Health and Fitness

I currently have a cold and I'm feeling under the weather.  I've not stuck to my fasting routine but have generally stuck to my maintenance level of calories so my weight is about the same albeit with a few ups and downs.  I've started the EASA2 90 day program on hard level so it will be interesting to see if I get any results from that.  I have not had the time or felt up to doing the UFC training, it is really demoralising when it tells you that you are not completing reps that you are doing more than double on.  Likewise, it really does focus on speed over form but at the same time, if you go too fast, it fails you.  It really is frustrating.  I'm glad I only paid £7 instead of £39.99 as paying full price would have really annoyed me.  It may be that this is better on the Xbox using the Kinect but from what I have read, it is not much better.  I think the next step will be from using bands to using weights.  I remember that the EASA2 issue was that you set the weight that you would use in the menu however I can use heavier weights for some exercises but not for others e.g. I can Hammer Curl far heavier than I can fly or kickback.  The options open to me are that I can either just say "blow it" and leave the weight in the menu at the lowest denominator and chop and change my weights depending on the exercise;  use the lowest common denominator for all exercises and accept that things like curls will be far easier and less effective; or use the highest denominator and have mid set rests for the exercises I'll struggle with at that weight e.g. 2 sets of 5 reps instead of 1 set of 10 reps.  I have set the new programme to have days off on Saturday and Sunday, so not to interfere with Jo's days off and to have Tuesday off so that I'm not working out on Christmas day.  I need to keep an eye out for a second set of sensors so that I can exercise with Ellie.

The Ubisoft's My Fitness Coach Club will get more use when I have got over this cold.  Likewise, the Just Dance 4 will get a hammering too.  We have downloaded Gangnam Style which Ellie is itching to get me doing and should be a lot of fun.  It would be nice to get adept at it in time for Christmas.  Doing the Duets with Ellie is a great laugh for all concerned.

My Fitness Coach:  So, I've had a change to look at this properly now and the one thing that I notice as lacking and it is a biggy, there is no long-term program to follow.  It has a calendar that allows you to see what workouts you have done on a specific day but no way to plan ahead.  The workouts themselves are fun, shifting from one exercise to the next quickly and seamlessly but after each workout there is a good 5 minutes of cool-downs, which if you are looking to do more than one workout in succession, you don't really want a five minute cool-down in between.  It uses the Playstation Move Controller which, as previously discussed adds an extra £40-£50 to the cost of the game however it is possible to use the game without the controller.  Also missing is the ability to work out with a friend which is available on both EASA2 and UFCPT albeit EASA2 would require an extra set of sensors.  This lack of an extra player does not affect me in any way because our lounge is tiny and two people doing kick-boxing in it could possibly end with casualties.  The sensor on MFC seems pretty accurate but then the trainer doesn't appear to care less if you are doing it wrong, just as long as you are making an effort.  MFC is ideal for those that want something that they can pick up or put down as and when their life-style dictates, there are no commitments here.  I think, with a separate calendar, you could plan your workouts and stay motivated.  I think I can use this to top up my workouts when I have the time which will mostly be when I am off work.  There are no built in on-line features with this so it is on par with EASA2 and UFC however there does appear to be DLC available.  Whilst not as motivating as EASA2 and not quite as much fun as JD3 or JD4, it is entertaining and quick to get into.  The only other gripe is that the weight is in metric only which is no big deal but I had to google my weight to work out what it is in Kilos and I'll have to do this each time I lose more weight.