Once upon a time I used DDR to lose 30-40 pounds. I really enjoyed playing the game—even if I was never really great at it—and the side benefit is that I got into better shape.
But, that was a long time ago, in the PS1 era. Now—other than your L-TEK recommendation, which looks doable—I’m not even sure how I’d get back into it. Maybe worth my digging into again, seeing as how age has been putting on the pounds…
If you want any encouragement, one of the DDR regulars at the arcade was a totally non-college age woman who needed a hand brace due to some age-typical RSI, I presume. That is, I could only assume because she played up at the 13s (well near 9 footers and above) with dogged passion. I don’t even know how old she was because she had that cardio build, the kind you might find a Zumba enthusiast with. I’m not being ageist here: I’m more terrified of the 30, 35 year olds on the machines because I know their passion dictates their body and not the other way around. If you can’t take the high impacts on your joints for higher speeds, it’s always just fun to play the medium level charts and maybe even go for high scores. She didn’t need to go high and that was fine.
If you wanna get back into the grove, YouTube has all of the charts of the better songs available. Just… load up Captain Jack (Grandale Mix), AFRONOVA, Dynamite Rave. Get back in the groove without a pad and just feel it come back! Unfortunately official cabinets have lost the rights to many of the older classic songs, but StepMania doesn’t care :). And if you do pick it back up and wanna chase the new stuff, well, you’re gonna have to dance for that privilege.
I bought a used PS2, a new dance pad (the thick “cloth” one, not the nice metal one), two PS2 versions of DDR (DDR Max and Max 2 I think), and a memory card. It wasn’t cheap, but it got me back into it. When I was in highschool 20+ years ago I had the nice metal pad for PS2 and I loved it.
Once upon a time I used DDR to lose 30-40 pounds. I really enjoyed playing the game—even if I was never really great at it—and the side benefit is that I got into better shape.
But, that was a long time ago, in the PS1 era. Now—other than your L-TEK recommendation, which looks doable—I’m not even sure how I’d get back into it. Maybe worth my digging into again, seeing as how age has been putting on the pounds…
If you want any encouragement, one of the DDR regulars at the arcade was a totally non-college age woman who needed a hand brace due to some age-typical RSI, I presume. That is, I could only assume because she played up at the 13s (well near 9 footers and above) with dogged passion. I don’t even know how old she was because she had that cardio build, the kind you might find a Zumba enthusiast with. I’m not being ageist here: I’m more terrified of the 30, 35 year olds on the machines because I know their passion dictates their body and not the other way around. If you can’t take the high impacts on your joints for higher speeds, it’s always just fun to play the medium level charts and maybe even go for high scores. She didn’t need to go high and that was fine.
If you wanna get back into the grove, YouTube has all of the charts of the better songs available. Just… load up Captain Jack (Grandale Mix), AFRONOVA, Dynamite Rave. Get back in the groove without a pad and just feel it come back! Unfortunately official cabinets have lost the rights to many of the older classic songs, but StepMania doesn’t care :). And if you do pick it back up and wanna chase the new stuff, well, you’re gonna have to dance for that privilege.
I bought a used PS2, a new dance pad (the thick “cloth” one, not the nice metal one), two PS2 versions of DDR (DDR Max and Max 2 I think), and a memory card. It wasn’t cheap, but it got me back into it. When I was in highschool 20+ years ago I had the nice metal pad for PS2 and I loved it.