How effective is a wii fit workout?

There are various bits of information here and there, but extremely sparse, on efficacy of the workouts on the wii fit, so I’ve been tracking my Wii Fit workouts with the Garmin Forerunner 50.

for a dude my size, my heart rate can get cooking when i get into a workout.

and here is the same chart, expressed as % of max heart rate (as calculated by garmin connect and a random page i found via google search on heart rate calculation :)

Today’s workout consisted of mostly yoga and strength exercises, working my lower half (lunges, warrior pose, chair, palm tree, et. al) and aerobic exercises including the Super Hula Hoop (6 min) and advanced step (i want *more* dance games using balance board for wii fit!)

Not bad, actually. the average heart rate reported (click the charts to get to the full activity page) for the entire workout is considered “aerobic”. So, for me, at least, it’s a bit of a workout. 

My base heartrate seems to be between 80-85bpm depending on the time of day. i used a base heartrate of 80bpm for the above calculations.

I’ve captured a few wii fit workouts with the Garmin, and they all have gotten me in the 150+ max heart rate. I’m trying to do it a little longer on the weekends, primarily ‘cos i have time to do so. 

here are a couple others:

Feb 20th

Feb 17th

I’ve also done the Wii Sports fitness tests, but they’re only between 5-7 min apiece…a good nightcap for sure, but not something you want to do and call it your workout for the day.

I do know one thing–after this morning’s session i felt great, energized, and had an overall sense of physical well-being after the workout this morning. :)