Does DDR actually help you to lose weight?

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xghostsniperx

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I'm a skinny guy, but I'm getting less and less active and I'm developing a little pudge I'd like to get rid of. So, does DDR help you lose weight? I've heard some people say it's not enough and you have to run or swim or something. Any info?
 
In theory, I suppose it could help you lose weight. I've never played it myself, so I can't comment on how much of a workout it is, but any sort of physical activity can help you lose weight. It's just that since it's lower intensity than running, for example, it'd take a longer time of playing it compared to running to get the same result.
 
If you're reall good at it, it's a pretty good workout. Any physical activity can help you lose weight as long as your burn more calories than you take in.
 
If you're doing nothing but easier songs it'll take what seems forever to shed a few pounds but it's possible. Best to work up to the hardest difficulties, start nailing those, and combine it with a better diet to see some better results.
 
[quote name='mcgavin27']yes very very much so. I personally lost 80 lbs in about 9 months playing the game.[/quote]
That's crazy. Did you change your diet as well?
 
just hit the gym and stop drinking soda and eating fast food and all that crap. It'll work better and faster than DDR, guaranteed.

Odd thing, my 300+lb douchebag roomate just started trying to play DDR, like he's gonna lose weight. The undulations were unbearable. Thank god I'm with my normal roomates during the schoolyear.
 
[quote name='jer7583']just hit the gym and stop drinking soda and eating fast food and all that crap.[/QUOTE]

QFT.

The soda alone is probably worth a couple pounds per month at least. High fructose corn syrup is not your friend, despite what many people think.
 
[quote name='mcgavin27']yes very very much so. I personally lost 80 lbs in about 9 months playing the game.[/quote]

Awesome.

OP, the key to losing weight is to burn more calories than you consume. DDR will help but so will changing your diet and exercising on a regular basis.
 
Yeah, I think it can help (it's certainly better than nothing) but there are more effective ways. Just not as entertaining. The benefit of the DDR method is that the goals and rewards are more tangible.
 
Dancing of any sort is a great cardiovascular workout and great for burning calories and losing weight. As long as your sweating, and your heart rate is elevated, your doing a good job. Most trainers and doctors will recommend 20 minutes of sustained elevated heart rate per day as being very beneficial.

There was a period where I went clubbing/dancing at least 2 nights a week and I lost a ton of weight. It doesnt matter if your dancing your ass off in a dark club, or on a DDR mat, your gonna lose weight.

And of course as others have said, diet is important as well. I dont drink anything with calories unless its alcoholic. I lost weight just by switching from Mt. Dew to Diet Mt. Dew. And after a few months, you'll forget how horrible diet soda tastes... almost...
 
Another good aspect of using DDR to exercise is that the Workout mode tracks your Caloric burn rate. I know it probably isn't an exact assessment but it's better than not knowing at all.

I bought a DDR pad last summer (a good one) specifically to play DDR at home and lose weight. Too bad I never stuck with it. Tomorrow is a new day however! :D
 
It will definitely help, so long as you keep with it. The key is making sure to be physically active everyday. Once you stop doing that it doesn't work very well. Also constantly be trying to improve. Get to the hardest difficulty, etc...

When I started losing weight I was playing DDR quite a bit. Then I moved on to other things. Just keep doing what you like to do that is phsyically active.
 
i know even when i was in great shape, i would play the game during the summer (it would be like 85+ in the room) and i would sweat bullets for 20 minutes straight.

As long as you play it enough to the point where it become aerobic excercise, you will see a benefit
 
I lost about 30 pounds in 2 months with the combination of eating better and playing DDR. I consider myself somewhat of a professional DDR player now (not in the sense that I make a living off of it, but that I'm really quite good and have won a bunch of tournaments). If you play for a few games at the arcade or the workout mode at home, you're getting a workout compared to the treadmill or something like that in my opinion. It's not as good of a workout as swimming or something that's more full-body-oriented, but it's more fun for me than that. The short answer is, take into consideration what everyone above has said, and yes, you can lose weight playing DDR.
 
Yes i have lost over 40 pounds by playing ddr and i stoped eating so much food. So basically any exersice with a good diet and intake will help you lose weight. Thank Konami for DDR.
 
I also highly reccommend In The Groove, songs are different, and to me it's alot more fun then DDR once you get into Heavy songs. Though keep in mind I don't consider myself a pro.

As for pads, I had bad luck with an Ignition, so it's best for others to give their opinions. I know there's been new versions of the Ignition, maybe those are ok. I have a Cobalt Flux, works great, I just need to get back into it.
 
I can't help but think that you'll fuck up your joints and spine with hours and hours of jumping up and down like that.

Proper running technique, on the other hand, eases your body into each stride (why they teach you to roll from the heel to the ball of your foot). If you've seen how awkward and painful it looks to see someone run flatfoot, you may understand my hesitation about DDR. Try running a mile or two (start with only one if that's all you can do) each day.

The key is to develop a pattern. Make working out a habit, and that's a large majority of the problem sovled (the other large majority being diet). DON'T make excuses for yourself to skip working out, and DON'T make excuses for yourself as you why it's ok to eat food/drink item ____ on a day you shouldn't.

Plan for a cheat day. a righteous, knock down drag out gorge fest. Deny yourself for six days, and feast on the sixth. It really (1) helps the diet part, (2) helps financially, and (3) really makes shitty foods seem like rewards rather than soul-reducing compensations for low self-esteem (like fucking "Cathy" comic strips).

Best of luck to you, whatever you may choose.
 
The only way can see it helping is if you're either a) dancing like a maniac, or b) a total pudgeball. In the latter case, even walking up and down a flight of stairs for 10 minutes would help you exercise.

Stop drinking pop. Minimize eating foods with high fructose corn syrup. This is almost everything cheap. It'll cost a bit more, but you'll be in much better health as HFCS is very damaging on the cellular level and highly fattening. Its only legal because its cheap. Jog around your block 5-10 times a day for starters.
 
I lost 40 pounds playing...I weigh 142 now.
It took me about a year to get all that off. Granted, I didn't diet or anything like that, and i still drank soda like no other. But if you did diet with it, I can see how people lose that much weight that fast.
 
If you really want to lose weight then go get a gym membership and start working out. On top of that, follow a strict diet and soon enough you wont be fat or skinny, you will be muscular and all the chicks will love you. I was fat, then I was skinny, and I was motivated, so flash 2.5 years later and now im in good shape. Motivation and hard work will get you to your goals.

F that low calorie shit too. I was 225 at the start of this summer and now im ~190 following a strict diet (intaking 3000-3500 calories a day) and of course doing cardio and working out methodically.
 
I play DDR all the time, and it keeps my weight around 130lbs, since I'm 5'5". Since my colllege campus just got DDR SuperNOVA in, I'm playing DDR more.
[quote name='SMMM']I might just get into this. What's the definitive version and pad for PS2?[/QUOTE]Extreme 2.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']I can't help but think that you'll fuck up your joints and spine with hours and hours of jumping up and down like that.[/QUOTE]

Slightly OT: You sound like someone who is knowledgable about exercise so I pose this question to you. How is DDR any different than Step Aerobics? When performed correctly, all of the DDR dance moves can be done with smooth transitions and little, if any, harsh impact on the joints. This is especially true when playing DDR at home on the softer, padded dance pads instead of the Arcade.

I have the luxury of being married to a Step Aerobics instructor and I can tell you from simple observation that the workout you will get in DDR is very similar to Step Aerobics in intensity and effectiveness. If you haven't seen an advanced step aerobics class lately then I recommend you check one out. (Who doesn't like to watch boobies bounce?) Then watch an advanced DDR player do his/her thing. (Not as exciting but still.) If you weren't too distracted by the boobies then you'll see the similarities and the associated benefits.
 
I don't know much about cardio/aerobics other than the ol' treadmill, and the imaginary feeling of a wife's fist on my face for staring at boobies. ;)

I see your point, and perhaps my concern is anecdotal (to an extent). I know when playing DDR myself, for example, if transitioning from a simultaneous up/down to a simultaneous left/right, I'll jump and land flat on both feet more often than not. This is only b/c landing strictly on the balls of my feet takes longer to move (believe it or not) from step to step.

I also see this kind of technique at the arcade a whole lot.
 
The most I lost was 10 lbs from DDR. I didn't change my diet at all though which was probably why I didn't lose more weight (I drink soda but only Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi).

I'm really determined to lose weight now though for a few reasons and I find that cutting back on junk food seems to be working better for me. I have lost about 4 pounds since May (not that great but it's better then not losing any or gaining weight) by eating fast food less often (3 times a month on average I would say) and not eating stuff like snack cakes as much anymore.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']I don't know much about cardio/aerobics other than the ol' treadmill, and the imaginary feeling of a wife's fist on my face for staring at boobies. ;)

I see your point, and perhaps my concern is anecdotal (to an extent). I know when playing DDR myself, for example, if transitioning from a simultaneous up/down to a simultaneous left/right, I'll jump and land flat on both feet more often than not. This is only b/c landing strictly on the balls of my feet takes longer to move (believe it or not) from step to step.

I also see this kind of technique at the arcade a whole lot.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. Thinking about first time/noob DDR players makes me cringe when I think about how awkwardly they are performing the moves. Then again, I wouldn't say I'm new to DDR so I suspect the impact to my admittedly out of shape body is probably more beneficial than to a new DDR player.
 
I lost about 25 pounds playing DDR about 2 times a weeks for about 10 months. And I didn't change my diet to to much.

It can be done
 
Like said before, cut out the soda and extra food. Count your calories.

By cutting out soda, and keeping to about 2000 calories a day, I've lost about 20 pounds in a few months. I haven't had much time to exercise, otherwise it'd be a lot more. (I plan on joining a gym here soon.)
 
I have an ok diet, but I drink a lot of beer. When I stopped playing DDR, I gained about 40 lbs in a year.

So it definitely helps, but only if you dont really enjoy other exercise. Like me ;_;
 
If you are going to do it, play for a least 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week. Dont stop, because if you dont exercise at least 3 times a week it does nothing for you(that is iirc from my college health course lol)
 
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