According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, children between the ages of 6 and 17 should get at least an hour of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every single day. But with so many distractions—from video games, to TV to tablets—that keep kids sedentary, clocking 60 minutes of exercise is easier said than done.
But what if you can capitalize off of that screen addiction to help get kids off the couch? Here are 10 apps that encourage users to engage in physical activity or even “gamify” exercise is a fun way.
NFL Play 60
Chances are your children are familiar with running games like Minion Rush or Subway Surfers. In these apps, players control characters who endlessly run, jump, and collect objects until they hit an obstacle. NFL Play 60 works on a similar basis: Your children choose a character that represents their favorite football team, but they have to run and jump in real life to collect coins they can use to upgrade their avatars. You can track their daily activity levels and create custom exercise plans. And yes, they must hold on to their devices while engaging in physical activity, so you may want to invest in an Otter Box case to prevent damage.
Apple Fitness+
If your children have an Apple Watch and are looking for ways to close their rings, this subscription app offers plenty of unconventional workouts, such as dancing, yoga, and meditation, that are perfect for any age group. Also, if each family member wears an Apple Watch, you can all do the same workouts together. Each session has a trainer working at a lower intensity that kids can follow, and each instructor’s optimism is infectious. Find out more about the app here.
Available for: iOS (obviously)
Sworkit
Perhaps best known for its founders snagging one of the largest deals on the reality show Shark Tank, this app offers workouts for kids, ranging from strength training, to cardio, to yoga and stretching, tailored to specific age groups. Instead of showing adults doing the exercises, kids perform each move, which range from bear crawls to jumping jacks. Kids can also set the length of the workout. While adults have to pay for a subscription, the youth workouts are free and can be accessed here.
GoNoodle
Chances are your kids are already familiar with the dances accompanying catchy songs like “Banana, Banana, Meatball” and “Purple Stew,” as teachers often play the short videos featured on the app to get students moving during class. Each of the over 300 songs and exercises is about physical activity and having fun, and they never seem to get old. Don’t be surprised if you start singing “Clap It Out” after a few watches.
Calm
You need to cool down after a workout, right? This popular relaxation app isn’t just for adults. The Calm Kids section offers sleep stories with characters like Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan and guided meditations featuring the Minions from Despicable Me. There are even videos utilizing movements to boost energy or relax muscles. However, you have to be a subscriber to access these features.
Zombies, Run!
This app will track the details of your kid’s run, much like Strava. What sets it apart is how it motivates users to move, which is (if the app’s name didn’t give it away) the natural fear of zombies. Headphones pipe in a story of a zombie apocalypse into your youngster’s ears, and they’ll have to speed up their movement to avoid having their brains eaten. There are now 10 seasons of stories to choose from, and developers recently added an expansion called Marvel Move that allows runners to run alongside their favorite comic book superheroes. You can try the app for free for a week, but only subscribers can access all the content. (Some moms and dads mention that the stories can be a little intense for younger runners, so parental discretion is advised.)
Super Stretch Yoga
This simple-to-use app combines the charm of the current comic book craze (Super Stretch is a child superhero who uses a blanket for his cape) with animated characters and kids performing 12 gentle yoga poses for users to recreate. Additionally, it encourages its youthful users to take a moment to take deep breaths, reflect, and act with kindness.
Available for: iOS
Jump Jump Froggy
Much like NFL Play 60, this app combines gaming and physical movement. In one of the three modes, kids control frogs trying to catch flies and avoid the owls and snakes that are out to get them. Speaking of snakes, Situp Snake tracks how many situps one kid can do in a minute, encouraging them to set a new record each week. The Counting Challenge combines math and physical fitness as kids have to jump while counting ants. While the graphics aren’t impressive, it will still engage younger kids.
Walkr
Getting in your 10,000 steps can get boring fast. The award-winning Walkr app turns this daily movement goal into a space-age game that uses a phone’s pedometer to keep track of a user’s steps. There are more than 30 missions to complete, and movement is used to fuel players’ spaceships so they can move on to the next mission. The drawback for some parents is the game has a social element, plus there are in-app purchases that could entice players to give themselves an edge.
Fitivity
If you have a student-athlete who wants to improve their skills in their chosen sport, Fitivity offers workouts at all levels to help users improve their skills in everything from basketball to rugby.
