An inexpensive and fun way to strengthen your core and improve your fitness and well being Physical fitness is necessary for proper health. Current studies show that sitting for long periods of time results in a shorter lifespan. Since many of you likely sit during your day jobs, it is necessary to get exercise from somewhere. Your core muscles (muscles in your mid section) is where we derive power in our bodies from to move about, get up and down from a seated position and even roll over in bed. When the core becomes compromised (lower back injury for example), due to the pain and inability to properly use these muscles, you are likely to find yourself having difficulty and experiencing pain throughout your body because a lack of ability to use the core will stress the rest of the joints in both the lower and upper back. Many people have tried going to the gym themselves, or used disciplines such as Pilate’s or even yoga to strengthen themselves and their core muscles, but this requires going to a class and can be expensive when you consider the cost of a few sessions. An effective and inexpensive alternative most everyone can afford is a device called the Wii Fit. The Wii Fit looks like a scale which integrates with the Wii, an older video game machine with wireless controllers made by Nintendo. The Wii Fit (and the Plus version which is the newer one) runs on AA cell batteries and comes with the software you need. The secret sauce in the software that comes with the Wii Fit is the virtual trainer. The virtual trainer is like having your own personal trainer who will take you through different exercises, the machine can tell if you are doing them right and help your form and the software will show you your progress. When you start, you start with just a few exercises and the software is smart enough to know when to add additional exercises to the mix. Using the Wii Fit 2-3 times a week can make a marked change in your core muscles, your ability to balance and if you do other activities like basketball, soccer, football, tennis or softball, you will see improvements in your game since all sports require you use your core muscles. How much? From free to under $100. How can you get this free? Ask around and you will find many friends who have this machine around with the Wii fit gathering dust in the basement. Those who already have done their own house cleaning have likely either put the machine on ebay or to make sure you get one that works, Amazon has the Fit and the Wii used as well as Gamestop who sells them through their stores. A recent visit to the Gamestop.com web site showed the Wii refurbished for $79 and a Wii Fit balance board at $29. Shopping it down on ebay will likely cost you under $100 for both the Fit and the Wii, and then you are off to a great beginning experiencing improved fitness while saving serious cash over either Pilates or a personal trainer, both of which can cost you hundreds after a series of 10 sessions or more. What do you think? As always, we value your opinion.