I often times find myself getting fairly bored with my cardio work out, so I decided to try out DDR. I really wasn't expecting much... I mean, you just jump on the arrows and that's it, right? Well, even though that's all you have to do, it got me sweating and panting within the first 20 minutes! 20 minutes of my regular cardio work out didn't do ANYTHING like that.

So, now I'm hooked! Not only is working out more fun now, but I feel like I'm doing so much more. I plan on buying some other DDR games ('Cause I only have the one right now) for more songs soon.

Does anyone else do some DDR for part of their work out?

I don't think I have ever even played it but I can see how it would be a good workout! Sounds fun.

I want to! Before I started dieting, I made a pact with my boyfriend. We agreed that once I lose 15lbs, he will purchase me DDR as a reward. I'm getting closer... I can't wait. I HAVE tried it before, and epically failed, got frustrated, and returned it, but since then I've learned how to modify those cheap plastic pads in a way that'd make it more fun.

I can't wait to play.

I'm glad you're having fun with it, too

My college roommate used to. I belong to the "uncoordinated" group, so I stay away, but I can see how it would be a great work out.

Way to go

I love love love DDR. I can play it for hours, sweat my *** off and not even realize it. I'm a gamer. I love it!

I don't have the room or console atm though which sucks. I love it though!

I LOVE DDR! Once you get more advanced it gets REALLY fun. The key to get to the more advanced levels is to not return your feet to the center after every step and so you get used to moving your feet all over the mat rather than in four separate directions and you really start to feel like you are dancing! Also, the more games you can collect the better, because even with several songs on one disk it can get a little boring if you dont like certain ones or if you "Ace" most of them. DDR is awesome for exercise

Edit: I agree that the little mats are hindering if you are serious about playing DDR. I used to get so mad because a certain arrow wouldn't work and I was only a few points away from an AAA score or whatever (depending on the particular game you have)..but yes if you go online there are some simple mods to make them easier and more reliable to play on.

The only downside to DDR is that if you are playing on a hard surface for a long time it can be hard on the joints..i prefer to play on the sun/patio room because the floor underneath the carpet is concrete...the mat is more responsive and it doesn't shake the whole house lol

yes! i love it! especially since my bf thinks he's beeter than me at it. so i'll work my a** off so i can beat him (not like he was actually better than me to begin with :P).

sadly i left it in storage back at college and didnt even realize, brought my mates back but not the game!

Glad to see so many people are interested in it/ love playing it.

Right now I can only really play well on medium difficulty settings. My legs just can't move fast enough to go any harder than that. xD Though, I'm sure with time and practice, I'll be able to get it up there.

As for the mat, it's so frustrating! Not only is it very loud (crunch, crunch), but it's not always responsive when you want it to be and sometimes it's TOO responsive (feet in the middle, game tells me that I'm stepping on the side arrows). I've considered getting one of those hard ones, but they're fairly expensive... I'll have to look into those mods.

Omg I love ddr. I used to play it everyday. Now I live in an upstairs apt so I can't play. I don't want the downstairs neighbors to get mad at me for making a ton of noise.

It is definately a workout. Everytime I played I was sweating.

Hmm, after reading all of this I'm really interested in it. I've wanted it forever, but never had a console. Now that I'm at my boyfriends, they have every console here. I'm going to talk to him about going halvsies on it :P

How do you mod the mats? I saw a guy on youtube that took a board and like, duct taped the mat to it. Is that what you mean?

oodlesofnoodles - Yeah, those are mods. I can't say that I know of any right now, though. If anyone comes across some good mods with instructions on how to do them, be sure to post 'em here!

I loooooooove DDR. I haven't played in a while because when my sister moved out she took the PS2 and the games, but I have the cobalt flux pads (http://www.cobaltflux.com/). They are expensive, but WELL worth it, especially if you're more used to playing on the arcade hard pads (which I was, seeing as how I played exclusively for months at the arcade since I didn't have it at home). Very sensitive, durable, etc. Think of it as buying a new treadmill/exercise bike/etc. My only warning is to WEAR SHOES. The corners can be sharp on hard pads.

However, lately I've been disappointed with the games released in the US. Since I started in the arcade, I'm a bit of an elitist when it comes to music. I hate the fact that they're using American pop music and I find it much less enjoyable and rhythmically challenging. It is like they're dumbing down DDR.

aliquot - I completely agree with you on the music. I find it hard to find tracks that I actually like... I considered getting the DDR rip-off that allowed you to put in your own music, but you need to do so with CDs and all my music is digital.

aliquot - Wow that's intense! Wicked cool, but too rich for my blood


Paramedic - This is the most common mod I've seen (there are multiple websites with different instructions). If I were to do it though, I'd take a lot of shortcuts... I'd just buy the board, maybe a clear shower curtain at the dollar store (instead of hardwood floor covering), duct tape, and a few unused magazines laying around to put under the four arrows to give them a little lift and feel. But... I'm not the best at building things. Plus, I'd like to make it easily dismantlable in case I screw something up (very likely for me )

Wild Vulpix- Ohh, thanks for the link! I'll definitely have to try that out! As much as I'd love to buy one of those fancy hard DDR pads, they're just too much for me...and I like playing in my socks. :P