This Mama Cooks! Reviews

Getting fit with EA SPORTS Active for the Wii

I am one of 500 lucky women to be given an EA SPORTS Active to review as part of their June 30-day Challenge.* After seeing the commercials late last month, I was very excited to be part of the program. Even more so, when I heard from my friend, Jennifer James of the Mom Bloggers Club, that she had lost over 25 pounds using it. (Jennifer was the one who got me the opportunity to try out EA SPORTS Active for free.)

So when the box arrived on May 30th, I couldn’t wait to get started.

Easy set up

June 1st came around and even though I woke up before 7 a.m. to get started, I had a full audience – my mother-in-law, my husband and my two children,  Nathan and Lucie. Nothing I hate more than working out to an audience.

The kids were fired up thinking that they’d be playing the new Wii game, too. (More on that later.) After I assured my two Wii experts that they’d eventually get their turn, they helped me set up my profile and character. (You can pick your character’s hair, skin color, body type and outfit.)

Then I entered my stats (weight, age and height) and went through a few more menu choices like type of music I wanted, male or female trainer (I chose a gal pal) and level of workout (easy, moderate or hard). I chose moderate, picked the 30-Day Challenge and started working out.

Working out with EA Sports Active

You get a variety of workouts with the 30-Day Challenge – lower body, upper body, fun stuff like boxing or tennis, jogging – and lunges, lunges and more lunges. The only thing is missing are core exercises, but not for long. This holiday season the EA SPORTS Active expansion pack will included curl ups, crunch and punches. Great!

The biggest challenge was making sure I held and moved the Wii remote and nunchuk correctly when I used the arm resistance band. The game features a video for each activity, so you know exactly how to point them. Still, there were times where the game didn’t “see” what I was doing with the nunchuk and I had to repeat my curls over and over again.

I also felt that the moderate level was too easy for me, though my workout buddy thought it was very challenging. So, even though the next day was a rest day (it’s usually two days on and one day off) I worked out doing at the hard level, which I liked better.

Working out at 24 Hour Fitness: personal training and yoga class

Along with my 30 day unlimited use pass to the Broomfield, Colorado 24 Hour Fitness club, I received three 50 minute sessions with a personal trainer. I also had unlimited access to their Group X classes and a chance to use their Kids’ Club. Here’s my review.

Personal training sessions

When I had called in to make my first appointment with a personal trainer, the club manager, Dave, scheduled me with Britini for the following Wednesday at 11 a.m.

Upon meeting her, I immediately liked Britini since she was friendly but professional. She lead me over to the trainers’ office area and had me fill out a physical activity and medical questionnaire.  Then we discussed my current physical activity, my diet and my goals. I explained that I was trying out 24 Hour Fitness with a complimentary 30-day pass* for a blog review and that I was interested in learning some workout routines that I could do at home, on the road or at another fitness club.

She was glad to hear that I was on Weight Watchers, but recommended that I have an animal based protein (lean meat, eggs or yogurt) at every meal since I was trying to build muscle. She felt that nut or soy based proteins wouldn’t do the trick. Interesting.

Then we went over to a small room so Britini could take my weight, skin fold measurements, and body measurements. She estimated my body fat (in the unhealthy range still, crap!) and gave me a 6 week goal and a 16 week goal:

	Start	6 weeks goal	16 weeks (lifetime goal)
Body Fat	35.5% “unhealthy”	31% “acceptable”	23% ”fit”
Weight	153.7	148	135
Fat/Muscle Weight	55/99	46/102	31/104

Working out at 24 Hour Fitness: online sign up and club facilities review

In the week since my last post, Getting motivated to exercise with 24 Hour Fitness, I’ve met with my personal trainer twice, exercised at the club by myself once and took one yoga class. That’s a lot to review in one post, so I’m going to break it into two. The first will be my review of 24 Hour Fitness online sign up process and the club facilities. Next week, I’ll post a review of my personal training sessions and the classes.

Online sign up

I joined 24 Hour Fitness online, which was fairly easy since I was told which package to get. (I was given a free 30-day unlimited pass and three 50-minute sessions with a personal trainer as part of the review process.)

There are  many packages and pay plans to choose from depending on your needs. If you travel or have a long work commute, you’ll want the option of an “all-club access” plan. If you want to only work out at your local gym, you can go with a “one club access” plan. (The all-club membership isn’t much more than a one club plan. It’s worth it for the flexibility to exercise by your work place, home or to even have access to different class schedules.) There is also a corporate rate.

You can prepay in advance or pay on a monthly basis. Pricing also depends on where you live and what club you use. There’s even a 30 or 90 day option, which you’d want to consider if you’ll be spending time in another part of the country for work, school, or vacations.

Also, you can add personal training sessions on to your membership. A starter pack of three 50-minute sessions was $129 in my area. Consider it a great way to start your membership if you’re not an expert in using the machines and the facility. It’s also a great way to change up your routine or to get some advice.

After signing up, you should receive a call from the club manager within two to three business days. I didn’t get one, so I called and spoke to Dave. He scheduled my first appointment with a personal trainer and asked a few questions like if I wanted a female or male trainer. Dave also called me “darling” several times. It was a bit odd, but since he had an accent (British, I think) he could get away with such familiarity.

Getting motivated to exercise with 24 Hour Fitness

As I mentioned in my post, My workout routine, summer break and 24 Hour Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness asked me to evaluate their facility for a month and report back my experience to my readers. I’ve signed up for my first session with a personal trainer and will go to my appointment later today.

Since I have an errand to run and a Weight Watchers meeting to attend, I realize I need to pack a workout bag. (I usually work out at home or close to home, so I never take anything with me except a water bottle and my iPod.) That got me thinking about what motivates me to exercise and make it part of my normal routine.

Time management – schedule time to exercise

Some of the most helpful advice I’ve received about exercise was at a Weight Watchers meeting - you should schedule time to exercise and write down your exercise time (a walk, a class, and so on) into your planner. That way you can’t use not having time as an excuse not to exercise. By putting exercise on your calendar, you’ve made time.

But calendars and planners aren’t the only time devices I use in exercising. There’s my trusty Sony Dream Machine alarm clock that goes off every morning at 5:00 – and has a wonderful snooze bar. Every time you press it, it gives you 10 minutes of snooze time. So if you press it three times in a row, you can snooze for 30 minutes. Love that I can plan my snoozing, too.

Of course there is the timer on the exercise bike, and the clock on my iPod lets me know if I have time for breakfast or not before I wake up the kids and get my husband’s coffee going.

Time management is also about convenience and trying to fit in exercise into your busy life. Is the exercise class you’re interested in scheduled on your day off from work? If the kids aren’t at school, is child care offered at the same time? Maybe you can take a class during your lunch break or before or after work? Don’t forget about factoring in drive time back and forth to the gym and time to change and shower, too.

My workout routine, summer break and 24 Hour Fitness

I like to work out early in the mornings at home. I get up around 5:30 a.m. and get dressed (keeping my workout clothes near the bed helps keep me motivated). I go downstairs to the kitchen, pop a couple of Nature Made SAM-e supplements (which I need to take 30 minutes before eating) and grab a cold bottle filled with Celestial Seasonings iced tea.

In the living room, I do 35 minutes on the stationary bike along with five minutes of upper arm exercises using 10 pound weights. I have an exercise bike with several interval training settings on it, which keeps me challenged.

Since I started the Weight Watchers Momentum plan in February, I’ve been working out five or six times a week. My biggest motivation is that I can eat the POINTS I work off (35 minutes of moderate exercise is equal to two Weight Watchers POINTS), plus I love how my legs and rear end are finally toning up. Plus it’s my time to listen to morning NPR news, catch up with This American Life podcasts, or listen to music on my iPod.

I love working out in the quiet semi-darkness of the cool morning before everyone is up. It’s “me time” and it works – both for my fitness, my weight and my peace of mind.