EA Sports Active 2

But back to my fortnight with Active 2.  If you’re like me and desperately need an exercise program that you can do in the comfort of your own home, then you’ll be impressed with Active 2.  From the first workout I did, even on easy level, it put me through the paces, getting my heart rate up, and pushing my rotund body to do things it had never even considered doing before, until I was collapsed in a puddle of my own sweat crying for my mother.

Ok, so I wasn’t crying for my mother, but the combination of humid nights and a punishing workout had me feeling like I’d done something good.  A feeling mirrored in the morning when I woke up and every part of my body ached.

I’ve tried self motivating myself into self created exercise routines before, but they’ve al failed.  Whilst Active 2 failed in the lead up to Christmas, I’m putting that down to poor timing – its never a good idea to start something new a few weeks out from Christmas.  What I can say is that I’m looking forward to picking Active 2 back up and getting my muscles burning once again.

This is mainly because Active 2 is so much better than a self created exercise routine.  If you choose the 9 week fitness plan, you’ll be doing workouts 4 days a week.  Workouts that will vary each and every day.  Workouts that combine may different components that target different areas of your body.  Workouts that pretty much anyone can master with most using nothing more that your own body.  Others utalise a stretchy band thing that comes with the game and a heart rate monitor.

The other thing that makes Active 2 work so well is that you have an onscreen personal trainer who will challenge you, congratulate you and even tell you off.  It’s a great motivator, even if you do find yourself swearing at him from time to time.

Of course, being a Kinect title, Active 2 won’t let you cheat.  If the Kinect unit isn’t tracking your body doing what it’s supposed to do, your personal trainer will let you know!

Another motivating factor that you’ll not find in any gym membership is the fact that Active 2 comes with a full component of Gamer Score Points.  Is there anything more motivating to an Xbox owner than increasing their Gamerscore?

To put it simply, even the easy workouts are a real workout for the unfit so called average gamer, yet Active 2 has three settings that will see anyone put through their paces.  It has several workout plans included, and a host of varying length workouts for you to choose from, along with more promised in the form of future DLC.  It’s variety manages to keep it fresh day after day, and the encouragement of your personal trainer, the inbuilt gamer need to continue challenging the last high score and the promise of Gamer Points will keep even the most exercise-phobic person coming back for more.

Is Active 2 the perfect fitness program?  No.  The Kinect interface can be clunky when trying to navigate the menus, and the Kinect unit can loose you when you set up for some of the exercises causing you to frustratingly have to reconnect with the Kinect unit and try again.

It is however a program that works well and is one that I’m confident will help me reach my goals of building up my fitness level and loosing some weight.

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EA Sports Active 2

The humid nights that preceded Christmas, along with the increasing business of the Holiday season saw my intended 9 week fitness plan come to a crashing fail after barley two weeks.  But those two weeks were a combination of massive highs (as I continued to do better day after day) and frustrating lows (as I realised how un-fit I was as I continued to fail in completing many of my prescribed workouts).The results in calories burnt seemed impressive, until I looked up what the average calorie intake was.  But it was a start, and with the more sedate pace of the new year, I aim to pick my game back up and pound off a few more calories.

One thing Active 2 did do, was encourage me into a more physically active holiday with plenty of beach walks and swimming rather than the usual sunbathe with a good book and get roasted like a lobster. 

But back to my fortnight with Active 2.  If you’re like me and desperately need an exercise program that you can do in the comfort of your own home, then you’ll be impressed with Active 2.  From the first workout I did, even on easy level, it put me through the paces, getting my heart rate up, and pushing my rotund body to do things it had never even considered doing before, until I was collapsed in a puddle of my own sweat crying for my mother.Ok, so I wasn’t crying for my mother, but the combination of humid nights and a punishing workout had me feeling like I’d done something good.  A feeling mirrored in the morning when I woke up and every part of my body ached.I’ve tried self motivating myself into self created exercise routines before, but they’ve al failed.  Whilst Active 2 failed in the lead up to Christmas, I’m putting that down to poor timing – its never a good idea to start something new a few weeks out from Christmas.  What I can say is that I’m looking forward to picking Active 2 back up and getting my muscles burning once again.This is mainly because Active 2 is so much better than a self created exercise routine.  If you choose the 9 week fitness plan, you’ll be doing workouts 4 days a week.  Workouts that will vary each and every day.  Workouts that combine may different components that target different areas of your body.  Workouts that pretty much anyone can master with most using nothing more that your own body.  Others utalise a stretchy band thing that comes with the game and a heart rate monitor.The other thing that makes Active 2 work so well is that you have an onscreen personal trainer who will challenge you, congratulate you and even tell you off.  It’s a great motivator, even if you do find yourself swearing at him from time to time.Of course, being a Kinect title, Active 2 won’t let you cheat.  If the Kinect unit isn’t tracking your body doing what it’s supposed to do, your personal trainer will let you know!Another motivating factor that you’ll not find in any gym membership is the fact that Active 2 comes with a full component of Gamer Score Points.  Is there anything more motivating to an Xbox owner than increasing their Gamerscore?To put it simply, even the easy workouts are a real workout for the unfit so called average gamer, yet Active 2 has three settings that will see anyone put through their paces.  It has several workout plans included, and a host of varying length workouts for you to choose from, along with more promised in the form of future DLC.  It’s variety manages to keep it fresh day after day, and the encouragement of your personal trainer, the inbuilt gamer need to continue challenging the last high score and the promise of Gamer Points will keep even the most exercise-phobic person coming back for more.Is Active 2 the perfect fitness program?  No.  The Kinect interface can be clunky when trying to navigate the menus, and the Kinect unit can loose you when you set up for some of the exercises causing you to frustratingly have to reconnect with the Kinect unit and try again.

It is however a program that works well and is one that I’m confident will help me reach my goals of building up my fitness level and loosing some weight.

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