Review: GoTrybe~Fitness For Kids Via the Net

GoTrybe~Kids Fitness, Wellness, Motivation
CK it out here!
AGES:  6th gr & up
COST: 99 cent Introductory Trial Special
I say:  Not convinced...read on...

I was given a trial of GoTrybe as part of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Crew review team in exchange for my honest opinions without monetary compensation. My opinions are my own.

I've been working hard on my family and my own health for a good number of years and when given the opportunity to review GoTrybe, I was excited.  Looking at ways to bolster our efforts for a healthy lifestyle and learning more has always been my goal so that we'd be able to live more productive and satisfactory lives.  It's a noble goal, and while there's tons of info out there in the marketplace of ideas, it' doesn't all add up to what I believe is sound conventional wisdom that best suits and fulfills our needs.  So what's GoTrybe and how did it add up?

About GoTrybe~

GoTrybe is a subscription for net users that you can purchase yearly for $19.95 but there is a FREE Trial Period (unspecified) and at the end of you will be asked to join. 

From the website:

GoTrybe.com is an online fitness and nutrition community that delivers daily fitness, nutrition, wellness, and motivation content to students and teachers across the US.

You get your own homepage  on the site and an avatar where you earn points by daily picking a series of activities regarding a workout in the warm up, cardio. flex and strength training areas. There are quite a few choices of activities in each domain with varying intensities such as moderate or intense with a score card of sorts with each one so good choices can be made.  You can't do more than one sequence of Daily Activities per day and this could be good for children who need more structure, but I'd think the ages this is really targeting that allowing the nutrition and wellness videos to be seen in multiple segments really couldn't hurt anything~but then I dunno..the idea I think was to get consistency over TIME...getting short snipits of info that could be absorbed in the long run is the goal~

Here's a screen shot of my choices so you can see that each domain as a score card explaining each activity. Each video is different in duration too~as well as different GoTrybe Instructors and activities...

 When you click and drag each video in each domain into the workout recipe above the choices you form your work out for that day.  After you're done creating your workout, you can hit the start workout button and get going. 

My experience has been that what I've chosen is between 19-24 minutes in length.  The videos are well made, and the trainers are personal, attactive and engaging along with children and other young people. There are no children younger than about 12 that I can see here, and even the classroom settings are showing what looks at least to be middle and high school kids.

I do note that the work outs are mostly moderate in intensity.  I found no beginner or easy levels available which I would think might preclude some children from participating and certainly those (of us) who might benefit most.

The sets are clean, attractive and colorful.  We especially liked the Salsa video warm ups and wish there had been more dance steps with better music on these videos.  I love dancing, and I believe marketing to children/teens might be better served if  the videos used more child/teen friendly fare such as HIP music and concepts. What happened to OLD FASHIONED PLAY as warm ups, cardio, flex and strength? Don't tell me that playing hop scotch and climbing monkey bars didn't condition us...LOL...

Soo onto How It Added UP for us~

I confess that I did not jump head long into GoTrybe like I might have done had I liked first off what I saw.  In checking out the site, I was unimpressed by the 'staff' of young super healthy folks who obviously have been in the exercise/health field for a good long time and might not fully understand or appreciate the needs of the outta shape/poorly nutritioned population GoTrybe has hoped to reach.  When looking at the staff, I am skeptical because it seems they have been in this field for some time and have never experienced being out of shape or dealing in obesity.  I wonder just what they have to offer me without these kinds of experiences.  When I viewed them, I saw young instructors with their beautiful, and I don't mean this disrespectful, either.. beautiful bodies and perky encouragements and had trouble seeing that any of this was going to motivate me(albeit an obese middle aged mama, but desiring change) much less a sedentary overweight child who is already dealing in all of the ilks of their misery.  (In my own defense, if there had been a level of workout I could have accomplished, I would have.  I bike and swim. Lame effort probably, but it's what I can do...Gotta start SOMEWHERE!) 

Two things stood out in my mind: Could that child be reached, and if so HOW~Can GoTrybe be used to accomplish this? Not sure. And the reason is that I'm not sure is that 20-30 minute pretty high intensity workouts using OR not using added equipment...along with >1 min video bites seemed, try as they might, would make some connection for me.  It seems impersonal to me and doesn't seem motivating. 

I think that IF this problem were solved by diet and exercise alone, Lord knows the zillions of OTHER iniatives over the years would have worked. But what I've discovered in my own life and in the life of others as well as the 'fat' kids I know is that obesity isn't as much about the body as it IS about the mind.  Does GoTrybe address this area? NO. Other than some perky uplifting mentors who try their best to be positive and encouraging, little reached us.  I wasn't motivated a bit to leave my chair and get moving~which I believe would be the goal of this program.  Now, the question is CAN IT to the job? Maybe. If you have a child who already has made the mind-body connection and is already on the MOVE, yeah, it's possible they'd enjoy the benefits of GoTrybe which is FIRST of all~the increased health and energy/fitness.  But as for the avatar, I'm not so into that. Don't know how many homeschoolers live in 'virtual' worlds either, but if they do...buying outfits and dressing up that virtual fit/gorgeous/perky ME just might motivate me, but I'm thinking that as a fat child, and I was one..not just a fat adult, that it wouldn't have had much power to push me onward.  Sorry, SisterT doesn't usually feel so strongly, but I've battled this area ALLL my life...let's just say heading into Weight Watchers in the 4th gr taught me something about this...maybe experience that 'normals' don't get...ya think?

Soo I really hate that I haven't found here what I had hoped, and better able to recommend GoTrybe to you as a magic bullet to get you and ME off our ...and MOVING! NO, some good dance music and a phone call with some prayer~yeah...that might~no! It DOES help me!  Focusing on God and His power in my life has been just what the doctor ordered to move me..MOVE MEeee...

Don't just take my word for this, please...do your own research here and head over to ck out the          and see what they are saying on this one! I'm betting some of them see things from a different vantage point and that if you don't identify with my perspective you could very well theirs and GoTrybe IS just what will get you and your kiddos up, moving and living a healthier lifestyle. That IS the goal, isn't it? Healthier for ALL of us??

Thanks for stopping in and leave me a shout out~I'd love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts~
HUGS!