The latest video craze is thanks to the Wii and complimentary games like Wii Fit and EA Sports Active. These “exergames” have made fitness enjoyable by allowing physical activity to be fun, challenging, and adventurous. These fitness video games are great for improving eye-hand coordination, balance, stability, and stamina; all of which you can do at the gym as well.

Although the sweaty gym or health club may not be the most enjoyable place to spend an hour or so of your day, the benefits are endless. I understand that driving to the gym is an inconvenience and full of germs and people you may not want to talk to, but suck it up and hit it hard!

I strongly believe there is no substitute for exercise itself. Although “exergames” do a good job, exercise cannot be imitated. Cardiovascular training can be done anywhere and everywhere, but there is no exception for weight training. Weight training has been proven to increase bone density and lean muscle mass, improve posture, and reduce the risk of future injuries, which is not something you’ll be able to accomplish with your video game.

As a fitness expert, I encourage you to proceed with your normal workout routines (cardio and weight training) and let the digital workout world be an added benefit to your physically active lifestyle. In other words, don’t rely on video games to get your physical activity, use them for fun and additional exercise.

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Gym Workouts More Beneficial than Fitness Video Games

These new EA Sports Active workouts will greatly expand their current database of more than 25 calorie-burning, muscle-toning exercises and activities in addition to access to daily progress reports and virtual personal trainers that you can use from the comfort of your own home.

Here’s a closer look at these new workouts:

• New Warm-up and Cool Down Stations: Four new exercises will warm up your body before a workout routine and four cool down exercises will stretch the muscles after a workout and help maintain flexibility.

• New Abdominal Exercises: Four new workouts target your mid-section and will help tone your core.

• 6-Week Challenge: This total-body, structured fitness plan accommodates both experienced 30-Day Challengers and new users of EA Sports Active. It works out all major body parts, adapts to your level of fitness and lets you track your progress week by week.

Compatibility with EA Sports Active Personal Trainer: These new workouts will transfer your data from the Active Personal Trainer and carry over your previous goals and trophies from four previous weeks of working out with the Active Personal Trainer.

If you’re a Wii enthusiast or know someone who is looking for a fun and cost-effective way to get in shape this winter, you can easily cross off one holiday gift from your list right now.

Order your EA Sports Active More Workouts today!

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EA Sports Active Launches More Workouts for Holiday Season

Donny Claxton joins us as a contributor for Men’s Health Week. Donny is a public relations executive who has embarked on a new adventure for the benefit of himself, his wife, and their seven children. He recently completed the EA SPORTS Active 30-day challenge and continues to use it along with other healthy habits to regain his health. Donny regularly blogs at DadsCenter.org.

On April 3, 2009, I began a journey to change my life.  In California to meet with EA SPORTS officials about the then soon-to-be released EA SPORTS Active, I made a commitment to my wife, Kari, and our kids, and the world, that I was going to change my lifestyle.

At the time, I weighed a staggering 369.78 lbs.  That was too much.  Way too much.

It’s now June 19, 2009, and I weighed in this morning at 340.65 pounds.  I’m almost down 30 pounds in two and a half months and I’m still dropping.  I’ve done one EA SPORTS Active 30-day challenge and I’m now doing a second.

I’ve sworn off my daily equivalent of two IVs of straight Southern-style sweet tea.  At home we’ve done away with fried foods.  I’ve had one order of French fries since the beginning of April.  We’ve done away with white bread at home.  I only eat whole wheat bread anymore.  I don’t drink alcohol so that was easy to “give up.”  I haven’t had a Coke or carbonated beverage since April of 2001.

This second go around with the EA SPORTS Active 30-day challenge, I’ve complimented my working out with other physical activities.  Nearly every night now, I’m swimming laps for at least 30 minutes.  It’s catching on, too, because my youngest twin daughter, Haley, (by 7 minutes) is also swimming with me. Dads, what we do, the kids will often copy!

I’m drinking tons of water now.  I keep a bottle or two of it on my desk at work.  At home, I drink it with a touch of lemon or lime juice just to give it a variety of taste.

And my dog, Molly, now knows the workout routine as well.  She knows that when I finish an EA SPORTS Active workout, she and I are going for a walk around the neighborhood.  When I do my workouts, she’ll come sit close to where I’m doing lunges, running in place, shoulder presses and all, and waits.  As soon as I go to close out the virtual fitness product, and that backwards sounding music starts to play, she stands up and moves to the front door where we keep the leashes.

This morning when I got dressed, I changed belts.  The one I’ve been wearing most for the past year was about four inches too loose for my waist.  My jeans are super baggy now and it’s time to pull out the old jeans or treat myself to some new ones.  I have an EA SPORTS Active shirt on today.  I’m wearing it un-tucked.  I used to not wear it that way because my stomach, 30 pounds ago, stuck our so far it looked like I was pregnant. Now it mostly hangs straight down.

My gift to my family this Father’s Day is going to be a healthier me.  Already this summer we’ve taken our kids to Yosemite.  I hiked more with them than I ever have.  I climbed more with them than I ever have.  And I was less tired than I ever have been with them there.  And it’s all because of what I began with EA SPORTS Active and the determination that all was not lost.  I could begin a fitness program at 43 and lose weight, and lose lots of it.
I’m still on my journey.  I’m now 10 pounds too heavy to use the Wii Fit, but that beats beginning 40 pounds too heavy.  I’m so looking forward to getting to that point and adding a new variety into my exercises because the balance board works with EA SPORTS Active!

Come on dads, if I can do it with seven kids, you can, too!

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Dad Starts Healthy Lifestyle with Help of EA Sports Active

Last month the new EA Sports Active was released. It’s a revolutionary new fitness game for the Wii that came with much hype. We finally got a chance to try it for ourselves, and have to say we’re quite pleased with the results.

We found the EA Sports Active to be superior to its Wii fitness competitors because it seamlessly mimicked our movements, set-up was simple, and by the end we felt like we’d completed a legitimate workout. Sweat, shortness of breath and all!

Watch our demo now, and then learn how you can get the EA Sports Active for yourself!

Like what you see? Ready to get in shape at home with the EA Sports Active?

Then, log-in to your MyDIR account before July 1, 2009 using Facebook Connect. Using your existing Facebook account, you can create or log-in to MyDIR, the free weight loss and healthy living community here at DietsInReview.com.

Complete your profile, set-up your goal tracker, and add your favorite diets, recipes, videos and more. Then, check back often to record your weight loss progress and interact with other MyDIR members.

DISCLAIMER: Eligibility requires a log-in to your MyDIR account using Facebook Connect prior to July 1, 2009. Users must complete their profile, including mailing address, to be eligible. One (1) EA Sports Active will be sent to a winner drawn at random from eligible entries. Winner will be notified via their MyDIR account and prize will ship to the address provided in their profile. DietsInReview.com is not responsible for lost or stolen packages, nor failed shipments due to user providing an incorrect address. DietsInReview.com may replace the prize with one of equal value if prize is not available; not redeemable for cash.

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EA Sports Active Demo and Giveaway

The workouts range from basic to extreme based on your desired intensity level. For those gamers looking for more than the Wii Fit has to offer, the Sports Active product is a more robust and comprehensive lifestyle and exercise manager. It has extensive workout and food journal capabilities for those activities that happen outside of your living room. Catalog outside exercise activities and foods you eat throughout the day in the system for a more holistic view on your progress toward a healthier lifestyle.

While at the event we caught up with Donny and Kari Claxton to check in on their results from the 30 day challenge. Donny and Kari were very enthusiastic about Sports Active, and the lifestyle change it has brought to them and their entire family. Donny told DietsInReview.com that he is now down 24 pounds in just 30 days using Sports Active and in addition his family is now taking up more traditional exercise activities, playing tennis, swimming, and more walking.

“The most life changing 30 days of my 43 years … we have made a holistic change on what we eat at home, what we feed our children and how we exercise” – Donny Claxton

Find more information here on the EA Sports Active and don’t forget to keep up with Claxton’s. Photos from the event are on our Flickr page.

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EA Sports Active – On Tour