Hyderabad Couple Avinash Rajapet And Prathima Koppolu’s App Tries To Make Fitness A Fun Activity For Children And Teens
Until March this 12 months, nine-year-old Avika Gupta, a pupil of Phoenix Greens International School, Hyderabad, used to attend Taekwondo and Bharatanatyam lessons.
As faculties and exercise centres closed on account of COVID-19, the varsity alerted college students and fogeys about Fitb.ee, a health app for school-going kids and teenagers. Avika’s mom Arti, an HR supervisor, gave it a attempt. “I was keen that my daughter continues some form of physical activity. Initially I would monitor to see if she could follow the videos. Now she uses the app independently,” says Arti.
Avika reels off the names of workout routines she does: “mountain climbers, leg raises, planks, push ups, cobra and table top.” She additionally enjoys collaborating in strolling contests on the app.
60,000 and counting
In January 2020, Hyderabad couple Avinash Rajapet and Prathima Koppolu launched th Fitb.ee app for teenagers and teenagers. They based the Fitbee gymnasium in Hyderabad in 2017, to encourage the 4-16 age group to take up enjoyable health programmes, and stave off childhood weight problems. The gymnasium is quickly closed, consistent with the COVID-19 tips. However, the free app had 3,000 customers within the first few weeks. Now, there are over 60,000.
Prathima and Avinash have a four-year-old son, Akira. But their curiosity in kids’s well being and health goes again to when Avinash was finding out within the UK, the place he assisted his cricket coach in coaching kids. “I observed how fitness and diet plans were being chalked out for children as young as five. This was different from the approach we have — that children will burn off whatever they eat,” says Avinash.
Children are sitting increasingly. With lockdowns, are unable to attend the tennis or basketball lessons they as soon as had. Add the stress of lecturers, and children simply don’t transfer sufficient. “The space for playgrounds and parks is diminishing in many cities and children aren’t spending enough time outdoors,” says Prathima, speaking of how app-based routines may assist.
Avinash is an authorized health skilled with a specialisation in youth health from the International Sports Science Association, and a black belt in Kung Fu. When he returned to Hyderabad, he noticed the potential in opening a health centre for youngsters. Prathima was academically inclined whereas rising up and took much less day out for sports activities. “If my son takes after me, I don’t want him to be idle at home,” she says with amusing.
Fitb.ee has 200 exercises for various age teams, developed with the assistance of US-based Sifu Harsha Dandamudi of White Dragon Martial Arts. Its advisors embody Dr Gurava Reddy of Sunshine Hospitals, managing director and Chief Joint Replacement Surgeon in Hyderabad. “The app is programmed such that specific workouts are accessible according to the child’s age,” says Prathima.
- Avinash graduated from the University of Liverpool with an M.Sc in Information and Intelligence Engineering and likewise holds B.Eng (Honors) diploma in Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering from the University of Wolverhampton.
- Prathima graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a Master of Science diploma in Technology and Marketing Management. She additionally runs a satirical weblog ‘Think different mommy’
Thursdays and Sundays are restoration days and an train routine urged for the day lapses in 24 hours, solely after which a baby can entry the subsequent routine. “This is to negate the tendency to overdo many routines on a few days of the week,” they state.
Fitbee has Harry Potter and superhero-themed exercises that may be completed with parental steerage.
The app affords totally different set of exercises. “We have workouts inspired by animal movements for young children. For instance a leopard strike or a tiger move routine to target the lower portion of the body. Different routines target specific muscle groups,” says Avinash.
Panda strikes
A 14-minute Kung Fu panda exercise is predicated on the strikes of panda Po and The Furious Five, and provides a full physique exercise. For older teenagers, kickboxing and calisthenics are integrated into the exercises for velocity and agility.
Recipe solutions can be found on their Instagram and YouTube channel. On the app, dietary plans are labored out on a paid, customized foundation for teenagers with weight problems, thyroid or PCOD/PCOS.
“The diet is charted in consultation with doctors. We encourage families to look at significant lifestyle changes that will act as preventive health care in the long run,” says Prathima. In the long run, she says they wish to construct programmes primarily based on the information they acquire.
