Product Review: EA Sports Active 2 for Wii

Welcome to my very first product review! I'll do one about every other week, or as my budget allows me to buy things :).  I'll review anything and everything from water bottles and pre-portioned meals to workout gear and videos.

Today, I'll be reviewing EA  sports active 2 for the Wii.  It's a great fitness "game."  It's available on the PS3, XBox 360 also, but I chose to get it for the Wii.  I was able to get it for $25 at Walmart.  It comes with a usb plug-in, heart rate monitor, leg sensor, resistance band, and game disc.  It takes 4 AAA batteries (two for each sensor) that it also comes with.   You'll need to use your Wii remote.  You have the option of using a Wii balance board but it is not necessary.  A yoga mat, or being on carpet isn't necessary, but I do recommend it for the floor exercises.

Ease of Use

It's very easy to use.  You just connect the USB plug-in into the back of the wii, pop the game disc in and get ready for a great workout.  Once you have it running, it will give you video directions of how to put on the heart monitor and leg sensor. You'll then be prompted to create a profile for the game as well as an online profile.  You'll also be asked to choose a trainer.  I chose the guy trainer.  

Doing the Workouts

There are two fitness programs to choose from.  There's a 3 week cardio kick start, and a 9 week course as well.  Each have 3 levels of fitness for you to choose from.  Once you choose your program it will take you to a calendar so you can set the days you want to workout.  Don't worry if you miss a day, you can catch up with your missed workouts.

If you're working out on a day not on the program there are other options to choose for your workout.  You can make your own custom workout by choosing from over 70 pre-programmed exercises.  You can also pick an area of your body you wish to workout and your trainer will create a workout for you.  Don't like what he chose? Then just click on regenerate to have a new one generated for you. There are also a myriad of workouts already on the game.

Once you have your workout selected it's time to begin!  The first time you do each workout, it will show you how to do them.  I recommend watching them because there will be little things you need to do with the wii remote in order for the game to realize you're doing the move.  

Pros

1. It kicks your butt! Absolutely love that I actually get a workout
2. You do it at home.  No more excuses about having to get ready and go to the gym.
3. It's very easy to use.
4. I love the options!
5. The resistance band offers a good bit more resistance than the old one!
6. Doesn't require the balance board! This is great since I don't have one ;)
7. The trainer gives you reminders to get water, and suggests an after workout snack.
8. In the settings menu, you can choose songs you want to play from a list of songs already on the game
9. It comes on all of the consoles.

Cons

1. There's not quite enough time to get the resistance band set up right between sets, when going from no band to using the band.
2. The menus can be confusing at first, and the instructions don't tell you how to navigate them.  Don't worry, though.  You can't really mess anything up. I do recommend going through everything before working out.
3. You can't create a workout longer than 30 minutes.  It also caps the amount of calories you can burn.  It's for safety reasons, but sometimes I just want a super 500 calorie burn workout, and I just can't do it.  (there is a 45 minute pre-programmed workout)
4. Every so often it won't register that you are doing the reps! 
5. At some point the resistance band won't be enough.  You're limited on your choices of weights because of having to hold the wii remote. This is not a problem if you are using the program on other systems.  I think you can get weights made for using with the wii, however.

I hope this helps you with your decision to BUY this program! I absolutely love it, and am so glad I decided to buy it.  It keeps  the workouts interesting.  I'll be creating a workout group soon and will let you all know what it is so anyone else with the game can join me!