Today’s workout had more of an upper body focus, and it was nice to see that switch. Again, I got to use my free weights for several exercises and I could definitely feel the burn. I also had a lot of running today, and several floor exercises. I’ve decided that EA Sports Active and Kinect just have a hard time registering what you do on the floor. I have rarely been able to get crunches or other activities on the floor to register my movements properly no matter where the sensor is placed or where I am on the floor. It’s frustrating because one of the things Sports Active 2 has addressed well is the inclusion of more ab workouts, something that was conspicuously absent from the first game. Unfortunately, having them in there doesn’t do a whole lot of good if I can’t get the game to register the fact that I’m doing them.
So after my first full week with EA Sports Active 2 I’d say my overall impressions are a mixed bag. The range and selection of exercises is very good, the ability to use my own free weights is a great plus, and all of the data tracking and online support is nice to have. However, Kinect has been hit or miss in keeping accurate track of my movements, which has hindered my ability to do some of the exercises. Also, despite shortening somewhat after loading the game onto my hard drive, the pauses between exercises is still a bit too long while you wait for the next exercise to load. Also, despite being a step up graphically than the Wii version (but not by much), I still find the very stiff and robotic movement of the character models to be distracting. Still, it is a good workout, it gets me sweating, and it’s far more intense and more of a full body workout than Wii Fit Plus.
So after four days of workouts and over 500 calories burned, I have gone from 185 pounds to 184.7…not exactly dramatic, but it’s progress, I suppose. The real challenge will be to avoid gaining anything during Thanksgiving week. I’m thinking that’s one challenge that not even EA Sports Active 2 will be able to conquer.
