Ok, I finally looked up what Dance Dance Revolution was and I got excited IMMEDIATELY! What have I been missing?!!! Darn, I just wish I could afford it right now. I went to amazon and the dance pads are pretty cheap but the games are little expensive. I guess I just have save up for it.
Anyways.... how affective is Dance Dance Revolution? If you've done it, what has been your success with this game? Do you recommend it?
It looks so fun, and I've also thought about buying for some time now. Our mall has a used and new video store that often has the game for about half the price of new, and I see Walmart has the dance pad for like $25, so I'm really interested too, but I'm wondering how "easy" the easiest level is, because I'm kind of afraid it might be way beyond what I can do at the moment.
The easy level is super easy - it's slow enough that you get a little bored between steps. Once you go up levels, though, it's really really fun. My friend has this, and we do it probably once a week (she has 2 of the pads). I have so much fun I don't even think of it as exercise, but we're both definitely sweating by the end. I bet you could rent the games for now until you can afford to buy one. Or pick one up on e-bay for a few bucks, so you're not commiting yourself to a ton of money. I definitely think you'll like it if you try it, though.
I dance danced off like 40 pounds once. and kept it off. so I say yeah it's effective. I had a modded psx machine and all the japanese games. You can also do it with your computer if I remember correctly by downloading a program on the web so you dont need the actual machine for it.
Dance mat games are great fun, especially when you've got friends to join you on another mat, I'm not the most co-ordinated of people, but I always enjoy my dance mat sessions. I'd try it if I were you, its fun and burns the calories.
I have two of the games. I think they are DDR2 and DDR Extreme. It is fun once you get the hang of which buttons do what as far as starting, stopping, choicing the dance level, the song, etc. While it was fun and I did sweat some, I never lost any weight from doing it. Perhaps I didn't stick with it long enough, but after a few weeks I got tired of the same songs over and over. Once in a while I play it but by this time I have forgotten what buttons do what and get frustrated with it stopping or making me go back to the intro every time. Then I end up quiting.
I've been doing DDR for 2-1/2 months and have lost 21 lbs so far. The key for me has been to keep pushing myself on the songs whether I get high scores or not (IOW, keeping my heart rate up and then letting it drop back down a bit between songs). Done this way it's similar to HIIT (high intensity interval training) which is very effective for fat burning. However, I've become addicted to the game and find myself playing 2 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. The DDR coupled with a moderately reduced calorie/reduced fat diet has been very successful for me.
If you'd like more details about DDR let me know. I'd be happy to share what I've learned so far. :-)
butterfly_dreams, hang on just a little longer before you purchase! DD wanted it BAD for xmas this past year and we were able to pick it up at Sams Club. They told me they carry it every holiday season because it's a big seller. Very reasonable! The set came with two pads and two games (or whatever they're called) for $39.96. We already had the game system so DD could just plug it in and go! I think we purchased it in early October as I start my shopping pretty early! Best of luck to you!
I wore my heart rate monitor while DDRing - it was just as effective as 45 min on the stationary bike, and a lot more fun. I think my heart rate got up to 160-170 on medium difficulty during a fast song, and I put it on workout mode so the songs were continuous (no waiting between songs, so the heart rate stays pretty elevated).
I like how adaptable it is to your fitness level. You can start off easy, and as you get more fit, up the intensity A LOT so you can always get a fun, effective workout.
This is an exciting subject for me. Ive done some reseach so I can bring some info about it to you.
I bought the TV plug and play version. I don't recommend it.
I looked into "stepmania". This is the free PC version everyone is talking about. I downloaded it just to see what it was all about. It is pretty nice.
If you want to go that route you may want to buy a red ocaine pad. They are a lot better then the ps2 version dance mat for various reasons. Average price for those on ebay is about 50 dollars, which is worth it if that is all you are going to pay. Also, make sure you get a usb adaptor for your PC.
After much thought on this however, I personally decided to go all out and buy a play station 2 console and ddrmax game(ddrmax is better then ddr extreme for beginners). This is going to be much more expensive, and I don't have a whole lot of money either. However, play station 2 also supports eye toy.
What is eye toy? Eye toy is a camera that you hook up to the play station 2 and it allows you to play interactive games just using your body! The camera itself has 12 games and the games are great exercise. There is also additional eye toy games you can buy seperately.
The latest thing with eye toy is a game expecially made to work out. It is called Eye Toy Kinetic. It received great reviews on Amazon
I can barely afford this. But this is how I look at it, my health is the most important thing. Anything that is going to encourage me to get up and moving is a vital purchase.
Location: Texas -- For the moment. LOL Military Wife.
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DDR OMG Cardio!
LOL I had forgotten we have the max game and such and have had it for a while. We loved playing it as a family. I LOVED that I could kick my skinny army husbands butt! Sadly my dancing after a while got worse and my husbands better as the songs went on. I still always win at first but he has more energy then I do and seems to get better as I sink!
I never thought of it as Cardio before! And it is! I used to sweat so much when playing.
Thank you so much, I will dig out the game again and the pads and add this to the mix, much needed too with the weather here!
There's a new ps2 dance game out here in the UK called dance factory, which has been designed so you can use your own CDs to dance to, it reads the song and automatically assigns the steps for you. I imagine you'll be able to get it in the USA too, I'm considering getting it as I get fed up of the same dance mat songs over and over again.
How affective is Dance Dance Revolution
