New U Mind Body Yoga and Pilates Workout

by Deep Silver

• Customizable Fitness Goals: The program will design a workout specifically for you.
• Real-time feedback and encouragement on your performance.
• Change goals at any point in the program without sacrificing all of your records.
• Utilizes both the Wii Balance Board and Wii MotionPlus to track your exact movements.
• Actual video of real yoga & pilates trainers to both help you understand how to perform and to guide you through each exercise.
• Compatible with Wii Balance Board and Wii MotionPlus

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003VWGBCK
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches ; 3.4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: December 7, 2010
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,183 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #11 in Video Games > Wii > Accessories > Fitness Accessories
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

NewU Mind Body Yoga & Pilates Workout combines two of the most popular and rewarding fitness methods in one exercise program in order to help meet your specific exercise goals. Whether it's trimming up your waistline, developing your body strength, improving your posture or overall fitness, NewU Mind Body Yoga & Pilates Workout takes your specific fitness goals in mind and customizes a set of exercises specifically to target your needs. With over 115 different exercises demonstrated and led by live action videos of real fitness trainers, NewU Mind Body Yoga & Pilates Workout brings you the intense yoga & pilates training you'd expect from a serious exercise program complemented by real-time feedback and precise motion tracking utilizing Wii MotionPlus™ and the Wii™ Balance Board.

Game Features

• 117 standard exercises
• 4 core skills exercises
• 3 personal trainers
• 1 breathing exercise
• 4 meditation poses
• 6 workout locations
• Customizable goals
• Compatible with Wii™ Balance Board and Wii MotionPlus™

Game Highlights

• Customizable Fitness Goals: The program will design a workout specifically for you, blended from both worlds of pilates and yoga, based on one of ten different workout goals. The program even includes post-natal exercises for new mothers!
• Packed with Motivators: Rather than just drilling you through exercise after exercise with no feedback and no rewards, NewU Mind Body Yoga & Pilates Workout provides you with real-time feedback and encouragement on your performance as well as a multitude of awards based on your execution of both individual exercises and entire classes, giving you motivation to strive for perfection.
• Program Flexibility and Variety: Feel like changing up your routine? Have your fitness goals changed since you've started using the program? NewU Mind Body Yoga & Pilates Workout allows you to change goals at any point in the program without sacrificing all of your records, stats and progress.
• Technical Precision: NewU Mind Body Yoga & Pilates Workout utilizes both the Wii Balance Board and Wii MotionPlus to track your exact movements, ensuring precise execution of each and every pose and exercise.
• Both Learning and Doing: Forget cartoon avatars and animated demonstrations - NewU Mind Body Yoga & Pilates Workout uses actual video of real yoga & pilates trainers to both help you understand how to perform and to guide you through each exercise.

Product Description

New U Fitness First Mind Body Yoga and Pilates Workout follows the success of the first title released in the Fitness First series, New U Fitness First Personal Trainer. Developed with the guidance and expertise of Fitness First, the biggest gym chain in the world. New U Fitness First Mind Body addresses the needs of your mind and your body with the Yoga and Pilates workout using a range of breathing and relaxation techniques. It includes a full and customizable program of exercises demonstrated by real personal trainers via audio voiceovers and motion capture to physically work along side you and guide you through the many exercises and meditations.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

327 of 333 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The best yoga and Pilates title to date (in an admittedly lackluster field) December 15, 2010

By Nutwiisystem.Com TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Fun: 3.0 out of 5 stars   

It's been a long and hard road for those looking for good Yoga and Pilates programs on the Wii. Wii Fit provided some Yoga exercises which by most accounts, while a decent demonstration of the potential of the Wii balance board, were a bit rudimentary and disjointed. The first "pure Yoga" title for the Wii, Dreamcatcher Yoga, was an unmitigated disaster both from a Yoga perspective and a technical perspective. The first "pure Pilates" title, Daisy Fuentes Pilates, didn't fare much better.

NewU Fitness Yoga and Pilates is actually the second "NewU" fitness game developed by Lightning Fish games to hit the US Market. The first was a game originally released in Europe as "NewU: Fitness First Personal Trainer". However, when Ubisoft (the US publisher) brought the game to the US they inexplicably changed its name "My Fitness Coach 2" (In a boneheaded move, they apparently attempted to cash in on the huge success of the original "My Fitness Coach", but ended up alienating fans of the original My Fitness Coach and short-circuiting any possible interest in the NewU title, which was a decent workout title on its own merits). Anyway, I'm happy to see that the new publisher, Deep silver, was wise enough to keep the original name for NewU Fitness First Yoga & Pilates.

In any case, if you have My Fitness Coach 2, you'll see similarities between that game and this game, most notably the "swooshing" 3-D menus and the cheeky reaction of the trainers after you've done something well.

When you start NewU Fitness First Yoga and Pilates, you first create a profile. You'll enter your name, sex, your "build" (skinny, average, or overweight), and you'll also select your experience level with yoga and Pilates (a complete beginner, someone who's taken a few classes, or an expert).... You then enter your date of birth, height, handedness, and then choose from one of 10 goals (ranging from weight loss to relieving back pain to improving posture to de-stress; women will also see an option for post-natal exercise).

You then choose one of three "teachers" (all female) each with different personalities and styles who will take you through all the exercises. They tried to make the teacher selection as realistic as possible--you can even read each teacher's bio and hear a taped introduction from each of them. Finally, you choose a location (relaxing nature vistas ranging from a mountain valley to a beachfront), and then have the Wii balance board calculate your weight. By the way, the balance board is not required for this game, but it definitely does augment most of the exercises.

You then see a series of menus:

Toning - This is where you can do your daily classes, each of which is basically a string of yoga or Pilates exercises put together one after the other for about 30 minutes. You can have the system select a class for you, if you're in a hurry you can choose a "quick class", or if there are certain exercises you like you can create a custom class. From here, you can also practice exercises, perform Pilates Core Skills (Water Tilt, Zip Up, and Drawing In), or try some Challenges which really do test your endurance (e.g. Pilates 100, Side Plank, Crescent Moon Standing, Tree Pose, or Perfect Warrior III).

Meditation - This is a very interesting part of the program where you can try different meditation techniques, such as Healing, Let Go, Third Eye, Energizing, and Calming. After a particularly stressful week, I did try the "Let Go" exercises and I have to say it helped. The instructor will calmly say instructions to you, calm images will appear on the screen, and peaceful music will play. You can choose Meditation any time from this menu, or you'll be given the option to meditate after a workout.

As for the workouts themselves, they are typical yoga and Pilates moves (weighted more on the yoga side), such as airplane, dancer's pose, dog tilt, crescent moon standing, and sun salutation (I counted 30 moves total under the "Advanced" setting; other settings will have fewer). As you perform each, you'll see a video image of your instructor in front of the vista you selected (the teacher was basically filmed in front of a blue screen and is superimposed over a picture of your environment).

I do like the fact that they used video, because you can see exactly what the instructor is doing. In addition, before each exercise, you can select "show me first" where the teacher will literally talk you through a step-by-step tutorial. You can also view an 'About this Exercise' blurb which explains the goal of the exercise.

I'm a total novice when it comes to yoga, so I chose the beginner's path. The exercises were just right for my level, not too complex, not too strenuous. At the more advanced levels, the instructor goes much faster, and there's a presumption that you know the moves already (she'll yell out instructions like "step back into a downward dog" or "lower chest down into a baby cobra").

I asked my girlfriend, who has taken both yoga and Pilates classes, to go through a class at the "advanced" level and let me know her opinion. She did, and afterwards told me she did get a pretty good workout, comparable to a class. She said the moves were indeed accurate and that exercises like the "Sun Salutation" sequence were challenging in a very good way.

On the negative side, she said the instructors at times seemed a little "robotic" and dry in their explanations--they'll shout out literal instructions, whereas the best "real" instructors would have put a little more personality and creativity into them. Also, some of the sequences were much too fast, and at times it was a bit awkward to have to look up at the screen while performing the move (this is where more descriptive vocal commands would have helped). Still, after a few rounds of practice, she got the moves down and was doing them naturally. And she did like details such as the instructors telling her how to breathe, as she did the relaxing music.

The controls are decent. The system makes good use of both the balance board (to check how much in balance your forearms or feet are as you perform certain exercises) and the Wii MotionPlus (to check how steady your hand is for certain exercises where you need to stretch your hands). An indicator in the upper left-hand corner will show how steady and centered you are. While most exercises are intuitive, there are some where no matter how "correctly" you think you're doing the exercises, the system will tell you you're not--and will not tell you what's wrong. That, of course, is a frustration many of us have gotten used to with Wii games.

Overall, I'd say if you're interested in "Western Style" fitness, your best bet is EA Sports Active 2, Biggest Loser Challenge or Zumba Fitness. However, if you're interested in "Eastern Style" fitness, this one is clearly the best choice to date, although admittedly there wasn't a very high bar set. While it's no substitute for a real class, it's a great way to get a decent yoga and Pilates workout in the privacy of your own home when you just don't feel like going out. Read more ›

95 of 97 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Rank Beginner Gets a Solid Workout December 22, 2010

By Phyllis Staff TOP 500 REVIEWER

Amazon Verified Purchase

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

Don't get me wrong -- I love my Wii and its balance board, but the fitness games that come with the board can only take you so far. This is especially true of the Yoga poses. Do one pose, stop, do another pose, stop. Very little of the fluidity and grace of the yoga I know.

So I was eager to try the New U Fitness First Yoga and Pilates. And I give it a resounding Yes!

Here's my take on this "game."

PROS:

1. Even though I have practiced a little yoga, I began as a rank beginner and got a solid workout. I can see that as I improve, the yoga routines will become more challenging. Just what I wanted.

2. When you set up your profile, you can indicate your goal for your practice. For example, I want to lose weight, but someone else might practice to relieve stress.

3. You can see your weight in the profile section, and the program will track your progress.

4. It's not just exercises. There are a number of meditations, and each practice will end with the option of a meditation session.

5. The program offers a number of options for background, and the teacher has the look of a video rather than a flat cartoon. Put it all together and you have a very pleasant yoga session.

CONS:

The yoga instructor moves faster than I like. Slowing it down a bit would increase the benefits of yoga.

OVERALL:

I am pleased with this program and expect it will challenge me for months rather than weeks. I recommend you take a look if you're wanting more for your Wii.

82 of 84 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great Yoga workout, even for those familiar with a Yoga practice! December 23, 2010

By Reviews on Amazon

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

I was hesitant to purchase this as Wii exercise games have been hit or miss, and with far more misses in the Yoga / Pilates category. This last Pilates offering was terrible and the reviews on the Yoga game were so poor I did not even bother to give it a try!

This game has favorable reviews on the web and as someone who likes and practices Yoga on a regular basis, I decided to give it a try! I was pleased I did!

I have practiced Yoga on and off for 10 years, and regularly attend Yoga classes ranging from a basic Hatha 1 to a more challenging Vinyasa 3 However, I would like to practice more often but not all classes are convenient to my work schedule. I was looking for something that offered a challenge and a format that differed from a traditional workout DVD. I found it in this.

It begins in much the same way as other exercise related games - asking your height, body shape, taking your weight then asking what you are looking to achieve from your workout - there are some excellent options as you can chose to target problem areas such as a back issues or tummy toning, you can chose an all over toning, arm strength or even a workout to help alleviate stress - there are plenty of options and you can go back at any time to change your goals. Also importantly it asks what your past knowledge of yoga is to allow the game to challenge you in the right ways and allow for a workout that is appropriate to your skill level. There are also options to chose the instructor (accompanied by a brief bio) and backgrounds.

I picked experienced so my review is based on this.... One side note though, if you have no experience at all, this does have instructional guides so you will be able to participate and get a taste for yoga as well as a good workout , but it is no substitute for a class. The greatest benefits from yoga are derived from correct form - and sometimes incorrect form can lead to strain or injuries so a class or two might help with correct posture and allow for greater benefit. But this game is available and adaptable to all levels.

Once you chose all your options there are numerous ways to proceed - a class that gives a complete workout, lessons on the poses, challenges, specific targeting poses and meditation. The classes are excellent - you can customize the class to pick what poses you want to incorporate, how many repetitions where applicable, and how long to hold the poses! I found the classes easy to follow, there are instructional guides to explain each pose should you need them and the flow of the class was just right.

I found I got a challenging workout that incorporated sun salutations, strength flows, deep twists and balancing poses - after working out I felt muscle fatigue; as though I had really been through a good yoga workout! If you are looking for something deeply traditional then this might not be for you, but if you are looking for a really good, effective yoga workout that you can change as your goals change, then this is it! It is fun, challenging and keeps you interested!

The only issue I have noticed (and I have just added it to the review as it is quite a major issue), is that in a traditional yoga class, they usually do a counter pose - that is, if you do a back bend, a pose that allows you to stretch the back in a reverse manner will follow - but this is absent from this game. In the advanced class there are several moves that can out some strain on the lower back and I found I ached the next day so I have began adding my own counter moves to make sure I get both an effective and safe workout

I found the graphics to be excellent, I have a traditional Wii remote not Wii motion and found this works just as well.

Finally the meditation section is really nice. Again there are a choice of different mediations, about 5 minutes in length, each designed to address a particular goal such as calming or energizing. The music / sounds were appropriate, the voice guidance about right and if you chose to keep your eyes open (some folks might want to) there are relaxing images such as a candle flame, to help!

For me - as someone who loves Yoga, this is a great offering, exactly what I was looking for, and a great addition to fitness games for the Wii! Read more ›