all set I jumped into the 30 Day Challenge and got to watch an introductory video from Bob Green, a “renowned exercise physiologist, author and personal trainer to Oprah Winfrey.”  Mr. Green contributed to the development of EA  SPORTS Active and pops up in occasional videos to give tips or cheer you on for reaching a milestone.   The 30 Day Challenge itself is a pre-programmed set of exercises designed to get you acclimated with the game and how it works.  One thing I haven’t been able to sort out is whether or not you’re able to do additional 30 Day Challenges once you have completed the first one, but I suppose I’ll figure that out in another 3 weeks.

The workouts during the challenge itself are similar to the daily focus groups from Yourself! Fitness.  Your personal trainer picks a focus for your workout and all of the exercises you are given are picked with that focus in mind.  Unlike Yourself! Fitness, though, you’re presented with a list of all the exercises you are expected to do on your workout before you begin.  If there is anything you do not wish to do you can deselect them.  This is a huge improvement over the Yourself! Fitness design.  There were certain exercises that I had to skip in that game altogether due to my size or damage that I’ve done to my body as a result of it and it was always frustrating to interrupt my workout by either changing the difficulty or waiting for an exercise to pass.  This also removes another complaint I had with Wii Fit, as in that game you choose your exercises as you go and it’s hard to maintain an increased heart rate if you’re taking the time to find the next exercise you wish to do.

My first week with the program had me doing 5 exercises (the format seems to be 2 days on, one day off).  Each workout lasts around 25 minutes and, for me, has burned about 200 calories.  So far I’ve been very happy with the exercises.  By the end of my program I’ve worked up a good sweat and I feel like I’m getting in some training that I was lacking in my routine of mostly treadmill based exercise.    Some of the exercises are very challenging as well!  The hardest one I’ve encountered so far is called a Lunge Jump.  As the name implies you start in a lunge position and jump into the air while switching your legs so you land in a forward lunge on the other leg.  My knees are the weakest spot on my body, so this exercise is brutal on me (and may be one I skip in the future).

Overall I was very satisfied with my first week using the program with two exceptions.  The first is a lack of any real focus on core exercises as of yet (there may be some that I just have not encountered), and the second is that there is no Yoga.  Overall, though, EA seems to have taken the best aspects of its predecessors and put out a truly comprehensive personal fitness program for the Nintendo Wii.

Come back next week for week two of my EA SPORTS Active 30 Day Challenge!