How To Get Started – DDR Style

So I’ve had a lot of people ask me what’s involved with Dance Dance Revolution.  It’s actually one of the integral reasons I am no longer 265 pushing 300 lbs.  When I could do NOTHING else right or healthy with my life, I made time (on and off, but more on than off) to play at least 20 minutes of DDR a few times a week.  I had a free fitness center at my apartments, a pool right down the stairs, and a huge complex to walk around, but this was the only thing I could ever do with regularity because, well, it’s fun as hell and you don’t have to go outside.  They so should hire me as their spokesperson, but I think it would be a conflict of interest.

Anywhooo, it’s pretty daunting to get started, even if you are a techie-type, but especially if you’re not.  I’m going to try give a comprehensive guide to getting started and assume you know nothing about DDR and are starting from pure, unadulterated cluelessness.

Things you need:

-A PlayStation2, an Xbox or Xbox360, or a Nintendo Wii.  If you have none of these to start with, let me recommend the PS2 because it’s the cheapest, also plays DVDs, you can also pick up Yourself!Fitness which is good to alternate with DDR for some variety (which I still use for yoga), and has a huge cheap game collection you can entertain yourself with when you are not getting your heart rate up.  Yes, I worked for Sony for 6 years, so I might be biased.

-If you’re using a PS2 (or an Xbox, I don’t think it has a hard drive, never owned one though), you’ll need to make sure it has a memory card, which should come with it unless you’re getting it from a friend or off ebay – I’m pretty sure even refurbished consoles come with them but you’ll want to ask.

–A dance pad.  Any old cheap one will do to give the game a go.  The best way is to grab a game bundle, but we got ours from a ToysRUs that was going out of business for 5 bucks.  The cheaper the better, though, because you’re going to do one of two things within a week – either the game and pad will gather dust in a closet, or you’ll want to order a better pad.  This is the one I recommend , however, it seems to be either sold out for the holidays (I hope) or not made any more (eep) at the official site.  We got two of them 3 (maybe 4 now) years ago and they are still ticking, and I use it without fail, at least once a week for an hour.

-A TV.  Any old TV will work.  Yes, Ms Turtle, a PS2 will hook up to just about anything, I used to play on my TV from 1993 before I upgraded.  I’m hooked on playing on my 57 inch screen (and insisted that TV went into the workout room when we upgraded the living room) but any TV will work. =)

-Room to lay out the pad, move any sharp or breakable objects around in case you fall.  If you do not live on the first floor, make sure to let your neighbors below know what’s going on so they don’t call the police.

-Here is a good set of instructions to help you hook up everything, but instead of a controller, hook up your dance pad (unless you just want to have really strong thumbs).

Once You’re Set Up:

-Clothing tips… some people like to play in their socks (me) and some people like to play barefoot (Zliten).  Try them both.  I used to DDR in whatever I was wearing, but you might want to change into workout clothes and for us ladies with healthy racks, you will definitely want a sports bra.  I put it somewhere in between running and walking – maybe a “meduim impact” type activity.  I can get away with the cheapo sportsbras here where I need the “extreme support” type while running.  I’m sure you all really wanted to know that much about my boobs, but I’m just sayin’.

-You will make a fool of yourself the first couple (thousand) times you play.  Accept this and move on.  You will suck.  If you are the kind of person that does not like to suck in front of people, play alone for a while.  I danced my whole life and it took me MONTHS to graduate from Beginner Blue to the next Yellow level.  It took me about 3 years to even TRY and fail most songs on the Green and Purple settings.  Don’t worry about and just keep trying.

-Game play mode is fun to start with (if your disc has it).  It should start you on the easiest songs and lead you through difficulty-wise, plus give you a goal besides burning calories.  However, explore all the modes.  Putting together a course (2-20 songs in a row without stopping) is fun.  Some versions have 2 player attack modes, which are novel.  Endless is fun, I think collectively Zliten and I have made it 102 songs (trading off every 20-30).  I pretty much stick to workout mode because I want to know how many calories I’ve burned, but you will want to play the game to start with to unlock more songs.  Don’t be afraid to look up “cheats” or at least walkthroughs on the internet – I googled “DDR Supernova Walkthrough” and got to this.  Just replace “supernova” with the name of whatever you get, and you’ll know how to get more songs!  Usually, just playing will unlock most of them but if you’re a completionist, this will help!

-Tweak the settings so you do not immediately quit out of songs if you fail, and explore other options that might help.  Don’t want to do the fast steps or jumps?  Turn on workout mode.  Just make it fun for you even if you feel like a Cheaty McCheatpants.

-Don’t overdo it at first.  You may find that you actually have to stop yourself, but you don’t want to hurt yourself or be too sore after a session that you associate pain with it (unless you’re crazy like me).

-If you play regularly for a month or more, please do yourself a favor and grab the nicer pad.  Your ankles (and knees and back and well, your whole body) will thank you.

-If you’re in relatively good shape starting it, you probably won’t get much of a workout right away.  Play for fun until you can do pinks and some greens (or ’til you feel you work up a good sweat during a session) before you really try to replace whatever else you’re doing with this.

-Some days, it will be like, “Wheee, I’m playing a game” and some days will be like, “Ugh, I have to play a game”.  Just remember, this is probably more fun than the last exercise thing you tried and tough through it.

In summary – give it a try, especially if all you have to do is grab the game and dance pad (you can find deals and pick up the basics for under 50 bucks), or if you can just borrow it from a friend/the library/etc.  If you have kids, even better – you have a fun activity you can do together that just happens to be a good workout, and you *probably* already have one game console or another.  If you’re stuck with the burden of buying everything (the PS2, game, and pad is a healthy investment), maybe hit up an arcade and drop a few credits in sometime when it’s totally empty and there are no kids to laugh at you.  Just try to think whether it would be fun, at home, with no one watching, and unlimited time to practice, and ignore the “I am such a dork” feeling.

If you’re debating between a wii fit and DDR, and can only choose one, let me heartily endorse DDR.  It took me from barely being able to walk up a flight of stairs without being out of breath, extremely weak ankles that hurt after walking less than a mile, and barely being able to do 20 minutes on beginner – to relatively fit little me who is 100 lbs heavier, can run 5 miles comfortably, and can do 60 minutes on expert/challenge with weights strapped to my arms.  There were a few periods where DDR was my main or only workout and I lost weight.  I imagine that someday I might outgrow DDR as a workout completely, and I hope that day doesn’t come for quite a while.  Wii fit is a great start or addition to whatever cardio you are doing, but for the investment, DDR will go much further.

If I was asked to create a program for a true beginner, here is what I would suggest.  Of course, check with your doctor/therapist/mother/dog/higher power or whatever, I take no responsibility for you breaking a pinkie toe, falling down your stairs, and ending up with 3 broken ribs and bi-polar disorder and a case of born again hinduism.  I’m just a workout nut who had some success with this kind of thing, and this was essentially my starting plan a year and a half ago.

Day 1: 15 mintues strength training: (all 3 sets of 10 and add reps as it gets too easy) wall or knee push ups, crunches, squats.

Day 2: 20 minutes of DDR

Day 3: 20 minutes of DDR, 15 minutes strength training: (all 3 sets of 10 and add reps as it gets too easy) tricep dips on bed/chair, side crunches, lunges

Day 4: 20 minutes of DDR

Day 5: 15 minutes strength training (same as Day 1)

Of course, you can do it all on 3 days (eliminate Day 2 and 4) but remember to not strength train on consecutive days.  Or do something completely different – the most important thing is to get moving and try new things!