Three Weeks of Wii

This morning my Wii congratulated me on 21 consecutive days of fitness training. I hadn't realized it had been that long, but it is amazing the changes that happen over that time.

For one thing, three weeks ago my body mass index measured me as obese. Today I am proud to report that -- oh, never mind. Apparently I am still obese, but a little bit less so.

You may recall that my Wii Fit age started out at 72 on the first day. After three weeks I have done a Benjamin Button and now measure in my early 40's. The Wii arrives at this figure by measuring your weight, your center of gravity and such skills as standing still and leaning to the right and left, so I am not sure that this age thing is all that realistic. I mean, I have always been quite good at standing still. And I certainly do not recall feeling anything like this when I was in my 40s - but then again maybe I had the fitness of a 60-year-old when I was 40 back then.

I have noticed several changes as a result of the fitness program. For one thing, the yoga exercises I do to improve balance and posture have really made a difference. One side effect is most noticeable.

A while ago I wrote about how I tended to grip the floor with my toes ape-like, as if I was subconsciously afraid that gravity might get turned off and I would float off into space. Well I don't do that much at all anymore. I think that toe-gripping thing was a reaction to how unbalanced I was when I was standing. Of course, it was also a reaction to being so top-heavy that if I leaned forward I was in danger of needing assistance to get upright again.

While I am not losing heaps of of weight right now, I am noticing my body shape change. Instead of one big round mountain of a tummy, I am now looking more like a series of gently rolling hills.

And all those sideways bends seem to be giving a bit of definition to my upper body. I don't exactly have a six-pack. It's much more like a full case of beer - or as we say here in Oz, a slab, which seems a very appropriate term in this instance.

But I have discovered that if I push my finger in really hard, I can feel one of my ribs. That's got to be a start.

But every journey begins with the first few steps. Which reminds me. The Wii no longer asks me if I tend to fall over when I am walking. CANI, as my mate Jon said after his weekend with Tony Robbins. Constant and never-ending improvement!