Yourself!Fitness for PlayStation 2

by RESPONDESIGN

Product Features

• Six unique fitness environments - Keep your workouts fresh by doing them in the Empress' Dojo, the Alpine Retreat, an Island Paradise, the Urban Oasis, the Desert Springs Resort or a Meditation Garden
• Over 500 unique exercises to choose from - work through sessions with Yoga, Pilates, Cardio Fitness, Strength Training and more
• Customized meal planning with over 4,500 recipes, preparation instructions and shopping lists to make eating right more simple
• Dynamic fitness routines respond to your progress and commitment level
• Maya helps you integrate the fitness equipment you already own into your workout

Product Details

• ASIN: B0007PNEGA
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,366 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Yourself!Fitness is the first game to combine home health and fitness with the power of your PS2. Meet Maya, your interactive Personal trainer - she'll help you build a personalized fitness Program. She'll also keep you motivated and deliver the results you've always wanted.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

143 of 144 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yourself Fitness is a fantastic program for health!, April 10, 2005

By 

Lee Mellott "Skin Care For Wrinkles" (Frederick, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Yourself!Fitness for PlayStation 2 (Video Game)

From the minute I met Maya, my new personal trainer I was hooked. Maya is a virtual fitness "person" who will help you meet your fitness goals.

The program begins with Maya greeting you and giving you a fitness assessment. Here you will input your height, weight and activity level and you will do a series of exercises; crunches, sit-ups, push-ups, and jumping jacks. Then you check your heart rate and input the information. Based on your level of fitness Maya will recommend an exercise program for you. She will tell you what you need to do and how many days a week you need to do it, to help you achieve your goals.

Maya will give you a selection of spaces to exercise in and ask what equipment you have. If you own a stepper, stability ball, weights and heart rate monitor, she will incorporate these into the workout. I would highly recommend adding all the equipment - especially the weights and heart rate monitor as these can really help you achieve your fitness goals.

After selecting your space (different virtual rooms with a different feel to each one) Maya begins your personalized program. During the workout she will ask you how you are feeling or you can at any time increase or decrease the intensity of the workout. At the bottom of the screen a scroll tells you what is coming up next in the workout ie squats, sidesteps, a stepper etc. You can also change the music selection - over 70 songs are available including hip hop, latin and 80's. The bottom also counts down the time of your workout - a fabulous feature.

Over time as you exercise, you will "unlock" treats from Maya like new workout spaces. Because she has so many "moves" your execise time with Maya will vary from one day to the next and keep your interest.

Maya also will hold you accountable. If you miss a day she will ask (nicely) where you were. As you exercise she will encourage you. Maya's voice is a beautiful, easy to listen to voice and you can lower or raise the volume of her voice and/or the music.
Maya herself is a buff looking brunette, it would have been nice if one could personalize their trainer's looks, and I will bet that's not to far down the road!

Maya also has a peaceful room where she will lead you in a nice yoga interlude. As you progress through the program Maya will help you adjust your goals and set new ones.

She will also set meal plans for you if desired.

I have to admit Maya has amazed me, besides kicking my booty in our exercise sessions. And the price point of $35 is so reasonable. Others love it too and there is an online community at www.yourselffitness.com devoted to discussions on this program.

Highly recommended!

UPDATE: I had a question about the program and was very pleased with the Yourself!Fitness representative Caroline's fast response and helpfulness. Double delight - a great program with super customer service!

83 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Workout Program for the PS2, March 1, 2005

By 

Gregory J. Nelson (Plano, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Yourself!Fitness for PlayStation 2 (Video Game)

Over the past few years, a growing number of people have been using videogames as a form of exercise. Up until now, the game of choice for "exergamers" has been Dance Dance Revolution, but games such as EyeToy:Groove and EyeToy:AntiGrav have been used as well.

Finally, here is a "game" that comes right out and calls a spade a spade - Yourself!Fitness. Like to work out, but hate the gym? Get tired of DVD workouts after you've memorized the pattern? Prefer 3-D animation to real images? This is the fitness program for you.

The program starts you out by having you input your personal data (age, height, weight, sex) and perform a brief fitness test. From there, you set up a weekly workout schedule.

Each time, your virtual fitness instructor, Maya, will serve up a customized exercise routine for you on demand. You can vary the time, difficulty, and area of focus (cardio, lower body strength, flexibility, etc.). Maya talks you through the routine, and her animated figure exercises along with you. You can zoom and rotate the camera to get a better view of the exercise. If a given move has you completely stumped, you can pause the workout and call up a tutorial that explains the move step by step.

Maya will praise you for sticking to your workout schedule, and chew you out for skipping workouts. By working out regularly, you can "earn" new workout areas, songs, and the like. Also, as you progress in your fitness program, Maya will increase the difficulty of the routines and mix in new exercises. If you own equipment such as a heart rate monitor or a step bench, Maya will incorporate those into your routines as well.

The program also offers weekly menu planning and a "meditation garden" that serves up a yoga routine. I haven't used either of those features, so I can't comment on them.

Pros:

1. Routines contain a wide range of exercises, and vary from day to day.
2. Videogame format will motivate its target demographic in a way other exercise modes will not.
3. Marketed towards women, but a great workout for guys as well.

Cons:
1. Music is generic.
2. Load times on the PS2 are pretty bad. This problem is most bothersome when a workout routine is held up midway through for 10-15 seconds for loading purposes.

All in all, the program is great fun, and a good way to exercise on those days you can't be bothered with hauling yourself to the gym. Recommended.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars to the people who dreamed this up!, November 17, 2005

By 

N. Martin (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Yourself!Fitness for PlayStation 2 (Video Game)

What I like about this game:
-A lot of effort was put into making Maya accessible and realistic. Her voice and demeanor are pleasant and the animations are very realistic. She's surprisingly motivating considering she's not a real person.
- I like the different workout environments and how you can unlock new ones the more you work out.
-I like that I have a place to store my data and it creates a progress chart for me.
-I like that Maya gives a fitness assessment every 10 workouts.
-I like that you can set your workout session in increments of 15 minutes if you don't have a lot of time.

What I would improve:
-The music. It's very generic and repetitive.
-I'd add a male personal trainer (a hot one, preferably) so I could have two trainers to choose from for more variety.
-I'd add a "low-impact" workout option. If you're significantly overweight, jumping jacks and jogging in place are very difficult. For now, I just make up my own modifications as needed.
-I'd like the option of doing only strength training if I don't feel like doing cardio.
-I like the meditation room, but the yoga Maya does is too fast/advanced for me.

Overall, I find that when I workout with Maya, I do work harder and sweat more. I do get bored with doing such basic movements sometimes, because I prefer dance workouts, but lately I've tried adding a step bench to my workouts and have really enjoyed that. I try to use Maya once a week and do dance and other workouts the rest of the week.

This is a wonderful, customizable program and I'm sure that if another version comes out I'll get it.