Okay. I’ve been at the EA Sports Active thing for a few weeks now, and I’m loving it.

This is How You Get Started
When you create your profile, you have your choice of a male or female trainer, and you decide which level of intensity suits you the best. I went with female, and I went with easy. (The good news? You can change that level of intensity if you’re not sweating enough. So far I have NOT had to change the level.) If you have a Wii Balance Board, you can tell Sports Active to incorporate the balance board into your workouts. So many options.

Before each day’s workout, you are told exactly what you’ll be doing, how many calories you are targeted to burn, and how much time you’ll be working out. This information is priceless for me, as I’m a champion clock watcher. Before each exercise, you’re told how many exercises remain before you’re finished for the day. I’ve found this to be quite helpful when I start to reach the “Holy crap. I really can’t do much more!” level of the workout. (Seriously, folks. I am OUT of shape.)

Notes From the First Two Weeks
Day One: This afternoon as I was doing track exercises, I ran right out of my pants. This does not mean that I’ve already reached my six pound goal. Instead, it means that I should probably revisit the decision to wear my old maternity pants for my workouts. The girl on the Sports Active (who I designed to look like the me I want to be) is wearing tight gray pants and an orange shirt. She looks adorable. Until I can get out for some gear, I might remove all of the mirrors from my home and work out in my swimsuit.

Day Three: Thanks to lunges, running, jumping, bicep curls, and tennis, my thighs and arms are killing me in a really good way. In fact, I feel the way I felt during pre-season of college marching band. (Shut up! We ran a LOT. And have you ever held a mellophone up to your mouth for several hours each day?) Anyway, because of the burst of pleasant pain, I’ve decided to up my goal a bit. Six pounds AND the disappearance of underarm jingle-jangle.

Day Four: When I logged in today, the computer was all, “Hey! Take it easy, Captain!” (Those weren’t the exact words, but you get the idea.) Anyway, Day of Rest! I’ll probably still work out tonight (???) (!!!!!) on a self-designed workout. (I really love boxing. AND, after three days of single parenting, I sort of feel like Boxing tonight.) I DO love that even though I’m signed on for the Thirty Day thing, I can still travel outside of the zone and practice the exercises that spark me. Have I mentioned that I’m an inline skating wizard? I wonder how well this translates to The Real World! Watch out, kids in the abandoned strip mall parking lot! I’ll bring the Funyons!

Day Seven: I didn’t have time to work out this morning, so I waited until the kids were in bed to do it. Yes. Instead of plopping down on the couch and knitting at 9:00, I threw on my tennis shoes (and my swimsuit! Jeff is out of town again!) and played Sports Active. (The twenty minutes are starting to fly by, which sort of makes me want to up the intensity. Sort of.)

Day Eleven: Okay. Today was the first day that I yelled the words “Shut Up!” to my fitness coach. In her defense, what we suffered was simply a silly misunderstanding. Four times during the workout, she yelled “Right on!” and what I heard was “Right arm!” and I was seriously confused, so I kept punching my right fist to the sky at really awkward moments. During a lunge. Right arm! While running. Right arm! During inline skating. Right arm! Once I realized what she was actually saying, I felt really stupid. Right arm!

My Only Three Complaints Thus Far: 1. A few times during my workouts, my fitness trainer told me that I was not running fast enough. She also told me that my bicep curls were inadequate. I was absolutely positive that I was indeed running like a gazelle and that my curls were quite, well, curly. It turns out that my Wii remote battery power had slipped down two marks below full power. When I put fresh batteries in, all was well. I now change batteries after every three workouts. 2. Although it sometimes feels like a waste of time, it’s SO important to watch the instructional videos and pay particular attention to how you’re supposed to be holding the remote and the Nunchuk. If your angle is even slightly off, your exercise might not register. And when that happens? Well, it’s mighty maddening. 3. I really do wish a wireless connection could be established between the Wii remote and the Nunchuk. I’ve nearly hung myself more times than I would like to admit while playing volleyball. (I’m the clumsiest person you know, by the way.)

This is Telling: You know how much I despise working out, right? Get this. Because of my sparkling enthusiasm toward the EA Sports Active Thirty Day Challenge, both my sister and my mom have gone out and purchased the system, and they’re loving it, too. In fact, we’ve been checking in on each other all week, which makes me want to start singing “Sisters are Doin’ It For Themselves” or maybe “We Are Family.” (My sister is doing the intermediate level of intensity. She totally means business.)

I’ll check in again next week!