Thursday, April 28, 2016

Fitbreak app mini-review

Recently, I downloaded some apps for my phone with the goal of getting my 4 year old more interested in fitness.  He's a visual guy, so I'm hoping this might entice him more than me just saying "hey, let's do a plank!" ;)  I'm going to post some mini-reviews as we try out these apps.

First, we tried the "FitBreak" app, developed by Weight Watchers.  It's full of one minute exercises.  You watch a quick (15-30 seconds) demo, then a 3 second countdown, and then you watch a timer count down while you do that exercise for one full minute.  My son loves to watch timers and count anything down (who knew microwaves could be so thrilling?), so this appeals to him.   

However, I really didn't like that you only see a big timer for that sixty seconds - you're not watching the actual exercise again.  I used a screenshot they provide on their web site here to show how it look.  It's great for little man who loves to countdown, but not so great when mama is trying to get him to do the movements with her.  

You can filter the exercises by environment (work, outside, home), intensity (low, moderate, high), and target area (arms/shoulder, abs, butt, legs, full body and cardio).  I like that you can do this type of customization, but it's frustrating that you spend so much time in the app without following along with an exercise.  30 seconds of demo, plus 3 seconds countdown - and then you do your movement for 60 seconds with no reference video or images.  Disappointing.

Overall I'm not recommending this as an app to use with young kids, but looks possibly motivating for adults who can only squeeze in a few minutes of activity at one time.

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