At one time I had a 32 inch waist, I would ride my bike everyday for hours, I would do triathlons multiple times every year and I lived a fairly health lifestyle. Nowadays, I'm not all that healthy and my pants size has exploded to a 42. A little more than a week ago, I went to my doctor and she told me that I now weigh 288 pounds and that I should get some blood work done. She mentioned something about possibly getting diabetes and urged me to try start exercising anywhere from 3 times a week to every day.

It was pretty clear to me that my depression and the bar exam had really started to take a huge toll. It's also been really hard for me to find a permanent job after getting my license and there would be days where I would do nothing but play World of Warcraft all day. Something clearly had to be done.

It's winter now and St Louis can be really freaking cold. Although, we have had some weird stretches where it's fairly warm. Then a day later it snows, so I really didn't think I could get into a good routine with outdoor exercises. I was also getting to a size where I wasn't really comfortable going to the gym. I decided I wanted to do something at home, so I started looking in to the Nike+ Kinect Training game.

I downloaded the demo off of Xbox Live, then a few days later I tried it out. The sample exercise really got my heart pumping, so I decided to give the full version a try.

First things first, Nike+ Kinect Training requires quite a bit of room to work properly. They say 8 feet on the box and it needs that and more to pick up all of the moves you're doing. Although, if it can't track you it will go into a mode where it will let you complete the exercise with tracking off. (Which is helpful for some exercises which require you to be on the ground)

To see if the game will work with your space, I would highly recommend downloading the demo. I have to move my TV to make it work properly, but at least it's also gotten me to do a better job with cable management so I can easily slide my TV into position when I'm ready to play.

The game starts up by taking your vital information. For me it was Age: 28, Height: 6'2" and Weight: 288 pounds. You then set your goal, to get lean, get strong or get toned. You also get to pick either a male or female trainer and then it's onto your assessment. You also have to set a schedule for your new routine. Since my doctor said she wanted me to workout everyday, that's just what I put down.

The game has three different types of workouts and they are also comprised of a bunch of different exercises. The game also puts a big focus on warm up exercises and cool down exercises (something which I've never focused much attention to even though you're really supposed to). After your warm up, you go through one or two different training sessions and you are given the option to do an additional one or be done for the day.

What really shocked me about the game is how hard it worked me. I've worked with real personal trainers before and they have a tendency to sometimes cut you a little slack. This game, it doesn't care. You have a set amount of time to do your exercise, a set amount of time to take a breather and then it's right back to work. The game also gives you a horrifyingly accurate representation of your body. I honestly didn't realize exactly how bad I had gotten until I saw it in a big orange blob. (It also shows your fat when it bounces up and down)

I really do appreciate the game's honesty. The first day on my assessment I really got a good look at how bad I have gotten, but by the end of week one I have started to feel a little better doing the exercises It still kicks my butt on a daily basis, but it's much more manageable.

To get a year long membership to Gold's Gym it costs $399, which ends up being $33.25 a month. If you already have an Xbox 360 with Kinect, the game retails for $49.99, but you can get it for less on Amazon. If you don't have an Xbox 360, there's also a $299 Nike+ Kinect Bundle (which is $100 less than a membership to Gold's Gym).

I do think it's a pretty good value for what it is. A workout routine is only as good as what you put into it, so results will vary. After the first week I am very happy with my purchase and I will be posting updates with how I'm doing.

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