StepMania Update
Feb. 16th, 2010 04:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gracedpalmerThis is mostly for my record keeping. Having had the dance pad for about two and a half weeks now, I can safely say it is the most successful exercise gizmo I've ever invested in, and is way more effective than most of the non-gizmo stuff I've done. It works a lot better than DDR, too, because I don't really like techno all that much (I do a little Kraftwerk now and then.)
I've run huge chunks of my music collection through Dancing Monkeys/Gorilla, and have been playing to what works. Some things do better than others, some don't even make it through the program, and some are surprisingly bad. Gorilla likes newer Rush better than older Rush, which is a problem, because I like older Rush better than newer Rush. Small amounts of Leonard Cohen go through okay, and play well at double speed. Hedningarna works surprisingly well, Corvus Corax is okay, with the exception of Cantus Buranas, which does really well. The Pogues do well (I bet Turkish Song of the Damned would be fun,) Flogging Molly does okay, and the Dropkick Murphys are undanceable. 80s goth does pretty well, probably because it's really similar to techno in a lot of ways. Steeleye Span does okay, but is really hard to dance to, because it keeps changing patterns.
Two weeks of daily (3 sets of 3-4 songs per morning, occasional dancing at night) playing have gotten me up to what seems to normally be considered beginner level. I had to spend some time setting the easy songs to rating 2, and am now at a solid 3 for almost everything without ankle breaking steps, rating 3 at x1.5 or x2 for all the Irish punk and some other stuff, and rating 5 for a few easy to follow things, like Flies on the Windscreen. This is very poor, judging by the stuff that the Stepmania community seems to put out, but I am not in any kind of condition to be using my hands for this. Small dance pad is small, and large me is large. Have trouble with purple (8th? 12th?) notes, as well, especially when they come after a jump. It takes a lot of boing to loft all of me, and I can't reposition my weight that quickly.
It'd be tempting to say "oh, I should be so much better, but I'm doing weird, hard music," but that's probably not true at all. Perhaps I'll be brave and try some of the downloaded David Bowie I got. It was a flood of arrows too fast for my eyes to parse last week. Maybe I can get through it well enough that it won't take the song away from me this week. No perceptible weight loss or muscle gain, except maybe in my already overbuilt calves. But I'm getting my heart rate up and sweating enough to need an immediate shower at least once a day. That's got to be good for me, right?
I've run huge chunks of my music collection through Dancing Monkeys/Gorilla, and have been playing to what works. Some things do better than others, some don't even make it through the program, and some are surprisingly bad. Gorilla likes newer Rush better than older Rush, which is a problem, because I like older Rush better than newer Rush. Small amounts of Leonard Cohen go through okay, and play well at double speed. Hedningarna works surprisingly well, Corvus Corax is okay, with the exception of Cantus Buranas, which does really well. The Pogues do well (I bet Turkish Song of the Damned would be fun,) Flogging Molly does okay, and the Dropkick Murphys are undanceable. 80s goth does pretty well, probably because it's really similar to techno in a lot of ways. Steeleye Span does okay, but is really hard to dance to, because it keeps changing patterns.
Two weeks of daily (3 sets of 3-4 songs per morning, occasional dancing at night) playing have gotten me up to what seems to normally be considered beginner level. I had to spend some time setting the easy songs to rating 2, and am now at a solid 3 for almost everything without ankle breaking steps, rating 3 at x1.5 or x2 for all the Irish punk and some other stuff, and rating 5 for a few easy to follow things, like Flies on the Windscreen. This is very poor, judging by the stuff that the Stepmania community seems to put out, but I am not in any kind of condition to be using my hands for this. Small dance pad is small, and large me is large. Have trouble with purple (8th? 12th?) notes, as well, especially when they come after a jump. It takes a lot of boing to loft all of me, and I can't reposition my weight that quickly.
It'd be tempting to say "oh, I should be so much better, but I'm doing weird, hard music," but that's probably not true at all. Perhaps I'll be brave and try some of the downloaded David Bowie I got. It was a flood of arrows too fast for my eyes to parse last week. Maybe I can get through it well enough that it won't take the song away from me this week. No perceptible weight loss or muscle gain, except maybe in my already overbuilt calves. But I'm getting my heart rate up and sweating enough to need an immediate shower at least once a day. That's got to be good for me, right?
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no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 11:41 pm (UTC)-In the settings, turn Fail to "off" or "end of song." You get the best workout by playing songs that you are borderline failing, and it sucks to have them taken away from you right at the edge.
-If you get a B or higher, the song is too easy.
-Medium speed songs are easier than really slow songs, because the timing is not quite so anal.
-They're 8th notes, and they do take a little getting used to. But you'll get them soon enough.
-If you're not already, try playing with your "resting position" on the left and right buttons rather than both feet in the center spot. It helps with balance, and it means smaller, faster movements. (Eventually you'll be moving enough that you'll never go back to the resting position during the song, but it promotes good habits.) Also try purposefully alternating feet with each new step (as long as it's not the same button), even if it might seem easier to just move the same foot to hit the next arrow. This habit will pay off big time in the long run.
-Everyone starts on easy, and the people who are playing 8-10 foot songs have been playing for a long time. Getting perceptibly better in 2 weeks is nothing to be ashamed of. Once you play for a while longer, you'll start subconsciously recognizing patterns and know where to put your feet ahead of time, and then it gets a lot easier.
-Once you get up to 5-6 feet, the exercise really starts kicking in. DDR has never really been good for building up overall muscle tone (although it's great for the calves), but it's amazing for cardio, and a whole lot more fun than running.
tl;dr - Yay stepmania!
no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 11:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-17 12:03 am (UTC)2. Yeah, mostly Cs and Ds. I do the occasional B song so I don't feel quite so discouraged.
3. Yes. The speed at which I can read and plan foot position is a limiting factor, though. Also, the length of time it takes to shift my balance.
4. Will try the alternating. SCA dance is actually very helpful for a lot of this, because I already have a rudimentary sense of rhythm.
5. Intellectually I know this. Now we need to teach the brain monkeys.
6. It also seems to be a little easier on the joints than running.
Thanks for comments. :)
no subject
Date: 2010-02-19 01:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-17 05:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-17 04:10 pm (UTC)hedningarna
Date: 2010-02-17 04:09 am (UTC)Re: hedningarna
Date: 2010-02-17 04:03 pm (UTC)Re: hedningarna
Date: 2010-02-18 06:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-22 01:06 am (UTC)Since work eats me and I am now on a tight house related budget, I've given up on Zumba, and Swing an Latin. and sad carolyn has no dance.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-22 01:29 am (UTC)