What is Down Dog?
What parents need to know
Down Dog is a fitness app that lets users create a custom guided workout. The app mainly focuses on yoga, but users can also use it for pilates, meditation, and more.
In this guide
What is Down Dog?
Down Dog is a fitness app which allows users to create customisable guided workouts. Users can edit the focus, intensity, duration and voice of these sessions. This means they can always find a workout that suits their current needs.
Down Dog mainly markets itself as a yoga app, but it also offers other workout types. These include meditation, pilates, barre, running and HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training).
You can download the app from the Apple App Store and Google Play. You can also access it through a web browser.
Down Dog operates using a subscription model. Users have a choice of a year subscription priced at £79.99 or a monthly subscription for £10.99/month. A 22-day free trial is available, allowing users to try out the app before committing to paying for it.
Down Dog age rating
Google Play rates the app as PEGI 3, and the Apple App Store rates it 4+. Despite this, Down Dog’s own terms of service state that you must be at least 18 years of age to have an account on the app. Because of this, children should not use the app independently. Instead, you should engage in the yoga workouts and meditations alongside your child on your own account, rather than them creating their own profile.
How it works
To begin using Down Dog, users must select the type of workout they would like to engage in. They then customise the workout by choosing how long they would like the workout to last, how difficult it is, the pace and the music and voice used during it. You can also select a body focus, such as flexibility or strength, as well as a theme, such as energising or restorative.
Once you apply these custom settings, Down Dog generates a unique workout from its extensive library of exercises and poses, ensuring you never get the same workout twice. This keeps the app fresh and engaging. A video instructor, with a voice chosen in the setup stage, will then guide the user through the workout.
The app automatically keeps track of workouts, allowing users to follow training plans, set goals and track progress over time. Once you set a goal, the app sends you reminders to help you stay consistent.
New exercises require an internet connection, but you can download workouts to your device for offline use.
The ability to customise workouts, being able to change intensity and set fitness level, means the app is effective for both beginners starting their fitness journey and advanced yoga practitioners. Workouts can be as short as 5 minutes long, making it suitable for younger users’ short attention spans. Alternatively, they can also be up to 45 minutes long.
Does Down Dog have parental controls?
Down Dog does not have any parental controls. This is because the developers intend the app only for users aged 18 and over. To ensure that your child uses the app in a safe way, they should only use it when you’re supervising them and using it alongside them.
Benefits of Down Dog
- Suitable for all skill levels, from beginners to experienced
- Gets users active
- Can improve mindfulness and wellbeing
- Lots of variation prevents exercise becoming monotonous
- Tracks progress and goals to keep users consistent
What to watch out for
Although Down Dog states that users must be at least 18 years old, using the app involves few risks. However, there are still potential risks that you should watch out for.
Down Dog relies heavily on-screen use, with users following workouts being shown on the device’s screen. Having exercise, something that usually involves getting off your screen, revolve around device-use can result in users having an excessive amount of screen time. Learn how to help your child balance their screen-time, so that they have a healthy digital diet.
Without a real instructor to watch how the users engage in the workout, there is a chance that the users develop poor form and increase their risk of injury. This is another reason that it is beneficial to supervise your child while they use the app, so that you can correct them if they are engaging in the workout in an incorrect way.
Some workouts could include poses that may be too challenging for children, such as headstands and backbends. Specific poses can be filtered out so that they won’t be included in workouts. You should filter out any potentially dangerous poses before letting your child use the app.
Overall, while Down Dog is intended for adults, teens can benefit from the app and build strength if they use it while being supervised by an adult.