Maximize Fitness App Development: Essential Features & Tools

Fitness App Industry & Case Studies

Why Would You Make A Fitness App?

The fitness app market will be worth around $14.7 billion by 2026. The market is expected to increase at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 23% over the forecast period.

The Fitness segment revenue was around $17,963 million and is expected to expand substantially.

The revenue will increase by 5.0 per cent upto 2023This will result in a total market value of around $20,499 million by 2023.

The fitness application market is growing and will continue to grow as new features in health and fitness are introduced.

Health and fitness apps were downloaded 593,000,000 times globally in the first quarter. Health and fitness applications are predicted to achieve 656 million downloads by the end of the second quarter.

Health and fitness applications garnered 446 million downloads in the same quarter last year.

Fitness App Development: Key features

Do you know what features to add to your fitness app? Fitness trainer app development has different purposes and offers users special features.

There are certain features that every fitness app should have to make it more user-friendly. Heres a list of the must-have features for fitness apps.

Onboarding

Onboarding is a great tool to use when you want to introduce new users to your app or explain its features. If your app is simple, you can skip the onboarding step.

You can offer onboarding to users by showing them two to eight screens or adding a video tutorial of 60 to 90 seconds.

Sign Up & Login

You can allow users to register using their Facebook, Google or Twitter accounts, Instagram accounts, or any other social media account that suits your target audience, as well as personal email addresses.

User Profiles

Users add their names, ages, weights, heights, gender, and fitness level when creating a profile. Both app developers and consumers will benefit from this knowledge.

This data assists app developers in developing apps that provide customers with personalized fitness plans and track their sporting activities. Users can easily access subscription plans and information about their history, including completed exercises, progress made, bonuses and other data.

Goals

Any fitness app should have a goal-setting feature. It is motivating to allow users to set goals and objectives, as it will translate into a goal-tracking tool that will help achieve fitness goals.

Synchronization With Wearable Devices

With the growing popularity of smartwatches and other wearable devices such as Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi, your Fitness App must be able to connect and sync up.

You can combine data between your fitness app and fitness trackers using the HealthKit APIs and GoogleFit. Apple Watches and Android smartwatches are able to be synced by using Wear OS and watchOS.

Workouts and Exercises

Exercises and workouts can be illustrated with photos, 3D animated models, or video illustrations. Users can create their workouts or use standard exercises.

This will require a searchable and organized content library.

Activity Tracking

Apps can track activity in two ways: using smartphone sensors or integrating a wearable device. Samsung Health is a notable app that allows your app to display the number and distance traveled as well as the number of stairs you have climbed.

Youll need third-party APIs to sync with fitness devices and measure other parameters such as heart rate, sleep quality or body temperature. Ask about the parameters users would like to track.

Audio/Video Player

Nutrition apps offer a variety of features, including a database of healthy recipes and products, nutrition analysis, and information on ingredients via barcode scanning.

This functionality is only possible with nutrition APIs. Allow users to manually enter goods that are not visible in your app.

Workouts Customization

Users can create their workouts or meditations within your app. They can also make exercise sets, diet plans, recipes and more.

On paper, this feature might be a big undertaking. However, in an age where users are the priority, you should put your customers first.

Push Notifications and Reminders

Push notifications for fitness apps should contain no more than 90 characters and be sent between 7 am and 8 am or 12 am and 2 pm, according to Business of Apps.

Its a bonus if your app lets users customize the timing for push notifications and reminders or even turn them off completely.

Recommendations

Machine learning algorithms are used to make personalized recommendations that take into account a users viewing history and preferences.

Apps that use artificial intelligence (AI) can create customized fitness plans with dietary advice. They are likely to outperform any personal trainer in accurately adjusting workouts.

Profile Setting

This feature allows users to change their passwords, emails, notification settings and deactivate accounts.

Support & Customer Services

A chat feature where a trainer can provide live advice or consultations will be appreciated by users of a fitness app.

If you dont want to use live chat, combine a chatbot that has pre-programmed answers. Your app should still include contact details that users can access at any time. This will not only help you build trust but also gather much-needed feedback.

Payment Method & Feature

It is easy to understand why you need a payment option. How can you earn money with your app if you dont include a payment feature? Integrate a payment portal into your app, such as PayPal or Visa.

Want More Information About Our Services? Talk to Our Consultants!

Select The Suitable Monetization Model For Your Fitness App

You must make sure that your fitness app can deliver positive results. You can monetize the app in many ways. Include the following features in your fitness app for income or profit:

1. Paid Applications- Before users can benefit from your fitness app, they must purchase it.

   You can offer a free trial to your fitness app.

   If they like it, they may pay or subscribe.

2. In-App Purchases- If you create a fitness app that is free for users, its possible to make money if you encourage them to purchase something within the app. For example, they can only access a feature set with advanced features or premium content if they pay.
3. Advertisements- Other fitness companies might be interested in partnering with you to run advertising campaigns on your app. You can charge them a commission based on the fitness app development cost per mile.
4. Free apps- Its the freemium model. You can offer your users free basic features but charge them for premium ones. This type of business model is also known as a premium subscription model. Basic features are available for free. However, advanced fitness plans and personal coaching fitness app development services will not be.

How Much Does It Cost To Make A Fitness App?

At first, an outsourcing fitness app company will give you only a rough estimation of the cost to develop your app based on previous experience.

They will be able to give you a more accurate estimate after you have gone through the UX strategy and concept validation stages. Your minimum app development team should include the following:

1. QA engineer.
2. Project Manager.
3. UI/UX designer.
4. iOS developer.
5. Android developer.
6. Backend developer.

Fitness App Development Stages

Discovery

Your mobile app development team will perform preliminary market research to determine if your fitness app is marketable and, if it is, what you can do to make it that way.

With a designer, product manager and project manager, youll brainstorm to:

1. Create a vision of your app, including challenges, solutions and requirements. Include rivals, channels for acquisition, the unique value proposition of your app, as well as revenue sources.
2. Think about the logic that underlies your fitness app.
3. Create a list of epics that are based on your main app functionality.
4. Draw your potential customers.
5. Create a table of epics and possible user stories.
6. Create a navigation plan for your fitness app.

Idea Validation

Validation of an Idea During the discovery phase, you analyze the problems that your app can solve. During the idea validation phase, you should verify the solutions your app can provide.

This requires a product/project manager, UI/UX designers, iOS or Android developers, backend developers, and quality assurance engineers.

UX Strategy

Your development team will work on an app interface that includes screen relationships and a comprehensive user experience.

The UX strategy stage requires you to bring in the entire development team to:

1. Create an information diagram that shows the data structure and its interconnections.
2. Create a high-fidelity prototype of your app with an interactive interface showing where all the control elements of your app are located.
3. Create a rough plan of the project with deadlines and assignments.
4. A high-fidelity model is the most accurate in terms of functionality and details.

Design And Development

During the two-week-long design and development phase, your app development backlog will be divided into sprints.

A project managers job is to track progress, prioritize tasks and maintain the backlog.

1. The style guide can be used in any part or project of the design sprint.
2. During the technical setup sprint, the team refines documents and describes the design of the functionality. It also sets up the technical environment required for the next sprint.
3. A project manager creates documentation and plans the next sprint.

Testing and Improvement

The entire team responsible for app development must be involved in this stage. The testing and improvement phase ends when you have a fully-functional fitness app.

However, it can be restarted if there are any changes.

1. The KPIs of mobile apps are being tracked.
2. Analyzing the input of users.
3. Apps can be identified by their faults.
4. Repairing flaws.
5. Enhancing the functionality of your app.

Final Words on Fitness App Development

When developing an online fitness app development, keep in mind the following:

1. Fitness apps with the best features will continue to attract and retain users.
2. Workout apps should be flexible in terms of tips and techniques as well as exercise variations.
3. Integrate wearable fitness equipment and work with their manufacturers to improve fitness results.

Read More: How to find a suitable web application development company?

Apps For Fitness

Managing Gym Equipment

The app allows users to have a more personalized workout in the gym. IoT synchronizes gym equipment, such as treadmills, with individual user preferences.

This results in a personalized workout and a unique experience.

IoT technology allows for the creation of apps that can manage any fitness equipment. Apps work by automatically loading the users information into the settings of the gym equipment just before a fitness session begins.

The app sends to a server all the statistical data collected by the user throughout the fitness session.

Home Workout Apps

Home workout app development is a great solution for people who live far away from a gym or dont want to have time to visit a sports center or attend a group fitness class.

Apps that provide routine exercises are the goal of most workout apps. Users can use them to create new training plans or adapt existing ones. The apps can also be synced with fitness trackers to provide a user with personalized health recommendations.

You should understand the essence of a workout app if you want to make one. Here, the main focus is on the apps simplicity of use.

The workouts are classified according to their type, such as endurance, strength and mobility. Other filters include duration, intensity, level and equipment. It is easy to find what you want. Training plans can be tailored to the needs of users and can be modified or adapted to meet different goals.

Find A Yoga And Fitness Class Or Trainer

This app allows users to find a fitness class, such as yoga classes, or a trainer. The user selects the trainer or instructor that best suits his or her needs by highlighting their goals.

Each trainer has their own portfolio of programs based solely on the goals, objectives and feedback of previous users. Users and trainers can communicate more effectively with the help of video calls and messaging.

You build a fitness application that works with a fitness tracker. It allows users to track their progress and then share that information with trainers.

Users can choose fitness classes based on their preferences for training duration, instructor style, difficulty and intensity. The app also has community features that let users contact each other and share comments or suggestions about a yoga class or trainer.

Apps For Nutrition And Diet

You are what you eat! Could this be why diet and nutrition apps are so popular? Apps are used by 26 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds to track their nutrition on a regular basis, and 23 per cent use them only occasionally.

This type of app tracks not only calories and fats but also the water balance.

Diet and nutrition apps can help users lose weight, gain weight, or maintain a certain amount of weight through a specific diet plan.

Users can log their food intake to track their habits. Progress reports and success advice motivate users. A log of information can calculate calories based on how many calories are consumed at meals and burned during exercise.

Apps That Track Your Fitness Activity

Fitness tracking apps are designed to gather data on the users activity. This includes the number of steps, stairs climbed and distance run, among other fitness metrics.

Create a fitness tracker app with calendars and charts to make it easier for users. It motivates users by showing them their progress. The app shows users the distance, speed and route they have covered.

An app that tracks fitness activities should include walking, running, cycling, swimming and snowboarding.

This app is a great tool for users who are training to compete in championships, as it helps them plan their training.

New records are motivating for users. Audio cues are also available in some apps that indicate the time and distance covered during each fitness activity.

You have to follow a certain routine if you visit a gym. You may not have access to a different routine in your local gym if you wish to switch.

Most premium fitness apps do not have this limitation. Once you have paid your monthly subscription, you can then join any exercise program you want. These routines were designed by experts, and you can find certified instructors online to guide you.

Provides Privacy

You may be discouraged if you plan to exercise for the very first time by those who are more advanced in your local gym.

With a fitness application, you can avoid this situation as you can test out new exercises in the comfort and privacy of your own home. After you understand the basics, you can head to your local gym and exercise like a pro.

Monitor Your Diet

Your fitness app will calculate calories, protein, fat and carbohydrate for you based on the food that you eat. This feature is great for people who want to lose weight.

Free Fitness And Health Tips

You can find many premium fitness apps that offer health tips and advice to help you achieve your fitness goals.

These steps will help you to optimize your workout schedule.

Pros Of Using An App For Fitness

Here are some points that prove the value of a fitness app for scheduling and monitoring your workouts and progress.

Easy Access

Fitness apps allow you to exercise wherever you are as long as you can watch videos online or download them. You can schedule your workouts at your own convenience and not rely on a set schedule of your local gym.

Prices Are Low

The majority of fitness apps are free. However, if you want to use their premium features, you will have to pay between around $10 and $20 per month.

This is due to the fact that overhead costs are much lower than those of a gym. A fitness app has a larger audience. The best fitness apps are chosen based on their features and price.

Exercise Routines

Many fitness apps include pedometers. This feature counts the steps by using the GPS on the phone. This feature helps you keep track of the steps that you take and to increase your daily step count to get fitter.

Personal Health Coach

You dont have to hire a personal trainer if you already own a premium app. Apps offer affordable personal health coaches.

Your coach will design your workout program to suit your body type and level of activity. You will be able to achieve your fitness goals.

Cons Of Using An App For Fitness

You could be harming your health if you blindly follow all the advice given by a fitness app. Check the schedule of exercises and the tips carefully, then choose those that will benefit you.

The following are some of the drawbacks of using a fitness application:

Counting Calories

The majority of fitness apps are designed to help you track what you eat, as well as your physical activity. This data is used by the app to determine if you consume more calories each day than you burn.

This approach is simplistic, as it calculates calories the same for all. The calories from corn syrups high in fructose, however, are more harmful than the calories from lean protein.

Limited Automation

The majority of fitness apps are not fully automated, and users must manually enter all information. It is difficult for people to enter data into the fitness app after each meal.

The lack of automation can lead to users losing patience after one or two months of using an app.

Battery Drainage is Faster

Fitness apps use a lot of energy to track physical activity. Wearable devices that are connected to the smartphone health app will continuously monitor your heart rate.

The battery of your smartphone would be quickly depleted (after only one or two hours!). You will have to charge your phone repeatedly, which is annoying and inconvenient.

You Can Easily Become Overwhelmed

Online fitness app development services generate a large amount of data, which opens up a wide range of possibilities.

There are many exercise routines and videos.

You May Not Be Motivated Enough

You should be disciplined and motivated to get the most out of your fitness app. If you are not able to exercise alone at home but prefer to do so in a group setting, then you may find a fitness application to be the right choice for you.

Want More Information About Our Services? Talk to Our Consultants!

The Conclusion Of The Article Is:

Fitness is a rapidly growing sector in the mobile app industry. This segment is flooded with apps. Entrepreneurs can take advantage of the demand for fitness apps.

Fitness apps must be designed to offer highly customized fitness solutions for the user, utilizing smartphone sensors.

References

1. 🔗 Google scholar
2. 🔗 Wikipedia
3. 🔗 NyTimes