Basic Run

From Wii Fit Forum Wiki

Contents 1 Object of the game 2 Equipment required 3 MET 4 Time 5 Levels 6 How to play the game 6.1 Running 6.2 Where to run 6.3 Best way to run 7 Guides 7.1 Human guides 7.2 Pet guides 8 Burn Rate 9 Falling down 10 Scoring 11 Hints and tips

Object of the game

Your Mii is a jogger, therefore, the object is simply to run.

Equipment required

This game requires use of:

• The Wiimote

MET

Basic Run has a MET of 5, meaning that it is a moderate intensity activity.

Time

Basic Run time is variable. The amount of time it takes for a run depends on the runner's speed.

Levels

There are three levels of Basic Run:

• Short run
• Long run
• Island lap

The short run is the shortest and the island lap is the longest run. How short and how long? That depends on your pace. If you are a fast runner, the runs will take less time than if you run slower.

How to play the game

Running

Keeping the Wiimote on your person, run in place, following the guide (see Guides below).

Where to run

There are three ways you can run in place this:

1. Run on the floor/carpet. This method takes no time to set up, save moving the Wii Board to one side. It can, however, be noisy, especially if you live in multi-occupant dwelling, such as a flat (apartment). It can also, depending on how you run or previous injuries, cause pain by transferring shocks to the ankles and knees.
2. Run on a mat. While this will have some give that will mitigate shock to knees and ankles, most mats are too light for this sort of run and will move around and end up somewhere that is not under your feet. You also have to take the time to get the mat out. Mats also do little, if anything, to cut down noise.
3. Run on a little trampoline. Little trampolines are also known as rebounders. The disadvantage is that you have to take the trampoline out. The advantage is that it takes all the shock. No matter what your running style, you will feel no shock on your ankles or knees. It is also quiet. You can run at any hour without disturbing anyone, especially if you use wireless headphones to pick up the TV's sound.

Best way to run

Run barefoot and run on the front of your foot. Even if you are running on a trampoline that takes all the shock, it is best to practise running this way because it will help you to learn how to run on other surfaces without injuring yourself. Why should you run this way? Recent research has shown that running on one's heels leads to injury. Indeed, modern running shoes do not prevent injury, because they make running on the heels comfortable.

Guides

There are two types of guides: human guides and pet guides.

Human guides

• Initially, at the start line, you will see a human guide. He has a yellow arrow above his head to distinguish him from other humans who might be jogging nearby. If you continue to follow him, he will turn his head around, from time to time, to look at you, and at the same time, he will wave to you. There is only one human guide in each run: that is, you only get one human; the human himself seems to be a random choice of non-registered Miis.
• The human guide takes you around what I call the 'classic' course. For instance, on the island lap, he takes you around the island, mainly on the black road. No matter which human you have as a guide, he will always take this route.

Pet guides

• On the Wii screen at the beginning of the run, you will see a message telling you not to pass your guide. This isn't strictly the case. At certain points in the run, a pet - a dog or a cat - will bark or meow from behind you then run ahead. If you run ahead of your guide, you will then find yourself following the pet guide. As with the human, the pet guide has a yellow arrow over its head.
• The pets follow different routes from the human guide and each pet follows a different route. So, for instance, if in the island lap, you want to follow the route that takes you to the beach, you have to ignore the first dog you see, a grey dog that runs past your human guide at the start, and wait until you reach the bridge, where a black dog will run past you. Run past your human guide to follow this dog and he will take a path that eventually leads you to the beach, past Camel Rock.
• The route each pet follows is of a different length, and so, if your pace is steady, will it take a different amount of time to run it.
• Important Note: The dog guides are part of the Wii Fit basic runs. The cat guides appear in Wii Fit Plus, but only after you have unlocked them in the Basic Run Plus. This means that you have to follow different routes in the Basic Run Plus runs until the Wii tells you that you have unlocked all the cats.

Burn Rate

• This is simply a measure of how steady your pace is. It is not a measure of your running speed or of your effort. The idea is that the more consistent your pace, the more efficiently your muscles will burn calories. The higher the burn rate, therefore, the steadier your pace.
• The burn rate is the average rate of burn over your whole run. This means that if it takes you about a minute to reach your pace, that minute's impact on your burn rate will be different for different run times. A minute has a greater effect, for example, on a run that takes four minutes, where it counts as one-fourth of the burn rate, then it does on a run that takes fifteen minutes, where it counts as one-fifteenth of the burn rate. What this means is that you should expect, given the same steady pace for all runs, that burn rates will be higher the longer the run.
• How does the Wii figure out your pace? It measures your steps and the time between them via the Wiimote. Each time the Wiimote goes up and down, the game registers that as a step. You can test this by shaking the Wiimote: your Mii will go very fast - indeed, it might even fall down.

Falling down

• Yes, your Mii can fall down if you run too fast. By 'fall down', is meant 'flat on its face'. If you look around you while you jog, you will see that the other jogging Miis do this from time to time.
• Falling down doesn't hurt you, of course, but it does interfere with your burn rate score at the end. It will definitely bring your burn rate down, and the more times you fall down, the more it will decrease your burn rate.

Scoring

• There is no scoring as such in this game. You are simply awarded stars based on your burn rate.
• If your burn rate is at least 100%, you will be awarded four stars.

Hints and tips

• Hold the Wiimote vertically while you run. By vertically is meant hold it in your hand so that it is straight up and down (one end pointing at the ceiling, the other at the floor). Keep your arm and hand horizontal while you run. You may find that it is easier to keep your balance by holding something else - a light weight, another Wiimote, a bottle of water - in your other hand. Why should you do this? Because the best position for the Wiimote to pick up your pace without any interference. By interference is meant that the Wiimote falling around in your pocket, the Wiimote hitting your leg if you move your arms, the Wiimote picking up stray shakes, etc. One can use an armband, but it tends to pick up extraneous shakes and it is difficult to navigate the screens when the Wiimote is in the band.
• Ignore the message that tells you to move your arms. See 1 above: it will interfere with how the Wii picks up your pace, especially if the Wii accidentally contacts your legs or other part of your body.
• Keep your pace as steady as possible. Count while you run. One test of steadiness is that a particular run will take you the same amount of time each time you do it, plus or minus a minute. For example, if, following the grey dog in the island run, the run takes you 10 minutes, then it should take you ten minutes each time. The more each run feels the same, the steadier your pace will be.
• Start running before the end of the countdown. This will help you to reach your steady pace quicker during the run.