10 Ways To Get More From Your EA Sports Active

So I’ve been thinking a lot about EA Sports Active work outs (which I sometimes call just the Wii Active) and how after I finish one, I’m sweaty, out of breath, and generally feel like the 30 minutes I spent arguing with my “virtual personal trainer” were worth it. 

But it occurs to me that part of the reason I get really good work outs from the EA Sports Active isn’t necessarily because of what it tells me to do.  I have a whole litany of things I do outside the workouts which burn extra calories.  As I’ve gotten comfortable with EA Sports Active, I’ve really started to concentrate on doing these little extras and I thought I’d share them here so you can get the most from your EA Sports Active workouts, too.

10. Add Your Own Soundtrack to EA Sports Active’s

You know, I debated making this my #1 tip, but I realize not everyone loves their music as me, so I’ll lead with it.  EA Sports Active does have a decent soundtrack, but I find that there is a certain set of songs that really gets me going (see My Playlist above), so I turn the volume down until I can just barely hear my personal trainer’s voice and then I turn on the tunes.

Listening to that music always gets me going and makes the Very Long cardio runs I do go by A LOT quicker.  And, frankly, there are only so many times I can stand hearing the trainer say “You’re running that track like you own it.  WORK IT!” anyway.

9. Bring Water

You should always rehydrate during exercise, but with the EA Sports Active, there are small pauses between each exercise.  I found it was kind of difficult to have a really dry mouth waiting for the next exercise to start, so keep a glass of water close and drink after every one or two exercises.

8. Don’t Stop Moving

For the most part, the exercises in EA Sports Active take between 90 seconds and 5 minutes.  That means over the course of a 30 minute period you can expect to have up to 20 or so times when you are not doing being told to work out.  Don’t stand there!  Keep moving, even if you just pace or dance to the tunes you are blaring, make that body move.  Why?  Because you are going to burn extra calories.

As an added bonus, I find it reduces wear and tear on my body if I don’t have to constantly start and stop moving.

7.  Finish Each Exercise Strong

If you can, try to do the last 30 seconds of an exercise, the last 3 at bats, or whatever you are doing as hard as you can.  Pushing yourself means that you can expand your horizons a lot faster.

6.  Move As Your EA Sports Active Avatar Moves 

If you watching your virtual person on the screen, you’ll notice that he (or she) is up on the ball of her toes during tennis, swaying the music during dance, etc.  Mimic that movement!  Again, this extra movement will allow you to burn more calories.

5. In Fact Do More Than Your Your Avatar Does

I feel like I’ve worked harder if I really over exaggerate the moves on screen.  So, when I am catching balls I really reach for them or crouch down and really go for that ground ball, if I am dancing, I am really swinging my arms out there (don’t concentrate on that image too much).  I’m sure it doesn’t burn more than a few extra calories, but I am sure they’ll add up over time.

4. Practice with the Thigh Strap

I wish someone would have told me this when I started.  The biggest pain in the rear end with EA Sports Active is the thigh strap.  If I have the thigh strap high, the sensor doesn’t seem to work.  If it’s too low, it doesn’t seem to work.  Plus, it took me a few tries to figure out how to get the nunchuk in it.

It took me about 4 workouts to really feel comfortable with it.  So, practice a bit.  Put the strap on before you play the game.  Work on getting the nunchuk in and out quickly so you’re not standing around a lot in between exercises.

Also, no matter how much you practice, you’ll probably have trouble the first time you do a squat.  It’s cool.  Just move the strap up and down until the EA Sports Active decides you really are squatting.  Eventually you will get it!

3. Give Yourself Room to Move 

I try to clear myself a wide space, especially because I do a lot of cardio running.  That way instead of running in place, I run forwards and backwards over about a five foot space.  It hurts my calves less, my avatar moves faster, and I feel like I am working harder.

2. Adjust the Difficutly Level

If you make your own workout, you can adjust the difficulty settings.  Every exercise has 3 difficult levels: easy, medium, and hard.  If you find there is a certain exercise that doesn’t really make you work hard, but that you enjoy (like me and baseball), bump up the difficulty and you will get a better work out.

1. Workout At Least 30 Minutes

 Talk to any exercise scientist, personal trainer, and me and we’ll all agree: work out 30 minutes.  Your body needs about that long to get warmed up and the cool thing is that once it gets warm, it will start to secret enzymes that burn fat!

But that doesn’t happen quickly.  Give yourself time to let your body do its thing.

Now, what are you waiting for?  Get active!