Sworkit Kids app mini-review

I've downloaded some apps for my phone with the goal of getting my 4 year old more interested in fitness, and I'm continuing to post some mini-reviews as we try out these apps.

We tried "Sworkit Kids" next.  I first heard of Sworkit on Shark Tank - they've got an app for adults where you can build customized workouts that you can easily do at home with no additional equipment.  Sounds great!  

Even better, they've got a kids-focused version, though they do describe it as being for kids 7-14.  So I use this app with him and make the key decisions, and then we do the workouts together.  

First, you select the type of workout - strength, agility, or flexibility and balance (or you can create a custom workout but I haven't done that yet).  You can choose a time (5 minutes and up) and the app puts together 30 seconds of various exercises. again with a short demo (5 seconds) and then 30 seconds to do it -- with the exercise continuing to be shown. Bonus is that this is designed for kids, so you see kids doing the movements. 

I really, really like this app.  Watching the kid do the exercise while the countdown is happening is key.  After every 5 exercises, it gives a 30 second break which is nice.  The graphics are clean, the voice guidance is calming and clear, and there's a ton of customization in here to be explored.  It's also a free app and ad-free.  Highly recommended!

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.

passing along the wrong genetics

I haven't written a lot about my son on my blog here, since I tend to selfishly focus on my weight loss journey.  My son just turned 4, and at his physical last week, the pediatrician gave us a lecture about nutrition because my son is technically obese.  He's 67%ile in height, 92%ile in weight and 96%ile in BMI.  

This breaks my heart.  I don't think he looks "fat" at all - he's got a little belly on him, but that doesn't seem excessive to me.  He seems tall, compared to his friends, but not apparently to the growth charts. ;)  

As you can guess, I've struggled with my weight my entire life - and this is something I've been hyper-aware about with the little guy.  His nutrition is great.  Only drinks water and one glass of milk a day.  Never any juice.  Lots of proteins and veggies and fruits, and whole grain carbs.  Sweets are a rare treat.  He just loves to eat - a lot.  

Lately we've been talking about which foods are good for your body and which foods you need to only have rarely.  It really helps that I don't keep crap food in our house and that we only eat out maybe twice a month.  (When relatives come to visit though, like they did this month, that number unfortunately goes up.)  

He's very much a homebody though - he loves to read and do puzzles and play with magnatiles and his new marble run and such.  He's happiest to be at home.  So we both need to work on incorporating more movement into our time at home - and also get more activity outside as well!  Luckily the weather is improving and hopefully we'll get out to parks more often.  Hopefully he'll also get interested in his bicycle more than just walking it. ;)

If you have kids, how do you show them a healthy lifestyle?