Sunday Summary

  1. Well before I left for FandrewCon, the Nyko Zoom I ordered for our Xbox Kinect finally came in.  I didn’t have an opportunity to try it until yesterday.  I have to say I’m incredibly disappointed.  The gamer mags gave this thing 10 out of 10, so I preordered it months before it was available.  The reality is that for the kind of games where fine tuned movements matter (i.e. for exercise games where you actually want to get credit for all the stuff you’re doing), it simply doesn’t seem to work.  I’m gonna run through and recalibrate this morning, clean the lens of the Kinect itself again to see if it helps, but I’ve been on forums since I got up this morning and everybody is mostly saying the same thing.  I adore working out by video game but ONLY IF I GET CREDIT for the hard work I’m doing.  If it’s not registering my movements, I get really angry and usually start yelling and swearing at the game trainer.  And that’s just generally not cool.
  2. Since there are no more workout games coming out for the Wii soon (say what you will about it’s inaccuracy–at least it can be used in small spaces and doesn’t register when your dog keeps walking in front of the camera), I’m contemplating picking up some Zumba DVDs.  I’m on the fence about this.  They have the Zumba game for both Wii and Kinect but I was less than impressed with the reviews I saw on Youtube.  Plus, I am not what you would call coordinated.  And I’m kind of rhythmically challenged–which puts me in one of those situations where I’m doing the work but maybe not exactly on the right beat and not getting credit, which is, as I’ve said, angry-making.  Andrew‘s sweetheart of a wife, Tracey, was telling me about the Zumba Fitness Exhilerate DVD set she’s been using.  But I just can’t bring myself to spend $90 on a 7 DVD set of something I don’t know if I’ll actually LIKE.  There’s a smaller set: Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation that Amazon has for $53 bucks, but there’s some criticism in reviews that the instruction is not as good as it could be.  And I need a LOT of instruction.  Historically I despise aerobic type videos.  But this just looks like FUN.  I mean, it’s salsa and other dance stuff I always wanted to learn how to do (despite being rhythmically challenged), and it would be in my house instead of a class, surrounded by people who could be on broadway while I’m tripping over my own feet.  Susan ordered it yesterday.  I’ll wait to see how she digs it, I guess.  I just want something new.  With the exception of yoga, I’ve beaten all my other games such that they’re not as effective anymore.  Which is why I was counting on the Kinect.  But I guess that’ll have to wait until we move to a bigger house.
  3. I’ve been doing a lot of reading.  I finished reading J.R. Ward’s Envy.  I’m nearly finished with Beautiful Darkness.  I still haven’t finished The Tipping Point, which is not really a shock–I’m not a big non-fiction reader.  If I don’t just push through to the end, it’s not like there’s a big dramatic question of WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
  4. Operation G.I.T. was a total disaster this week.  I definitely did not manage to get back on the bandwagon after my Tennessee vacay.  Tuesday was Thai with a friend, Wednesday and Thursday were work lunches that involved cookies, and a coworker brought freaking donuts, and Friday was Mexican.  Due to those two working lunches, I was short on exercise, and Friday I passed back out on the sofa after getting up.  Saturday I worked out, but then I totally overate with the experimental deep dish gluten free pizza hubby requested for game night (which MSU won in OT).  I don’t even want to weigh.
  5. Monday I start the weights program from The Body Fat SolutionIt’s a step up in difficulty from 8 Minutes in the Morning and only takes 3 days.  So that’ll be a MWF thing, and I’ll alternate on TTS with high intensity interval training on the bike.  And then supplement elsewhere with other stuff.  Yoga.  Boxing.  The weather is cooling off finally, so hubs and I are starting our evening walks with the puppies again.
  6. If my brain decides to cooperate, I’ll be starting Devil’s Snare this week.  Of course now that I’ve said that, my brain will probably be like

    I fear a massive case of page fright is imminent.

 

4 thoughts on “Sunday Summary

  1. Tracey’s biggest pet peeve with workout videos is the lack of thorough instruction. She’s gotten plenty that jump right into the moves without telling you what to do. The Zumba DVD she got includes a whole disc for instruction I think it’s forty-five minutes to an hour, so definitely not rushing you through the moves.

    Here’s the link for the Zumba Exhilarate website that should have some more information for you.

  2. That picture made me laugh xD My brain does the same thing when it comes to new projects that I’d rather procrastinate on doing LOL.

    But Zumba looks very interesting–I’ve considered it for myself, but just don’t have the spare cash at the moment (or the living room room since my DVD player is our Xbox XD) to really get it. But it’s on my list of things I want in the future 😀 If you get it, def tell us how you like it 🙂

  3. Let me know if you like Zumba (if you decide to get it). I need a lot of instruction, too, when it comes to something that actually needs coordination. I need something different, too. I did a lot of Wii workout stuff Friday. I still love the Kung Fu one the best. Oh, and I rock at the boxing game. 🙂

    Good luck with Devil’s Snare! I’m glad to see you getting back into the writing.

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