Gold's Gym Cardio Workout (Wii, 2009)

I am constantly searching for new games for my new Nintendo Wii. The more active the game is the better, as I am seeking to lose a bit of weight. Working at a computer all day, and a 1.5 commute, leaves me little time to get to a gym or go to the local walking tracks.
While the title for this game is a bit misleading, you may think it is just your basic "workout" program, it leans more into Boxing, or Shape Boxing for the workout. (there is a customer reviewer Video of this "game" on Amazon.com that I find very good, and if you have doubts about liking this game I recommend it.)
There are several optional exercises that you will unlock as your boxing training progresses. You can choose exercises that use the Wii balance board, but I like the fact that you can do the main boxing, and "tests" of your boxing skills, as well as some other exercises without the board, as I have not yet invested in that controller.
While the choices for your Character are limited, compared to the Wii Mii that you can create, for say the Sports Disc that came with the Wii, its is adequate, as you only see your character from the front when you are choosing outfits, exercises, or changing your stats. The rest of the time you only see a phantom silohoutte of yourself in order to do the boxing and other exercises. As you progress you will accumulate points that you can spend on clothing, boxing gloves, shoes, and for now extras like a panda bear, though it is about 50k points and I haven't accumulated that many yet.
This can be a very fast paced game, (and thus the name Cardio portion of this titles' name) as boxing requires rapid movement to hit the targets on time. You will learn how to hold the proper boxing stance, for left and right hands, as well as how to throw the varying punches, jab, cross, upper cuts, and how to duck or dodge oncoming blows. There are varying levels and you can change back and forth from light to heavy workouts, as you want. You can do a planned workout that the training instructor picks, or select your own from an "ala carte" menu.
One of the additional exercises, that I have enjoyed the most is one in which you dodge punches that a robot throws at you. The first day I did that one, I found muscles I didn't know existed in my abdomen, and upper thighs!
Some of the movements, you may have to "exaggerate" for the system to read properly, like the dodging and weaving, but I believe that adds to the exercise effect of the game, and gives and even better work out than you would normally receive making the same moves without the systems feedback, of reading or not reading the movements.
What I also found outstanding about this game is, in most games in which you need to use both your right and left hands, you must use one controller and a nunchunk attachment. In Golds Gym Cardio, you can do this, or you can use 2 controllers, thus having no dangling wires to interfere with your punches, or weaving/dodging.
Each day when you complete a workout you get to mark the calender with a punch stamp, letting you know you worked out that day. In the stat menu you can also record your weight at the beginning, and however often you choose to weigh.
Along with returning to a properly balanced diet, set up by the hospital dietcian/nurtionist for my needs, and working out for one hour a day for the past week, I lost approximately 6 pounds.
All in all I am very pleased at this "game"!! Happy gaming!