Discount Nike+ Kinect Training - Xbox 360

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I tend to divide fitness video games into two categories: "fun" motion games like Kinect Star Wars and Kung Fu Live where you get a workout just in the course of playing a game, and "pure" exercise games that are designed from the ground-up to be workout games. In the world of "pure" fitness games, so far there have been two contenders for being the best on the Kinect: Your Shape: Fitness Evolved and Adidas MiCoach.

I'm happy to say that from what I've seen do far, Nike+ Kinect Training powers its way to the top of the list. It has the most accurate motion detection and interface of all the workout games I've seen to date, has a truly innovative fitness test, and puts together workout routines that really feel personalized for you.

While the Adidas game had appearances by animated versions of very recognizable athletes such as Dwight Howard and Eric Berry, with Nike you have animated versions of Alex Molden or Marie Pervis, both best known as Nike certified trainers (although Molden did spend 9 years in the NFL). I found that fact that these are actual trainers lends a bit more credibility to the training, as opposed to other games which hire big name athletes or pop stars to drive sales.

The concept of the game is quite simple. You start out by selecting your goal (such as Get Strong to increase your power and build explosiveness, Get Toned to develop lean muscle and muscle definition, or Get Lean to maximize calorie and fat burn). Then, you go through a fitness assessment, after which you'll get a customized circuit training routine to do over the next four weeks. In other video games I tried, the assessment is really just smoke and mirrors--however you do on your "fitness test" those games will give you the exact same workout routine and call it a "personalized one". With Nike+ Kinect, the workouts I was given really feel customized to my exact goals.

The Fitness Challenge basically runs you through a series of exercises, using the Kinect to measure both how well your form is and how many reps of each exercise you're doing. You'll see a video image of your animated trainer and a silhouette of yourself next to him or her. One thing to keep in mind is that you need a minimum of 8 feet in front of your Kinect sensor with a clear view of the floor, and you'll also need a good 8-10 feet from left to right for certain exercises where you'll be jumping from side to side. [EDIT: some have reported that 8 feet is not even enough for certain exercises; in any case, if you get stuck with the system unable to track you, just use voice command "XBOX TRACKING OFF" to proceed with the exercises. Thanks to Hans for the tip!]

Each exercise is similar in that you'll see your trainer to the left of the screen, and you'll see a silhouette of your body to the right. Your silhouette will be orange at first but will glow blue when you're using the correct form. The Kinect is extremely precise and did a great job of gauging whether I was doing the exercises right each time.

The first part of the assessment tests your lower body and upper body mobility by having you strike a few poses (first lying down and raising each leg, and then standing up and stretching with your arms behind your back).

The next part of the assessment has you doing a variety of exercises, from a hop and stick (this is the one that requires a ton of space from left to right), a squat jump. What's really cool about this is that not only does the system judge your performance, it'll also give you detailed data that you can try to beat each time you do the exercise; for example, the squat jump will tell you your vertical leap in inches.

There's a cool exercise that tests your speed, reaction and agility, where you have to hop and jump to various targets on the ground. You're also tested on squats, push-ups, and high knee sprints. Again, I loved how you could set a benchmark and then try to beat it with each rep you do. A bar on the bottom of the screen will show you how good your form is; the more it fills up the better you're doing. I also loved how the system displayed things like time and reps; it's stylistically integrated into the background of the scenery in a way that's easy to read and has a certain "coolness" factor.

Motion sensing was excellent, something I always try to test with these kinds of games. I tried to throw it off several times, but it seemed to do a great job of keeping up with me.

After your evaluation you're given something called a "unique fuel print" an interesting metric that tracks your "Fitness Score" on one side and your "Athleticism" on the other side. During the test you basically establish a benchmark and then every four week you're given the same test to see how much you've improved. I started with both numbers in the 30s, which I knew meant I had a LOT of room for improvement.

You're also set up with a custom 4-week workout that focuses on your goals as well as things from your fitness evaluation that need improvement. There's a cool visual representation that shows the system picking the right exercises for you. The exercises in the workout routine are along the line of what I described above: doing various exercises where you're evaluated on how well your form and your execution are. The virtual trainer does give excellent feedback of your performance.

At first, I was excited because all the marketing material pointed to this game being tightly integrated into the whole Nike+ system. It turns out the integration is not very deep at all. If you have a Nike+ Fuelband, you'll earn "NikeFuel" playing this game just like you would doing any other exercise, but other than that there's not direct connection nor interaction between the FuelBand and Kinect Training. Kinect Training will sync (in summary form) to your NikePlus.com profile, so you can view your overall Kinect Training statistics on the site next to your FuelBand statistics, but that's it.

One thing I also love about the game is that it's supported by Kinect PlayFit, so calories burned will be counted along with all your other PlayFit-compatible games.

The one thing I wish this title had was more "fun" activities where you could get exercise by simulating real sports or activities. This is something that other titles such as Your Shape: Fitness Evolved and EA Sports Active 2 both have that provide some nice variety and diversion to keep the workouts from getting too monotonous. While Nike+ Training has some of that (there's an interesting game where you need to move your body to avoid shattering a pane of glass that's coming toward you), for the most part it's still mostly like a virtual experience at a gym, so if you have a tough time getting motivated to go to the gym every day, chances are you might have a tough time keeping up with regular workouts with this game. That said, the game does "basic training and exercise" better than any game before it, and makes a great addition to your Kinect workout game collection.

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The software (because it isn't really a "game") is pretty good. It's very personalized and has a lot of potential. If you are looking for a personal trainer at home via your Xbox this is easily your best option. But, it takes a lot more space than the average kinetic game for this to work. I have played plenty of other mincer titles and never really had an issue with them. This one seems to want to get me further and further from the sensor. Ideally you need to be about ten feet back with 5-6 feet of open space (to be able to complete all the tasks) in any direction around you. That's a pretty big space premium to get full functionality out of the game. My Xbox is in a pretty big room, but I also have this stuff called furniture. In addition to needing the extra space, it can be a little picky about how closely you mimic the trainer's activity. You have to be pretty dead on for it to register a rep. For example, after doing 22 lunges in the fitness calibration to try to get it to register three that are done correctly I just skipped it. Maybe I just needed to be more than 8 feet from the sensor.

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I've just completed the first 4-week "program" of Nike Kinect Training and started in on the next 4-week cycle, so I figure it's time for a review. I've used the Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 dvd for about 9 months before this, so that's my point of comparison. They're very different, so one might suit you better than another.

Nike uses a traditional 4-week fitness training program designed around your goal (lean, toning, or strength)and capabilities (determined by a fitness and agility "test"). It tells you what exercises to do to meet your goal and guides you through your workout. This is a plus for those who want to be told what to do, rather than choosing (as one must do on the Your Shape title). That is the main way in which they are very different. If you like choice and variety, Your Shape gives plenty of that, but if you want to be told which exercises to do and when to do them, Nike is more of that approach, like having a personal trainer.

Another big difference is that Nike does NOT use any weights, as many Your Shape exercises do. Instead, Nike exercises get all their resistance from fighting gravity with your own body weight. So, if you want to use dumbbells (as I like to do), Nike will disappoint.

What the Nike exercises to better than Your Shape is push you to your cardio limit. I've quickly lost weight using Nike, even after 8 months using Your Shape. It's based on reaching your cardio limit repeatedly over short "sprints," and then resting before the next "sprint." That burns a lot of fat quickly. Another thing I like is that its "recommended" daily routine is fairly short (25 minutes or so), but then it asks if you want to "add on" one or two more rounds of the same exercises. I find that motivates me because it's easy to start a 25-minute workout, but then I always add on more once I'm warmed up and sweaty. It's good fitness psychology.

I'm a little disappointed (and the reason I'm giving it only 4 stars) that now starting my 2nd 4-week program, things aren't much different than the first program. The rest periods are a little shorter, but the exercises are the same. I was hoping it would add on some different exercises. It feels a bit over-priced in that respect --there actually aren't that many different exercises in here, but what there is is of high quality (with some qualifications noted below).

Something to watch out for if you have any issues with knees, ankles, hips, etc.: The exercises here are quite "high impact". Many of them give the joints quite a pounding (such as running with high knees, star jumps, etc.). Many would qualify as "plyometric" exercises with lots of leaving the ground in order to generate resistance.

Technically, the dvd looks and sounds good, with good music, etc. Sometimes, the timing of the trainer's voice commands don't quite match up with what's shown on the screen. Typically, right when the clock gets to 0:00, he'll say "OK, give me just a few more" but the time's already up. That's a bit annoying over time. Also (just as with Your Shape), the Kinect sensor doesn't do too well with the lying down on the ground postures, failing to register correctly. That's also annoying. But, generally this is mostly free of bugs.

So, if you like a guided workout, have sound joints and like to have a good, sweaty cardio workout, this is a great addition. However, if you like to choose from a lot of different options, like to use dumbbells, and like to design your own workout, then Your Shape will be more to your liking.

UPDATE (2/5/13): A few weeks after writing this review, I started to develop some significant knee pain, which I attribute to the quite jarring cardio exercises used in this video. So, I now use only the strength portion of the workout and get my cardio elsewhere. Hopefully, the knee pain will subside over time, but I'm taking a star off my initial review and repeating this warning that the cardio exercises in this workout are very high-impact and probably not suitable for many people. The workout would be more appropriate for more people if it had lower-impact cardio options.

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I love this game! After many workouts and routines, I feel the burn more every time. This game has made me feel as though it knows exactly what I need to achieve my fitness goals, it is completely customized to my body, health level and ability. One point of mention, it likes me to be like ten feet or so from the TV, totally cool in my case, just an FYI. I recommend this game because I paid full price for it, and I feel as though I underpaid. Good luck in executing all of your health betterment plans.

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This game is not perfect. There are plenty of flaws in tracking form and counting reps, thanks, in part, to the imperfections in the Kinect tracking system. Regardless, the Nike + Kinect Training "Game" represents such a huge step forward that it deserves five full stars. It's hard to consider this product a game. It's a pretty serious training program built on training methodologies that are better than many of the personal trainers at the local gym.

The program puts you through a modified version of Gray Cook's and Lee Burton's Functional Movement Screen, a seven-step functional movement assessment that may cost as much as $150. As a personal trainer, I've never understood charging that much. I just build it into my total training fee. Many trainers haven't even heard of this valuable screen, and the fact that you can do a less comprehensive and less accurate, but still valuable version of this assessment is pretty amazing.

Two major flaws in the FMS part of this program are the Inline Lunge and the less then perfect tracking of the Kinect. In the real test, the spacing is longer and you have to balance on a beam, making it more of a true test of functional movement. On the first try of another part of the test, the Kinect didn't even track my pushups and would have scored me a 0, meaning that I would be doing knee pushups instead of full pushups. When I was able to get the Kinect tracking properly, I got a 3, the highest score, completely changing the strength programming to something more challenging and appropriate.

It's also easy to cheat the system. A couple of perfectly executed lunges may score zeroes, but you can kneel on the floor and get credit for perfect reps. I've even done pushups where I would lie on my stomach and then push up, only to get perfects.

The actual programs aren't perfect either. The Kinect gives you the option of going for Power/Strength, Toning or Fat Burning/Cardio. A high school athlete new to training would probably get a bit more faster and powerful with the Power/Strength option thanks to the improved balance and functional movement gained by this training. But the weights are not heavy enough, the movements not explosive enough and the emphasis not specific enough to speed to create the types of gains on the field or the track he or she might expect. Toning is really tough, and probably more in line with the goals. I haven't tested Cardio, but it would be hard to mess that one up, and the interval-based training in the other programs is spot-on.

For $50, the price of one gym membership, you can get some pretty darn good training, probably better than what you'd find at your local gym. Nike + Kinect Training won't replace a really good trainer, but it will definitely give you a great workout based on a strong methodology that will get you results in your living room.