Feel the Burn

Remember college? I sure do. It was about 5 years and 10-15 pounds ago. Now I'm not about to say I'm fat or horribly out of shape, but I just remember a time when I used to be more active. I had more energy. I didn't need as much sleep. Life was good.

In an effort to regain some of that, I'm installing a new regimen. I'll alternate simple calisthenics with cardio and couple that with rock climbing (Meaghan's vice) twice a week. Since I don't really enjoy running to get my heart rate up and I don't have a gym membership so I can't go swimming, I've decided to try to have some fun with this. That's right. I'm pulling out the good old Nintendo Power Pad. If my friend Brett can use Dance Dance Revolution to stay in shape then I can certainly do this.

The only game I have for it so far is Athletic World although I hope to get more. Attendees of my semi-regular Old School Game Nights probably remember this game with disgust, but I think it'll be a pretty useful tool. If you enter your age and sex the game scales the difficulty of the exercises for you. It also scores you based on how quickly you're able to complete each exercise, so I'll be able to track my progress objectively. There are five different exercises in all and they vary from running and jumping to crouching and hopping on one foot. It can be pretty hard on your quads and calves if you're trying to get a good score.

I'm only a Beginner so far, and my highest score is the 85/100 I achieved earlier tonight. I was pretty stoked as I even 100-pointed the "Dark Tunnel" which involves a lot of rapid running in place to get your character up some steep inclines. My goal is to get at least a 90 on Beginner before switching over to the Advanced level. Wish me luck.