OK, I'm intrigued.......I don't have PS2 (I get so addicted I'd never leave the house), but interested in the plug-in version to try it out....after doing a search I found World TV dance pad???? any info on stores that carry it? I appreciate your help, thanks!

After reading all these posts, I ordered the DDR Extreme and two pads off Ebay last week. They finally came in yesterday, so I took it home and tried it. I figured it would be a fun way to exercise with my daughter who is 7 and a little overweight and with my other daughter who is 5 and is a string bean. We just started the lessons yesterday, and it looks like I will need to practice alot! :D I am trying to work with my daughter who gives up way to easily when the steps get more difficult. She tends to pout and quits playing... the youngest can't even do the foot spread of the mat, and can't keep up with lesson one, but she still seems to have fun trying to stomp all over the mat!

Anyway... I think it will be something fun, after I get used to it, and after I get my daughter's confidence up so she won't give up so quickly.

Thanks everyone for this great exercise option!!! This is going to be fun!

Cherie

Hi All - Can someone please give me a quickie lesson on this? I've seen these at arcades and never knew a home version was available till I happened upon this thread, and they look like a lot of fun. What is the best version to use with sneakers at home - and while we do have a PS2, is there a less cumbersome plug in version? What should be the ballpark $$ for an entire basic system? I've done and LOVED Jazzercise in the past, but need to be on an independent schedule. I appreciate any input - thanks!

I don't know of any version that recommends sneakers - one of these days I'll get around to buying some dance shoes with a soft sole and try that. I've been SO busy lately that I haven't played DDR in months. As soon as the book is done, I'll pull the pads back out. We had to put them up because they confused our not-quite-housetrained chihuahua. :eek:

The only DDR's that I know of are for your PS2 or XBox. You just plug up the pad and they lay on the living room floor. They are going to take up some room! You can probably buy one pad with a game for about $60 - I'm pretty sure that is what we paid for ours. If you want to dance along with kids, you'll need another pad. Do you have a Best Buy? They usually have bundles available.

Your in NJ? Take a trip to Manhattan. If you canf ind your way to the center to China Town theres a mall,... Im pretty sure they sell them cheap there! Other wise you can get a hack for your computer and do it all illegally :P Actually thats always fun because then you play off your computer plus you can get some dances for your favorite songs that Fans made themselves (although not always that intime).


Anyways, I just got off my warmup on DDRmax. It seems to take forever to burn Calories. Is burning only 75 not alot? (AALthough I think i burn more because I doubt the PS2 sees how spastic i get bouncing around on the middle of the pad instead of hitting the actual ARROWS!! lol). Says i did equal to 500 jumpropes. Well I like to play a little of the game after anyways.

thanks for the info, I hadn't even thought about Chinatown....I'm only 30 mins. from the city by train...

So I broke out DDRMAX2 and my cheapo soft pad today and started playing. I spent about 40 minutes trying to pass the final training exercise but couldn't do it. I had a lot of fun, but I hate jumping around barefoot, my feet just aren't up to it. Because I'm a stat freak I wore my heart rate monitor throughout the 40 minutes, and thought I'd share some heart rate data...

I averaged 110HR, I maxed out at 125HR, so it wasn't a super workout, but according to my Polar heartrate monitor (which knows my gender, age, weight, height, and "activity level") I burned 505 calories. That's pretty darn good for just goofing off for 40 minutes. Compare that to my last lightish elliptical workout which was 60 minutes at 140HR average, 173 max which burned me 1002 calories.

DDR is waaay more fun than working out on an eliptical, but I gotta get a hard pad, cuz I neeeed to wear shoes.

spud

I played more DDRMAX2 today, I finally beat the final tutorial level and started playing in arcade mode on light. I goofed around with that for a while and then went to workout mode and just started finding songs I liked, which there were a suprising number. A lot of the steps that involve jumping hurt my feet, I'd like to find a song/mode that is mostly just fast kinda easy steps, I'll have to look around some.

I did have a lot of fun though, and did an hour at 105 average HR, 148HR max, which apparently burned me 550 calories. Not bad. This time I played in my shoes and the soft pad seemed to hold up ok.

spud

Okay Michelle, now I want one. What all do we need to purchase to get started? My children have a Play Station. How hard is this on your knees? I have tendonitis in my right knee.

Sue

I went out and bought the DDR stuff for my Playstation last month, and tried it out. And I could NOT figure it out. I took it back that same week.

It's just another one of those things that works for some, and not for others...

I've been continuing to incorporate DDR into my workouts, but my feet aren't really putting up with it as well as I'd hoped. I've also experienced some knee pain. I'll continue to look for fun cardio activity, but for me it seems like playing DDR is too much of an injury risk for it to be of any lasting value. It is getting more fun too, which is too bad. I'll probably keep playing a bit on and off just for fun.

spud

I went to Sam's Club and bought interlocking rubber pads (they hook together like puzzle pieces) and they made a world of difference on the ol' joints. I'm 58 and do DDR about an hour a day most days. I LOVE IT! I've been doing light mode and have gotten mostly A's with a few AA's thrown in and one AAA star! My grandchildren are impressed! Anyway, I put the rubber pads down under a piece of carpet in my basement and I do DDR with socks only. I visited my grandchildren last weekend and we did DDR on their hardwood floors and it didn't take long for my knees to start hurting. That's when I really noticed the difference the rubber pads make.

I have been playing DDR for several years now so thought I would jump in. First off the metal arcade style pads are the most durable but they take up a lot of room and are not as easy on the joints. Cheap pads tend to not be cushioned enough and break quickly. I recommend soft ignition pads that are good quality. I have the Redoctane..buy two if you have kids or someone who you think will do it with you. Each person can play at the same time at their own level.
You do NOT wear shoes on the soft pads so cushioning is a must.

Next for games..I like DDRMax, DDRMAX2 and DDR Extreme with the 2cd one as my favorite. The earlier games for PS 1 (which I also own) are not as accurate with the arrows.

Learning is not hard but there is a learning curve. Start on beginner, take the lessons and work your way up. It does take a while to get the hang of it but its like dancing.

Go into the options section of the game and you can change things..there are ways to get different dancing characters, set it up so the game keeps going even when you mess up (instead of ending ) etc. Its worth spending time with.
HOWEVER dont get caught up in trying to learn everything.
Just enjoy it.
As you play the game you will unlock new songs and characters..

Check out ddrfreak.com and getupmove.com for ideas.

Im so glad other people are doing this
 

hi my name is Amy and Im 26. I have been "ddr-ing" since christmas and in the 8 days I have been doing it I have lost 2 pounds!! I really enjoy it and it seems to motivate me. I no longer obsess about food- If I get bored and have the munchies I get out the game. I have even found I would much rather play that than spend a great deal of time on the computer. Before I got DDR my daily exercise consisted of typing and clicking a mouse button. Now I average about 3 hours a day on the pad. I use an xbox and ddr ultramix 3 which has some songs I actually know- (ray charles, black eyed peas,B-52's, it even has Whip it lol!! and play on light mode- I started playing in game mode but you have to stop in between each song and choose a new one so then I started to try different modes and have found if I really want to burn the calories play in freestyle mode- within 2 minutes Im gasping for breathe but I will do that mode for about an hour and then switch to a different mode. When I saw what a difference it is making in the way I feel it has motivated me to start eating better too. I am really pumped about this because I think I have actually found something I can do. I think my hubby enjoys laughing at me while I jump around like a crazy woman but I'll be the one laughing when I shed these pounds!! Im 4'11 and started at 179. I hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am, I'll keep checking back and good luck everyone!!

This is so neat! My little brother plays this all the time and i never thought of using it for a workout! Can you actually use this as your workout and lose weight? I would much rather do this than really workout any day! - kim