This section of my website used to be dedicated to triathlon training, personal race results and certification reviews, like Turbo Kick. I am expanding it to include more generic health & fitness topics. Also, I talk a lot about "D" -- he's my husband (Dave Liu)!

Sunday, February 20, 2005

Dance Dance Revolution (DDR)

Even though the name may not be familiar, I'm positive you know what Dance Dance Revolution (aka DDR) is -- y'know, the arcade game you often see at movie theatres that's dominated by teenagers. It's very distinctive: players stomp to the beat on a lit platform with four arrows.

I've wanted one for several years now, so I was psyched that D bought me one for Christmas. I had desperately wanted a metal one that simulated real arcade game play; but it weighted 40lbs which meant that it would be a permanent fixture somewhere in my home and I wasn't quite ready for that. After doing some extensive research, I chose the BNS Ultra DX-Xteme from BuynShop. It was $50 cheaper than the Ignition Pad from Red Octane.

We also bought the DDR Extreme game to go with the pad. Both D & I have played it a few times now. I don't know about him, but it makes me feel old and uncoordinated. I'm especially embarrassed with my low scores since I thought I'd have some sort of an advantage with regards to rhythm and coordination (given I teach group exericse and all). Theoretically, the verison of DDR we have can work together with the Sony EyeToy. It's a great thought but given I can barely figure out the steps, I'm not going to be adding hand movements any time soon!

Regardless, it's oodles of fun, and I work up a good sweat playing this game. In fact, there's lots of anecdotal articles regarding the weight loss benefits. Even if you're not a fan of exercise, you'll probably like this since it's an easy way of incorporating cardio activity in your daily routine.

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