Finding a way to get in shape during the holiday season can be as easy as playing a video game.

Nintendo released the Wii game system, iuncluding a program called Wii Sports in the U.S in Nov. 2006. Wii Fit was released in the United States in 2008.

This style of fitness is earning a legitimate following because these titles mimic the reality of sports and exercises.

“While many of the Wii Sports games are fairly realistic, one should not mistake the skill set required to be successful in these games with the real thing,” said Thayne Munce, a professor at University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, according to www.wiigolf.net.

“I don’t think that anyone is going to become an all-star baseball player by skipping practice and playing their Wii,” Munce said.

Wii Fit offers a variety of activities from aerobic workouts to yoga, while Wii Sports includes bowling, baseball, boxing, golf and tennis.

“The more you put into it the more you will get out of it,” said Argo Hall resident Thomas Bailey.

This supports the idea that if you do everything as if you were playing the sport for real then you will be able to obtain a better workout.

One of the major advantages to making this investment is having the convenience of not having to go to the gym.

“Between classes and rehearsals I have such a busy schedule that it is impossible to make it to the gym,” said theater student Christina Marrero.

Exercising, in essence, is a game of mind over matter. The thing about playing these games on the Wii is that it draws people’s attention away from the exercising aspect.

This is much better than mindless games that are sedentary in nature. Playing these games on the Wii will get you sweating and is better than sitting around, though it is still no substitute for the gym, according to www.wiigolf.net.