Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Go Trybe - Review

It always saddens me a little when I see an overweight child sitting somewhere playing the latest version of a handheld video game. In this world of parents who are so busy and kids who are used to all the latest technology it is no surprise that 1 in 3 kids is considered overweight. When I was growing up we spent our time outside, running, jumping, simply playing. Most of my childhood memories are of doing something outside. Overweight kids were few and far between. In an effort to get kids moving and active and to combine the world of technology with the need for kids to be active and maintain a healthy weight GoTryBe has introduced an online exercise program designed just for kids.

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GoTryBe is designed for kids in K-12th grades. It can be used either in a classroom or in a homeschool setting, alone, or with a group of kids. There are three levels of GoTryBe. We reviewed the level designed for K-5th graders. There are also levels designed for 6th-8th grade, and 9th-12th grade. All the levels are designed the same way but the workouts are increasingly difficult.

Each child is given their own log-in and can create their own avatar. As the student completes a workout or completes a nutrition, motivation or wellness portion they are awarded points so they can personalize their avatar.
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There is also a chat/social networking portion of the program. My kids are too young (in my opinion) for social networking so we did not use this portion of the program. However, from looking at it myself it appears to be very safe.

The workouts are designed by the student and include warm-up, cardio, strength, flexibility and more. Each component has several choices to choose from so they can change their workout daily. It is very user-friendly and even young children could easily create their own work-out by dragging and dropping each component in to the correct spot. If your child really likes a program they designed they can easily save that workout to be used at a later time.

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Our Thoughts:
I do agree that children need to exercise, and that exercise is severely lacking in the lives of many children today. For us, this program was not something that we would use a lot. We live in a climate that allows for my kiddos to get outside and play almost year round. My kids are most often found jumping on the trampoline, riding their bikes and scooters, or climbing trees in the woods. I have a hard time pulling them inside to take care of regular school, and many days we take school outside. The boys are actively involved in sports and Molly will be also as she gets older. I limit the amount of time the kids are in front of a screen and we usually only play video games and computer when it is rainy out or on the few days each year it is too cold to go outside. It does get quite hot in the summer, but we head to a pool or turn the sprinklers on when that happens. So, as you can see, exercise is not lacking in this household.

I can definitely see how this would be an excellent program to motivate kids to exercise who don't normally exercise or who live in a climate that does not allow for outside play as often as our area does. The program is super user-friendly, and kids love creating their own avatar. Currently you can sign up for a free trial using the code GETFIT and then an annual membership is only $19.95.

To see what other crew members thought of GoTryBe go here.

Disclaimer: I received this product for free in exchange for my honest opinion of the product. There was no other compensation given for the review.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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