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Denis Grankin Head of Sales Department
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Case Study: How We’ve Created a Fitness App

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build a fitness app

The wave of fitness and healthy living is here, and it's not just a trend - it's a lifestyle shift. In today's world, fitness apps have made healthy lifestyles more accessible and engaging than ever before. And get this: The fitness app market rose from $10.13 billion in 2022 to $12.68 billion in 2023 and is set to grow to $29.16 billion by 2027. Pretty impressive, right?

Imagine being at the forefront of this wave and offering a fitness app that can change people's lives. We're in the business of making those fantasies come true.

We don't just create fitness apps, we shape a healthy future. Join us on this exciting journey. We will share with you the most up-to-date insights on how to build a fitness app. You'll learn how to add a meal and workout planner to your fitness app or how to equip your own fitness app with a voice assistant. Stay tuned. We are about to start.

What’s Exactly a Fitness Application?

Fitness apps are software solutions designed to help people achieve their health and wellness goals. These apps provide a digital platform that allows users to monitor, manage, and optimize their physical activity, diet, and overall fitness journey.

In essence, a fitness app serves as a personal trainer, calorie counter, and workout planner - all in one, accessible directly from a smartphone or other devices ensuring mobile fitness coaching. Users can set their fitness goals, track their progress, customize their workouts, and access a wide range of resources, including exercise demonstrations, meal plans, and health tips.

Fitness Apps Market Insights

Let's talk about numbers and muscles. In today's tech-savvy age, fitness is not just about going to the gym, but also about using a mobile app. The fitness app market is building some serious financial muscle, signaling changes in the way people work out and strive for a healthy lifestyle.

Let us show you the impressive statistics and trends that outline the rapid development of the fitness market. This fact-filled dive will help you discover what drives this booming industry and why you should build your own fitness app.

Key findings:

  • The market size is expected to reach USD 10.04 billion by 2028.
  • User penetration is projected to hit 13,080,603.45% by 2028.
  • The average revenue per user is $25.78 (this figure rises to $70.20 if only paid applications are taken into account).
  • The highest revenue is being generated in China ($5.5 billion).
  • In 2023, almost every tenth person (9.76%) used a fitness app, and by 2027, this figure is projected to reach 12.2%.

Fitness app usage overview:

  • Cardio workout apps dominate the market, followed by health-tracking apps.
  • The average age of fitness app users continues to rise, with millennials being the most active users of fitness apps.
  • Men outnumber women among fitness app users.
  • North America is the largest market for fitness apps, followed by Europe.

Fitness app installation data we know so far:

  • An increase in the number of installations at the beginning of the new year (Q1 2023 showed an 8% increase).
  • On average, 16% more health and fitness apps are installed on Mondays than on Saturdays.
  • In the first quarter of 2023, 13% more apps were installed than the quarterly average.
  • Users spend the most time in health and fitness apps on Tuesdays.

Any idea why companies are trying to enter the fitness app space? We think it's time for you to think about creating your own fitness app. First, let's find out which segments of the fitness app market are leading. This way, you'll get an idea of who you should create a fitness app for.

Why Do You Need to Create a Fitness App?

In January 2023, the number of downloads of the world's leading mobile fitness apps reached about 21 million worldwide. You can also build a fitness app that will become the choice of thousands and millions of users. Especially since the trend for a healthy lifestyle is still relevant and even gaining momentum around the world.

Let's take a look at why you might need to develop a fitness app:

  • Get revenue growth through in-app purchases
  • Reach a larger audience of fitness enthusiasts around the world
  • Strengthen customer relationships by offering a new in-demand product
  • Gain valuable insights from user data to make data-driven business decisions and tailor strategies
  • Develop strategic partnerships with fitness brands and influencers
  • Stand out by developing a feature-packed fitness app
  • Integrate cross-promotions into the fitness app.

Steps to Building a Leading Fitness App with AI Integration

Looking to create your own fitness app? It's a great idea. But keep in mind that you can't do it without AI technology. Nowadays, to stand out, Artificial Intelligence is not just an option, but a must.

Its transformational potential is undeniable, and it is changing the way users interact with fitness apps. In this section, we'll go through the basic steps and options that will help you easily integrate AI capabilities into your fitness app. Let's see how AI can improve the user experience and take your fitness app to new heights.

Put Vision First

First, define your vision for your fitness application. Imagine an AI-powered fitness app that seamlessly integrates into users' day-to-day activities, providing them with personalized recommendations and assistance. Consider using AI technologies such as GPT-3 and GPT-4 to provide natural language workout guidance, voice-controlled fitness assistance, and conversational fitness coaching.

Opt for Agile Project Management and MVP Approach

With the Agile Project Management approach in place, the fitness app development process is efficient and iterative. Start with a minimum viable product (MVP) that provides quick user feedback and rapid iterations. This approach is a way to improve the app and make it more user-friendly.

Consider Industry-Specific Features and Technologies

Below we list the features and technologies to consider when developing a fitness app that users will fall in love with. Some of these features were listed above and some are new. So, let's get started:

  • Leverage the power of AI: Integrate AI technologies to create natural language workout instructions, voice-guided fitness assistance, and sentiment analysis to track fitness progress.
  • Make it user-friendly: Integrate speech-based workout instructions and language understanding capabilities to enhance user experience.
  • Team up with IT rock stars: Onboard a skilled development team through IT outsourcing and Staff Augmentation. The team is the key to the proper web and mobile development of your fitness app.

Decide Where to Go

Find out what kind of fitness assistance your users need:

  • Workout tracking and exercise routine planning
  • Gym support and health/fitness tracking
  • Nutrition and workout planning
  • Fitness progress tracking
  • Specialized apps for yoga, meditation, cardio fitness, and calorie counters
  • Or having a chatbot fitness trainer would be fine.

Fitness App Development: What's the Idea?

Keeping up with the fitness landscape, many companies operating in the health and wellness segment are introducing sought-after digital solutions for training and wellness. These include workout tracking apps, health and fitness tracking software, bodybuilding, yoga and meditation apps, and many other similar mobile apps. By turning to fitness app development, particularly mobile app development, these companies offer users a holistic ecosystem helping them achieve their fitness and health goals on the go.

At DDI, we have extensive experience in both mobile and web development. For example, we are well-versed in healthcare software development.

In particular, our developers have created medical appointment scheduling software, a telemedicine platform, a medicine delivery system, an electronic medical record (EMR) system, and more. The fitness industry is closely tied to healthcare, so our experience proved to be relevant in addressing the current challenge.

At the client's request and based on our extensive hands-on experience, we have developed a personal training app that automates workout tracking and optimizes fitness processes with a focus on user safety and progress.

Fitness App Development Process

Below is the procedure for developing a cutting-edge fitness app. Let's dive into the specifics.

develop a fitness application

Team

To bring the fitness app to life, our team included these specialists:

  • 1 Business analyst (BA)
  • 1 Project manager (PM)
  • 2 UI/UX designers
  • 2 Quality assurance engineers (QA)
  • 2 Android engineers
  • 2 iOS engineers

Methodology

Our team utilized the Agile methodology to develop a fitness app. Why Agile? Our choice was due to several factors:

  • Client-Centric Focus: Customer needs were prioritized over predefined development requirements.
  • Change Adaptability: Our team of IT outsourcing engineers could adapt the product to the client's changing requirements.
  • Outcome-Driven Execution: We were striving for a goal, not just following one-size-fits-all rules.
  • Sprint-based Milestones: It took us 24 sprints to develop the fitness app. Throughout this period, our team successfully coped with the tasks, and as a result, the fitness app was delivered on time.

By adhering to an Agile project management approach and consistently implementing key elements of fitness app development, such as AI-powered workout management and personalized recommendations, we have delivered a feature-rich and sought-after workout-tracking app.

Development Process

The work on the fitness app began with a detailed discussion with all stakeholders. During the negotiations, we managed to find out what problem the fitness app should solve.

Having carefully collected information about the goals, target users, and objectives of the fitness app, we identified key user roles and the main features of the fitness app, including:

  • Personalized workouts
  • Progress tracking
  • Nutrition guidance
  • Workout videos
  • Community integration

The Project Manager then evaluated the information gathered, providing the customer with an initial estimate and development roadmap. The project was then broken down into manageable 2-week sprints.

There were 24 sprints in total. Over 12 months, our team of designers, mobile developers, and QA engineers carefully developed a multifunctional fitness app. Each sprint included focused work on specific features, followed by demo sessions for clients to showcase progress. Once the fitness app was thoroughly tested and finalized, it was launched. And even after the launch, we monitored whether the fitness app was running correctly.

User Roles

Within the fitness application we have developed, there are three main user roles with different permissions:

  • User (free access): A fitness enthusiast who utilizes the app for personal training and health tracking, with the rights to set goals, track progress, and interact with the community.
  • Premium user (paid subscription): A fitness enthusiast who subscribes to premium features for specialized workout plans, exclusive nutrition content, and live and ad-free workouts.
  • Trainer or Coach (Admin role): A fitness professional or trainer managing and guiding users, authorized to create and modify workout plans, provide nutritional advice, and access to analytical information to optimize the app's offerings.

User Dashboard

As a regular User, you have access to the key features that provide the foundation for your fitness journey in the app. After you have downloaded the app, registered, and answered the questions required to properly configure the app, you are taken to a page from which you can access the following app features:

  • Home
  • Profile
  • Notifications
  • Goals
  • Workouts
  • Instructions
  • Food
  • Progress
  • Community
  • Coaching

Some of these features are accessible from the home screen, such as Workouts, Progress, Food, Menu, Profile, and the Add button, while the rest are grouped into subsections for easy access.

Let's take a look at some of these features available to a user with free access to this fitness app.

Profile

Creating a user profile is the first step to personalized fitness. You can enter and manage essential information such as age, weight, height, fitness goals, and food preferences. This data allows the app to tailor workout plans, and nutritional recommendations, and track progress to meet your unique needs.

Fitness App user profile

Workouts

Selecting and planning workouts are the key functions of our fitness app. Users can log workouts, search for specific workouts, and customize workout programs according to their goals and fitness levels. The app covers such types of workouts as strength training, fitness, running, and yoga. It's very important to correctly indicate your level from the very beginning so that the proposed exercises don't harm you.

user workouts in Fitness application

Food

Proper nutrition is vital to any fitness journey. Users can log their daily meals, track their calorie intake, and access meal plans and recipes that match their dietary preferences. This helps to maintain a balanced diet and contributes to the achievement of fitness goals.

food dashboard in fitness app

Progress

Monitoring progress is motivating and empowering. Users can track changes in weight, body size, and performance over time with visual graphs and statistics. This feature allows you to see your progress and make the necessary adjustments to your fitness routine.

user Progress in Fitness App

Premium User (Paid Subscription)

Premium users have access to enhanced functionality with additional features to further support their fitness journey. Just like users of the free version of the fitness app, Premium users have the same interface with quick access to options such as Workouts, Progress, Nutrition, Menu, Profile, and the Add button. However, each of these features is enhanced for Premium users. Let's take a look at some of them.

Premium User dashboard

Workouts

Premium users enjoy access to advanced workout plans. These plans are advanced, varied, and carefully designed to help you achieve specific fitness goals more quickly and efficiently.

premium users Workouts

Food

Nutrition is an essential aspect of any fitness journey. Premium users have access to premium meal plans, nutrition guides, and personalized dietary recommendations. These resources provide customized advice and meal plans to complement your workouts.

Nutrition board in fitness app

1-On-1 Coaching

Premium users can attend live workouts and communicate with fitness experts in a 1-on-1 coaching session. This direct interaction allows you to receive personalized recommendations, improving your workout performance. You can access this option from the Menu section.

1-On-1 Coaching in Fitness app

Progress

By accessing the advanced Progress feature, Premium users have more data on their health status in terms of proper nutrition and physical activity.

advanced Progress feature

Trainer or Coach (Admin Role)

Trainers or Coaches, in the Admin Role, have access to features that enable them to manage and guide users effectively. Fitness app features available to the Trainer from the main screen include Home, Users, Workouts, Analytics, Menu, My Profile, and an Add Button. Additional features are placed as sub-sections.

Let's take a closer look at some of these features within the fitness app.

Users

The dashboard provides an overview of users (clients), user activities, progress, and engagement. Trainers can effectively manage user profiles and permissions, and access detailed analytics to monitor performance. From this page, Trainers can also add a new client and view brief statistics on each of their clients.

Trainer dashboard in fitness apllication

Workouts

Trainers can create, customize, and manage workout plans for different fitness levels and goals. They can tailor workouts to meet individual needs and modify plans as users progress in their fitness journey.

Trainer Workouts data

Inbox

Trainers can communicate with users, offer support, answer queries, and provide personalized fitness advice. This direct interaction enhances the user experience and promotes a sense of responsibility. The Inbox feature is available in the Menu section and on the home page.

Trainers food dashboard

Analytics

With the Analytics feature, Trainers have access to analytics on each client's progress. This data allows them to evaluate the engagement of each app user and see which workouts are most popular and which are challenging for clients. Using this information, Trainers can improve their products and approaches, increasing the overall effectiveness of the fitness app.

Trainer Analytics feature in fitness app

Key Features of a Fitness App

Below are the most useful and applicable features you can add to your fitness app:

  • Reminders and Notifications: Reminders about workouts, meals, hydration, or any other health-related activity will help users stay consistent and accountable for their fitness.
  • User Profile: Users create profiles with personal information, goals, and preferences, which allows the app to customize workouts and meal plans according to this input.
  • Goal Settings: Users can set specific goals, track progress, and adjust their daily routine accordingly.
  • Workout Tracking and Planning: Users can log workouts, track progress, and adapt workouts to changing fitness levels.
  • Exercise Demonstrations and Instructions: Detailed instructions and clear exercise demonstrations allow users to perform exercises correctly, minimizing the risk of injury and increasing efficiency.
  • Food Tracking and Diet Planning: Users log their meals, track calories, and receive customized meal plans to help them control their diet.
  • Progress Monitoring and Analytics: Visualizing progress through graphs and statistics allows users to assess weight, body size, and performance improvements, thus motivating them to keep moving forward.
  • Community and social features: Users can join the fitness community, share their achievements, participate in competitions, and get motivated and inspired by their colleagues.
  • In-app purchases: Users can purchase additional workout features, workout plans, nutrition guides, or equipment right in the app.

Key Benefits of Your Fitness App

Creating your fitness app has a bunch of business benefits:

  • You can customize your coverage: By using AI-powered features like personalized fitness recommendations, conversational fitness coaching, and natural language workout guidance, you can reach a wider audience.
  • You can optimize business operations: Fitness app development is a way to optimize business operations. With the introduction of AI technologies such as text-to-speech workout instructions and automated exercise routine tracking, managing workout plans is easier and user engagement is increased.
  • You can personalize the user experience: Use AI to develop a fitness app that understands users' preferences and offers them tailored exercise routines, nutrition plans, and workout schedules based on their goals and health and fitness tracking data.
  • You can get actionable insights: Fitness app development makes it possible to integrate features such as sentiment analysis to track fitness progress. This provides you with valuable data and insights to make informed decisions and continuously refine your app.
  • You can discover profit opportunities: Building a fitness app offers several monetization options. Whether it's a personal training app with subscription models, in-app purchases of premium features such as personalized workout plans, or partnerships with nutrition and workout app providers, the money-making potential is huge.
  • You can increase brand awareness: By creating a feature-rich fitness app with AI-powered features such as a chatbot fitness coach and AI-powered fitness assistant, you can dramatically increase your brand awareness and credibility in the crowded fitness app market.

Key KPIs to Track the Success of Your Fitness App

When measuring the success of your fitness app, pay special attention to key performance indicators (KPIs). Some of the key ones are listed below:

KPI for tracking development success of Fitness App

While the developers you hire keep the fitness app running smoothly, let the marketers be in charge of its marketing effectiveness by dealing with KPIs.

Bottom Line: Are You Ready to Tap into the Fitness App Market?

Now that you have seen that the fitness app market is booming and the trend towards healthy living and sports is gaining momentum, your decision to develop a fitness app has surely only intensified. Hasn't it? In that case, please stay tuned. We are the development team that will help you conceptualize and create a feature-rich or, if you prefer, a basic fitness app. We are savvy in many business verticals. We know how to build a SaaS system, we know how to hire the right software developers, and we also know how to create an AI-powered fitness app. And as you may know, you can't do without AI these days.

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