Microsoft Kinect

One of the Christmas gifts I got for my wife this year was a Kinect for our Xbox 360.  I will admit that this is a gift for both of us and that I'm likely to use it more than she does.

I've played a couple Kinect games before, but the big reason I got this for was the ability to control the Xbox without a controller.  Being able to wave your hands and then direct the unit to do you bidding.  The fact that you can use your voice too was a bonus.

We are still getting used to using the Kinect, and I'm usually quick to just grab the controller instead.  I think once I get used to voice commands I'll be using it a lot.

Yesterday was the real initiation for the Kinect, and my introduction to a new living room-induced pain.  I popped in the Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout "game" and went to town.

Holy crap that was interesting.  Right off the bat I took a fitness test.  It came out that I could do the medium level of exercises, which I was surprised by.  My knees aren't the best and some exercises aren't terribly demanding except for the strain on my knees.  The Kinect does a great job sensing your movements and will get on your case if you aren't keeping the best form.  Some exercises I was getting harped on because I couldn't get my knees up enough.  Thing was, I simple couldn't get my knees up any higher.

The exercises were challenging and I was ok up until the point where I had to jump around.  I'm not that coordinated and some exercises strained my back a bit more than I'd have liked.  Today I'm feeling it.  Aside from my back I have the general soreness that comes from using neglected muscles. I welcome the soreness in the other parts of my body.

Overall though, I liked this exercise routine far better than the Wii Fit.  We'll see if that continues.  I think I'm more likely to keep with this "game" because I'm slightly obsessive about getting my Xbox achievements.  Now that I've started I have to work to get all the cheevos I can.