Customer Reviews

Yourself! Fitness

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Yourself fitness is probably the best purchase I've made in 2004. I have always had a problem with fitness and exercise (I get bored quickly) but Maya (the yourself fitness mascot) constantly keeps me motivated, and makes me want to push myself to become even better. This `game' is excellently done, and the graphics (especially the backgrounds) are superb. If you want something to push for, there are different workout locations and music you can unlock the more you workout. I find pro/con lists in Amazon.com reviews really help me, so I'll add one.

Pros:
1. Maya constantly keeps you motivated to do your best. She will ask you how you are feeling, and then adjust your workout accordingly.
2. The music is great, and really helps you to get in the `workout' mood. Only 3 are unlocked at the beginning (Latin, 80's, and hip-hop) - not my favorite choices, but 80's seems to be a good mix of fast dance and energy, and once I unlock the rest of them, I'll be a happy camper ;).
3. Workout schedule - you can program how much you want to work out any given day of the week - Maya will remember that and program your workout according to your internal computer clock, which saves you time.
4. You can focus on the workout you want to do. So, say Maya suggests upper body strength (from your fitness evaluation), but you want to do weight loss instead. You just chose weight loss and Maya will do that instead.
5. Meal plans - you can print off meal plans from the yourself fitness CD, benefiting your overall health.
6. Tutorials - If you have no idea how to do an exercise correctly, you can enter a tutorial mode, where a person made of muscles will show you how to do the exercise, and Maya will verbally walk you through it. You can zoom or rotate around the person to make sure you are doing it right.
7. The obvious feature of being able to do a workout with a personal trainer anytime anywhere (I suggest hooking a laptop, if you have one, up to your TV. It is much easier to do a workout on a larger screen)
8. Great graphics, especially the backgrounds. And I LOVE the opening movie!
9. Works on even old systems. My system is pretty old, but still meets the min requirements, and runs beautifully on my computer.

Cons.
1. The Meditation garden is pretty hard, especially if you've never done yoga before. Maya stops talking after a while, and just does the actions. (not a bug, the company said they didn't want to make her sound repetitive, so they made her stop after awhile). This is very hard when your doing `plank' (your face is on the floor) because you have no idea when Maya will change position.
2. You can't use your own music, which would be pretty hard to do, because Maya would have to sync up to the music. But if she could, it would be awesome!
3. No male trainer. Now, I'm a guy, and I still love this program, but it would be cool to have your choice of trainer (Maya or Maya's male counterpart). However, this program can be used by both males and females, so Maya will choose a workout specific to you.

In conclusion, if you want to make a commitment to yourself, and get in shape, you should buy this software or Xbox or PS2 game right away. You won't regret it one bit. I can't wait till tomorrow so I can do my next workout with Maya!
Good luck!
(also, check out the yourself fitness website for a workout preview)

I've been an on again/off again exerciser. I get frustrated with the time spent going to the gym, checking in, changing, etc. so I'd rather work out at home. I've got several videos, which I've stuck pretty well to, but Yourself!Fitness has allowed me to go a step further by keeping me exercising daily for 20+ days. I know that may not sound like much, but I'm very pleased with the committment I've been able to keep. Perhaps it's because Maya (the virtual trainer) responds so "humanly". I missed a work out one day last week, and when I logged in the next day she said "Hey! I missed you last time!" , almost as if she was really disappointed that I stood her up. Additionally, she sounds human, looks human and does human things...such as straighten her shirt between exercises, or tie her shoe, or tighten her ponytail. Again, this sounds a bit goofy, but the real-ness of her helps to make me feel like I really DO have to show up, that I'm letting SOMEONE down - videos and DVDs don't hold me accountable.

As to whether or not the fitness program is working or not - I can tell you yes. I really don't know how much weight I've lost, but I know it's enough that my pants fit differently, and that little "thing" on the side of my thigh (do we call those saddlebags? Yuk - such an UGLY word!) has dissipated. My shoulders and arms are changing shape, my calves are becoming more defined and I have lots more energy than I used to.

I typically work out with Maya everyday for 30-45 minutes, and I usually choose the workout she suggests for me. I toss in a flexibility workout once or twice a week, and the meditation garden (yoga) once a week or whenever I'm feeling particularly lifeless or taut from earlier workouts. I like the fact that in the Meditation Garden, Maya repeats the instructions the first few times - it helps get the moves right and puts the particular move into muscle memory so that it becomes easy to do it without her narration.

Note that throughout - and at the end - the program asks how you felt about the last section. Depending upon your answer, the next workout is modified to either slow it down or challenge you even more. I appreciate that it reflects my "mood" while keeping inline with the goals I've set.

The recipes that are provided are tasty and easy to prepare. I haven't yet found anything that requires a trip to a specialty store. The menu plan is easy to set up and follow - I'm doing a bit of a modified plan since I have a family who aren't all dieting. And there is plenty of variety so I don't feel like I'm only eating chicken and brown rice with a small salad day in and day out.

I seriously think that this is a wonderful program. I'm giving it great word of mouth among my friends. As I mentioned at the beginning, if nothing else, the novelty and freshness of the program will keep me interested for quite a while to come!

Tried YF this morning and loved it. bye bye gym membership!

Its been 5 years since i last did yoga and 3 since I have done any aerobics classes. So I elected for the 'guest pass' feature to get a quick idea about the program and get my footing. Chose to focus on 'weight loss/30 minutes/hip hop/no equipment/in the city.'

Got started with some basic movements then 10 minutes into it... I am sweating like I would after 20-25 minutes at the gym on the eliptical machine. the music was good... and I like the little bar at the bottom that tells you the next exercise move coming up. after a bit, i was transitioning into the next move right on time (which has never happened in gym classes). 14 minutes into the 30 I am thinking I should have opted for the shorter workout... but I hung in there and got my self moving and really made myself proud.

Managed to do the whole routine and am excited to try another tomorrow. I have 15 lbs to lose and am looking forward to it!

(...)

This program is incredible! I've always needed some type of outside motivator for my workouts (a person that is expecting me to show up, or a class I'm required to attend), and Yourself! Fitness is the perfect version of that. You start off by doing a block of fitness tests to see where you are with different types of physicality (for example: flexibility, heartrate before and during exertion, etc.). After that each and every workout is tailor-made for you - you tell your new fitness instructor whether a certain section of a workout was too hard, just right, or too easy, and she makes note of that and changes the intensity/difficulty of that section for the next workout. You get to choose a workout focus as well, which is great, seeing that we're all looking for something a little different! For example, I know that it isn't good to target the same muscles in workouts on consecutive days, so I pick a few that I rotate between (core strength, weight-loss, and cardio), and therefore have so much variety (she changes the moves for each workout, as well as gives you the option of different environments for you to watch her perform these exercises in. There are also meal-plans and a meditation option where you spend time doing yoga/pilates moves while she is doing the same in a garden and water setting. I love how she cheers you on, it really doesn't seem to matter that I know she can't see me, because the program is, after all, asking me quite often how things feel for me and how motivated I am. I HIGHLY reccommend this for every level of exercise ability. It's just so fun, too!

The program is much better than a video. Perfect for people who arent sure about the gym yet and still want to be in shape. Personalized to YOU not your weight or gender to you only. Meals are very good and can be easy to make.

When I purchased this for my PC, I was thrilled. It was truly interactive and a fun program. It got me moving and I raved about it.

However, a few weeks in, it simply stopped working. I went to the website and tried to use the PC patch, but it didn't work. I discovered from the message board that, not only were many people experiencing the same problems, but that the makers of the program had stopped responding to any tech support issues. In addition, they seem to be involved in a huge law suit.

Now, to be fair, my understanding is that the folks who bought and are using the Playstation version are not having the same technical issues. I don't own that version, so can't speak to that personally.

I loved the program and should they ever solve their legal problems and tech problems, I would try this again, but right now I feel as though I wasted my money.

I bought this item about two weeks ago and have been using it for a little over a week now. I THOUGHT I was in pretty good shape before Mya arrived--and oh, how she proved me wrong. There were a few days at the beginning there where I was seriously starting to consider if she might be trying to kill me. But, already I can feel a difference in my muscle tone (the soreness has yet to abate) and I am feeling much better about myself. Mya's encouragement, organization and spontanaety in routine have been a refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable (okay, so maybe not always SO much enjoyable) experience. My only critique is that sometimes she forgets to warn you when she's changing excercises (as in some of the yoga poses, in which you CANNOT see the screen), and sometimes she's a little fast in changing excersises or positions (but that may be just me). And I recommend a strong sense of humor for anyone trying the yoga poses for the first time--I think I wore out the tutoring button on those.
So, in short, I would highly recommend this product to anyone looking to shed a few pounds, build some muscle, or just get in better shape.

I'm 5'7", 125 lbs, and am in good shape so I wasn't sure if Yourself Fitness would be up to par. The fitness evaluation is to test how fit you are and there are those who may not be able to do what is asked for you to do regarding the specified number of jumping jacks/crunches/push ups, etc. so I was concerned when I was able to complete the fitness evaluation with ease. Now I am on my seventh workout and this program has still been able to challenge me. All I have to do is use heavier weights. Most of the exercises for me are in the 4-5 difficulty range (5 being the highest) and this has been fine. I just completed my first 45 minute cardio workout and used my heartrate monitor to calculate I burned 466 calories. That may not seem like much, but it takes a lot (like interval 15-45 degree inclines on a treadmill at the gym) for me to burn those calories in the same amount of time. All of this from the convenience of my home! I tried TurboJam, which is fun, but every time I do the same workout, I burn fewer calories because I'm getting used to it! At least with Yourself Fitness, I can look forward to various workouts which will keep my body challenged.

The rest breaks can be tedious but it usually gives me a chance to get my stepper, workout mat or weights together, in front of the computer, before the next exercise. I like all the music so far and don't care where Maya works out since I'll still be at home doing the same exact exercises anyway. I don't know if I will stop going to the gym altogether, but there is a possibility. Males, if they wanted to be muscular yet lean, could use Yourself Fitness to their benefit if they used heavy enough weights.

I have been running regularly for many years and am in decent shape. However, I am concerned that running does little or nothing for upper body and other muscle groups or for flexibility. At various times, I have tried other ways to strengthen and stretch, but have generally lost interest and gone back to only running.

I was quite interested in hearing about this program and have been using it on my intel mac for about 2 months. I have averaged about 3-4 sessions a week, and am extremely pleased with the product.

On the positive side, I like the idea of being able to select the focus and the time for each session. I have primarily been using the upper body and the flexibility workouts, with less emphasis on the core, lower body, and cardio/weight loss.

The nice thing about these choices is that if you are still hurting from a upper body workout, you can select flexibility or one of the other options and work other parts of your body. In addition, I have the step, a series of hand weights, and a stability ball; all of which seem to add lots of new options for the exercices.

It is a little difficult to understand or explain why a computer animated figure can get you to do exercies that you wouldn't do otherwise. The funny thing is that it does have that effect for me, and my wife has also become a big fan and regular user of Maya.

As to results, I have noticed definite improvements in the two areas of interest: upper body and flexibility, and also some improvement in core strength. I am looking forward to skiiing this year, as I think these improvements will be helpful, and I will also explore some lower body in advance of the trips.

Some Nits: The program suggested that my focus should be cardio, which made little sense in terms of where I was when I started. In addition, the program does give some odd feedback in terms of 'new exercises learned today', missing many and listing some that were not new. These don't really have any effect on the benefits of the program.

Finally, I would like to have ways of incorporating other exercise into the progress and monitoring, such as the running or other non-Maya led workouts. I like to keep track of the range of fitness efforts, and it would be great to bring these all into the Inside Fitness program.

Overall, this has turned out to be an almost perfect answer for my (previously) imbalanced training regimen.

I bought this product after I read an article in a magazine. It is great! I had it over a month now and each workout has been different. I have not lost any weight, but I am losing inches. Shorts that didn't fit me at the beginning of August now do! I noticed I have more energy and I am definitely not as crabby. It is a great product for someone who wants a workout without having to go to classes.