User Reviews (1 - 11 of 28)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Good for Fitness Newbies, Limited for Veterans

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 30 / 32
Date: April 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have been a bodybuilder for many years now and have acted as a personal trainer to various friends, family, and colleagues. My husband saw "Yourself! Fitness" at the store and thought I would get a kick out of it (no pun intended), so he told me about it and--after checking out various reviews of the game posted here at Amazon and elsewhere--we went out and bought it together.

First off, there are many good things to say about this exercise program (carefully directed and coached by personal trainer "Maya"):

#1 - Considering that this is marketed as a video game, the fact that it will get people up off the couch and moving is a big plus. There are so many overweight/obese and inactive people dragging themselves through our modern world that any increased physical activity is a boon to both health and lifestyle. And while "Yourself! Fitness" obviously has women as its target audience, there is a great possibility that guys will sheepishly find themselves drawn in by the athletic brunette instructor and the catchy (sometimes giggle-worthy) background music.

#2 - There are many options offered regarding the intensity, duration, versatility, and "aesthetic appeal" of the various routines. The game has workouts targeted for the upper and lower body, weight loss, cardio/aerobic activity, and movements that focus on perfecting your core (abdominals). Mid-routine, you have the option of increasing or decreasing the difficulty of the workout, and "Maya" often asks you if you're doing all right, and suggests frequent water breaks.

#3 - The graphics of this game are fairly well done. Occasionally there is some static while the game loads a new section, and Maya jerks around a bit--or the music skips back a few notes--but all in all it is a fairly complete package. The workout areas are finely detailed (the helicopter flying around outside the "Urban Oasis" makes me laugh) and the information scrolling by at the bottom of the screen (a timer counting down the duration of your routine, the current exercise and any equipment that is used for it, et cetera) is helpful in keeping you oriented during your workout. Also, if you need to see more clearly how to do a specific movement, you can flick over to another screen where a little cylindrical doll shows you more simply how to perform the exercise--which is helpful for some of the more complicated dance moves.

Yet, in my eyes, there also are some strong negatives to this game which greatly influenced my rating of the program:

#1 - I have logged in various times sas myself, and also as guest, to see how Maya interprets my "long term goals" as well as approaches the challenge of an individual, non-connective workout. While the routines are always varied, they are hardly what I would consider balanced. Perhaps the game-creators were hoping to see the entirety of a full lower-body routine, for example, pull together over the course of a week; but my experience with weight-lifting and bodybuilding has shown that it is far more beneficial for a person to work, not just their front quads in one workout, but a mix of movements addressing their hamstrings, inner/outer thighs, calves, and glutes as well. It is one thing to do a split routine while weight-lifting, addressing various sections of the body equally, individually, on a regular basis, but truly it is only the more experienced bodybuilders that would even think to tax their bodies that way. The little hand weights that Maya uses during her routines to accompany her lunges (and, yes, there are more exercises than merely the lunge to target your front quads!) are hardly the Hurculean masses that most bodybuilders who use split routines use to blast their thighs to bits. In other words, thus far I have found the game's incorporation of exercises for various body parts to be repetitive, limited, and disappointing in its lack of (circumspect) variety. What the average woman (or man) is looking for in their body is aesthetic symmetry--and Maya seems singularly ignorant of the concept of creating harmonious body balance.

#2 - While the cardio routines get your blood moving quickly and receive my full thumbs-up, the segue into the strength-training sections is indistinct and could be physically jarring to some. Generally speaking, the rule is to wait at least two hours between intense aerobic/cardiovascular exercise before starting any amount of anaerobic exercise (working with weights). I get the distinct impression that the creators of the game were looking to mimic the effect of peripheral heart action [PHA] through Maya's incorporation of cardio intertwined with light strength-training--which is not a bad thing in and of itself, but like I said before, jumping into any form of body sculpting after high-impact aerobics can create negative stress on the body. I would consequently have preferred the option of having a strength-training workout directly after the warm-up, sans the cardio at all. A separate workout dedicated entirely to cardio could then have targeted that aspect of physical health.

#3 - The Yoga section was interesting and very 'pretty' with its graphics, but my understanding of Yoga is that most postures work more effectively if they are not spat out by the instructor as rapid-fire commands. Maya went bam-bam-bam from one pose to another and hardly gave the relaxing effect Yoga seems most famous for. Regarding the postures, though: Some of the poses would seem more advanced and might be frustrating for novices, but with time and practice anyone should feel comfortable with them and consequently be much more flexible. (Too, considering that the cool-downs at the end of the regular workouts are practically nil, any extra time stretching out tight muscles is sure to be of help alleviating next-day cramps and the like.)

#4 - This last comment is not a negative regarding the game, itself, but more an expression of my own hope not realized. I think "Yourself! Fitness" could reach a greater level of interest and effectiveness if people could have the option of programming their own routines, instead of Maya dishing them out without any solid way of editing them (getting rid of repetitive, too-similar exercises in one workout and adding others, for instance). Granted, people would have to have a basic understanding of how the body works, what would be complementary within a workout and what would not be--and perhaps most people are not that aware of the field to be competent enough to do so, and still glean the desired results. Yet, if there ever is a "Yourself! Fitness 2", I think that would be a big plus--setting up four sets of bench presses interlaced with equal amounts of flyes and push-ups for your chest, for example. Considering that "Yourself! Fitness" is indeed a video game, I think that would be a neat way to make it more creative and engaging past its obvious interactive quality.

En fin, as a video game, the creators apparently took great pride in their work and truly seem to want to have a positive effect on the consumers who buy their program. The addition of suggested recipes to the varied exercise routines will undoubtedly be helpful to those who are unfamiliar with weight control and body shaping, and Maya is a very patient "personal trainer" with whom they can work with. For those of us with backgrounds in the fields of nutrition and physical fitness, however, the game might seem to be just that: a game. Entertaining, encouraging, but really not bringing much else to the table.

5 stars to the people who dreamed this up!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 26 / 26
Date: November 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

What I like about this game:
-A lot of effort was put into making Maya accessible and realistic. Her voice and demeanor are pleasant and the animations are very realistic. She's surprisingly motivating considering she's not a real person.
- I like the different workout environments and how you can unlock new ones the more you work out.
-I like that I have a place to store my data and it creates a progress chart for me.
-I like that Maya gives a fitness assessment every 10 workouts.
-I like that you can set your workout session in increments of 15 minutes if you don't have a lot of time.

What I would improve:
-The music. It's very generic and repetitive.
-I'd add a male personal trainer (a hot one, preferably) so I could have two trainers to choose from for more variety.
-I'd add a "low-impact" workout option. If you're significantly overweight, jumping jacks and jogging in place are very difficult. For now, I just make up my own modifications as needed.
-I'd like the option of doing only strength training if I don't feel like doing cardio.
-I like the meditation room, but the yoga Maya does is too fast/advanced for me.

Overall, I find that when I workout with Maya, I do work harder and sweat more. I do get bored with doing such basic movements sometimes, because I prefer dance workouts, but lately I've tried adding a step bench to my workouts and have really enjoyed that. I try to use Maya once a week and do dance and other workouts the rest of the week.

This is a wonderful, customizable program and I'm sure that if another version comes out I'll get it.

Overall good

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: December 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is a good motivator with a variety of workouts and I do recommend it. However, a word of caution, this is geared more toward women then men, with a lot of aerobic type activities. Still a good buy, it is keeping me going.

Yourself! Fitness

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: October 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

First off, I'll start out by saying I'm not in shape-unless you consider "round" a shape...I was amazed at how this game works as a fitness instructor-and when I was done with my workout, I felt pretty whooped. But, I can tell you it was very fun, and I felt good after the workout. You can set your own workout schedule and routine, even check out thousands of menu selections, recipes, and set them for any given day! It's all right here folks! I set a target goal of 50 lbs. to lose-You cant go wrong with this game folks!! This game keeps it fun, and that's very important-I started out on October 3, 2006-I'll be back here a month from now to share my results!

A good tool to have in your fitness tool box.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: March 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

With a busy schedule, this "game" is a very convenient way to slip in a workout when one gets a free moment. It is relatively engaging (much more so than a DVD workout) and the variety in the workouts is an added bonus. Workouts are customized for the individual (based on age, gender, weight, fitness level, personal goals etc.) and they increase in difficulty over time as one's fitness level increases. This proves to be so much more rewarding and beneficial than a "one size fits all" exercise DVD, where you either can't keep up with it or it's no longer a challange. I was expecting much more of a aerobic-cardio focus, but there is a significant amount of strength-building exercises also. I've been using for about 30 days (two or three 45-minute workouts a week) and I definitely notice additional muscle definition in my shoulders, arms, chest and legs. One additional benefit is that the program tracks one's progress, and it is gratifying to be able to look at one's stats and see the pattern of progress.

I've tried the home gym and the exercise bike, but they get so tedious and boring...difficult to stick with. This product is engaging enough and has enough variety and (dare I say) fun so that it overcomes the boredom. I foresee this as something that I can stick with long term.

Bottom line is that if you are a hard-core fitness guru, this probably isn't for you. However, if you're a 20 or 30 or 40-something working professional and/or parent and are tyring to figure out a way to incorporate a sustainable exercise/fitness progam into a busy lifestyle, this is a good option.

Totally worth your time & money.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: April 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Okay, so I'm a bachelor with no kids who could stand to be in better shape, so I figure what the hell, let's try this thing out. Quite honestly, this is one of the best things I've bought in a long time, and for about $35, it's a really good deal.

In about two weeks, I've noticed some big improvements. I look better, I feel better, and I have more energy than I've had in a long time. What's really cool is the fact that I actually look forward to exercising with Maya.

The creators took great care to make Maya fun & accessible to as many people as possible, and I think they did a good job. She's pretty without looking too perfect, she's intelligent without sounding like a know it all, and she even has a bit of a sense of humor. The writers and voice-actress did a very good job of giving her personality. I find myself awaiting to tell her how I'm feeling, or what I want to work on for the day, and when she tells me how good I'm doing, I actually feel pretty proud of myself. Yes, I know it's just the computer program crunching the data I'm feeding into it, that she's not "real", but the illusion of working out with someone who is a pleasant trainer is really effective. It's basically gotten to the point to where I say I'm going to work out with Maya, instead of saying I'm going to put in the Yourself Fitness game.

All in all, I really needed something like this to help me out. I wasn't really disciplined enough to workout consistently by myself, nor did I know all the styles and methods to use to workout all the various muscles in my body properly. I really feel like I'm finally becoming the physically fit man I've always wanted to be, and for only about thirty bucks! I'm happy I bought this.

Workout works, but has quirks

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: October 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Yourself! Fitness is a very impressive achievement, but it does have some, shall we say, quirks that you will need to learn to work with. I'll list out the problems that I've had, and hopefully some workarounds that might help you get the most out of this package.

1. Maya doesn't keep in sync with the music.

Maya does okay, but she does tend to have a difficult time staying with the music; my suggestion would be to keep track of which exercises you are doing, and use the animation as a reference for the proper form, but don't try to stay in sync with her movements or they may throw you off.

2. Maya doesn't always give you enough time to catch up.

When switching exercises, she will usually give a verbal explanation of the exercise she wants you to do. The problem is, by the time the explanation is complete, you're half-way through the allotted time, and you haven't really done any reps yet. Therefore, you tend to not have enough time to do the actual reps before you're on to the next exercise. The trick is to learn the exercises well enough so that you can ignore her explanations and go straight to the reps. You can pause the game and get a tutorial on any of the exercises; if you find yourself falling behind, I highly recommend doing this so that you get enough out of your workout. Otherwise, you should just accept that you'll be a little confused during your first few times through, but eventually you'll catch on.

3. Maya doesn't really adjust the difficulty, even though she says she will.

By the end of the warmup exercises, my heartrate tends to be around 170, which is way too high. After that segment, Maya pauses and asks me how I did. I always tell her I couldn't keep up. She says that she will adjust the difficulty of similar segments in the future, but she never does; if anything, those segments have been getting MORE challenging lately. Therefore, if you do have heart-rate problems like I do, then you might find that you have to rein in your enthusiasm during the warmups and kick a little lower, raise your arms a little less, etc. I always feel like I'm cheating when I have to do that, but that's what I have to do in order to keep up.

4. Some exercises are not challenging enough.

You may find that some of the exercises are not going to work for you if you have a decent amount of upper-body strength. My suggestion would be to learn which exercises they are (like "Lift Sequence" which is a set of biceps curls without weights), and make sure you have some dumbbells or heavier hand-weights nearby to enhance these exercises; for example, some of the curls and lateral raises really require more resistance to be effective. I've also found that the "Swim" stretches are not particularly useful for me, so I would suggest substituting "Supermans" for those if the "Swim" is too easy. It will take a little work to figure out which exercises are going to be beneficial to you, and which are a waste of time, so be prepared to make adjustments on the fly. Also, since you don't have anyone observing you to ensure that you are keeping proper form, you have to be very self-aware as to which muscles you are attempting to work out; if a particular stretch is too easy, it's quite possible that you're not doing it right, and you might want to go through the tutorial and make some adjustments.

5. Some exercises might be physically impossible for you to do.

When you first start out, Maya tests your physical fitness, including your flexibility. I can barely stretch my hands to my knees from a sitting position; regardless, during one of my workouts, Maya wanted me to do a yoga position called the Half Moon. I guarantee - if you can't touch your toes, you can't do this either. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do about that because you can't skip an exercise; you have to wait it out, or do an alternate exercise on your own until she's ready to move on. There are other remedies - you can buy special foam blocks that help bridge the distance between your hands and the floor, but the program doesn't tell you that; it just assumes that you can do the move, and unfortunately the tutorial doesn't give you a suitable alternative.

Yourself Fitness is a fantastic program for health!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 132 / 133
Date: April 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

From the minute I met Maya, my new personal trainer I was hooked. Maya is a virtual fitness "person" who will help you meet your fitness goals.

The program begins with Maya greeting you and giving you a fitness assessment. Here you will input your height, weight and activity level and you will do a series of exercises; crunches, sit-ups, push-ups, and jumping jacks. Then you check your heart rate and input the information. Based on your level of fitness Maya will recommend an exercise program for you. She will tell you what you need to do and how many days a week you need to do it, to help you achieve your goals.

Maya will give you a selection of spaces to exercise in and ask what equipment you have. If you own a stepper, stability ball, weights and heart rate monitor, she will incorporate these into the workout. I would highly recommend adding all the equipment - especially the weights and heart rate monitor as these can really help you achieve your fitness goals.

After selecting your space (different virtual rooms with a different feel to each one) Maya begins your personalized program. During the workout she will ask you how you are feeling or you can at any time increase or decrease the intensity of the workout. At the bottom of the screen a scroll tells you what is coming up next in the workout ie squats, sidesteps, a stepper etc. You can also change the music selection - over 70 songs are available including hip hop, latin and 80's. The bottom also counts down the time of your workout - a fabulous feature.

Over time as you exercise, you will "unlock" treats from Maya like new workout spaces. Because she has so many "moves" your execise time with Maya will vary from one day to the next and keep your interest.

Maya also will hold you accountable. If you miss a day she will ask (nicely) where you were. As you exercise she will encourage you. Maya's voice is a beautiful, easy to listen to voice and you can lower or raise the volume of her voice and/or the music.
Maya herself is a buff looking brunette, it would have been nice if one could personalize their trainer's looks, and I will bet that's not to far down the road!

Maya also has a peaceful room where she will lead you in a nice yoga interlude. As you progress through the program Maya will help you adjust your goals and set new ones.

She will also set meal plans for you if desired.

I have to admit Maya has amazed me, besides kicking my booty in our exercise sessions. And the price point of $35 is so reasonable. Others love it too and there is an online community at www.yourselffitness.com devoted to discussions on this program.

Highly recommended!

UPDATE: I had a question about the program and was very pleased with the Yourself!Fitness representative Caroline's fast response and helpfulness. Double delight - a great program with super customer service!

Very Good Workout Program for the PS2

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 75 / 75
Date: March 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Over the past few years, a growing number of people have been using videogames as a form of exercise. Up until now, the game of choice for "exergamers" has been Dance Dance Revolution, but games such as EyeToy:Groove and EyeToy:AntiGrav have been used as well.

Finally, here is a "game" that comes right out and calls a spade a spade - Yourself!Fitness. Like to work out, but hate the gym? Get tired of DVD workouts after you've memorized the pattern? Prefer 3-D animation to real images? This is the fitness program for you.

The program starts you out by having you input your personal data (age, height, weight, sex) and perform a brief fitness test. From there, you set up a weekly workout schedule.

Each time, your virtual fitness instructor, Maya, will serve up a customized exercise routine for you on demand. You can vary the time, difficulty, and area of focus (cardio, lower body strength, flexibility, etc.). Maya talks you through the routine, and her animated figure exercises along with you. You can zoom and rotate the camera to get a better view of the exercise. If a given move has you completely stumped, you can pause the workout and call up a tutorial that explains the move step by step.

Maya will praise you for sticking to your workout schedule, and chew you out for skipping workouts. By working out regularly, you can "earn" new workout areas, songs, and the like. Also, as you progress in your fitness program, Maya will increase the difficulty of the routines and mix in new exercises. If you own equipment such as a heart rate monitor or a step bench, Maya will incorporate those into your routines as well.

The program also offers weekly menu planning and a "meditation garden" that serves up a yoga routine. I haven't used either of those features, so I can't comment on them.

Pros:

1. Routines contain a wide range of exercises, and vary from day to day.
2. Videogame format will motivate its target demographic in a way other exercise modes will not.
3. Marketed towards women, but a great workout for guys as well.

Cons:
1. Music is generic.
2. Load times on the PS2 are pretty bad. This problem is most bothersome when a workout routine is held up midway through for 10-15 seconds for loading purposes.

All in all, the program is great fun, and a good way to exercise on those days you can't be bothered with hauling yourself to the gym. Recommended.

Wonderful!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 18
Date: May 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

As someone who doesn't feel comfortable enough working out around other people, this program is *perfect* for me. I love how I'm able to customize practically everything so it's tailored just for me. I'm down 13 pounds so far and I'm actually enjoying my daily workout routine, something I haven't been able to say in a long time.

If I could change anything, it would be this:

-Less downtime, Maya sometimes takes a good 5 - 15 seconds to 'find the beat' to get back into routine if I had to pause the program.
-The ability to increase/decrease the difficulty of a single exercise. When Maya asks how I did at the end of a section - where half the exercises were too hard and half were too easy - what do I say? I would like the ability to give a thumbs down to a specific exercise, basically saying dump that but keep everything else.

Over all, this is the best PS2 purchase I've made in a long time.

Review Page: 1 2 3 Next 

Actions