Show me a great workout DVD and I'll show you an exerciser who's tired of it. The problem of course is that even the most inspirational of workout DVDs have a shelf life of about 10 sessions before they get filed away next to the first season of 24 and the set-up disk for Office 2000.

So what is a fairly unmotivated, homebody-inclined girl to do? Build her own customisable workout from a menu of activities and do them with your Wii, that's what. The recently debuted EA's personal training program for the Wii aims to make shaping up fun and effectual with the help of some software, a leg strap that holds the Wii Nunchuck, and a rubber exercise band.

The Wii EA Sports Active Personal Trainer program lets you build different workouts and track your performance, all within the comfort of your own avatar-populated vaguely California-esque world.

You can run, shoot hoops, play baseball - pick an activity you suck at it in real life and you'll be able to play it here while your virtual trainer cheers you on. This isn't the game-focused pursuits of Wii tennis or the Wii Fit world of yoga poses on a balance board. Its focus is to get your heart rate up and to burn calories. You can track workout time, hours of exercise and calories burned.

You put in the software, wrap the included leg strap round your thigh and choose from fitness segments based on the muscle group you want to work and the length of time. An animated personal trainer demonstrates the movements.

I built a mini workout of about 15 minutes incorporating rollerblading, boxing and tennis. There is - before that - the slightly demeaning exercise of picking out your avatar, choosing his or her hairstyle, clothing…even a hat. This was all a bit silly, but the benefit was that whenever I missed the ball during tennis practice, I could just blame it on the woman in the Lycra vest.

But the biggest motivator isn't that you have a little personal trainer voice shouting "Good job!" whenever you complete a segment. It's that the technology engages you and urges you to work harder. On the rollerblading segment, you tuck the Nunchuck into the leg strap and the lower you sit, the faster the go. Jump high when coming off the ramps and your avatar does tricks while catching air. I got so pumped up during the boxing segment that my arms were sore for two days afterward.

With two nunchucks you can train alongside another person. For example, in tennis you won't play each other but will be both hitting balls on a split screen (see picture).

A personal trainer in a Washington Post review criticised the form for push-ups shown by the animated trainer, saying it was not only bad for your workout but could put too much strain on your back.

As with any home workout, ultimately you have to look after your technique yourself. Unlike many home workouts, with EA Sports Active Personal Trainer you can actually find enough activities that will keep you sweating longer than a fortnight.

EA Sport Active: Personal Trainer, £34.96 on Amazon.co.uk

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