Times Online published an article recently, where they look at some of the negative effects of playing Wii, namely the physical toll it takes on your body and the problem known as "Wii elbow." The article, for the most part, is one of the oldest hats in our closet, but what makes this piece interesting is the suggested physical warm up from Tim Hutchful of the British Chiropractic Association. His warm up includes:
- Shoulder shrug - slowly shrug your shoulders toward your ears, holding for two to three seconds before relaxing. Doing this three times will improve blood flow to your shoulders.
- Wrist stretch - slowly stretch the wrist backwards, hold for a few seconds, then stretch it forwards, holding it for a few seconds. Doing this three times will improve the tightening in your wrists.
- Make a fist - hold your arm at right angles from your elbow, balling up your fist and tensing it, along with your arm. Hold this for a few seconds, then allow your arm to fall to your side. Completing this three times will help blood flow and tense your muscles.
- Neck muscle stretch - attempt to make a double chin, stretching the muscles at the base of your neck. Hold this for a few seconds and perform the exercise three times, always doing so very slowly and carefully.
- Loosen the lower back - standing with feet a shoulder width apart, slowly circle your hips five times counter-clockwise, then reverse direction for five more revolutions.
