7 Features Every Fitness App Must Have

The category of fitness and sports apps is among the most popular in the App Store. This is not surprising, since the popularity of a healthy lifestyle is growing every year, and using a smartphone for managing your workouts and monitoring training makes this more convenient.

Apps that give people an opportunity to do sports, learn new exercises, and keep training are extremely valued among smartphone owners. So, companies that create such applications can make good money while benefiting a lot of people.

We, at Lvivity, have done some research regarding popular fitness apps and the target audience of such products, and, based on this, we have concluded what functions such an app should have to be popular with users.

If you are thinking about make a mobile app for fitness and sports, then this article will help you create a successful product.

1. Registration via social services

Simplified registration always has a positive effect on the conversion rate. Long and confusing forms frighten users off. The fewer fields a person has to fill out, the more likely they are to do it.

A successful way to reduce the time required for registration and making it as simple as possible is to allow users to log in using their profiles on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, or Gmail.

Also, this is practical, since it significantly reduces the risk that the user will forget their password one day. This especially likely to happen if users have accounts with many different services.

2. Synchronize your data

Nowadays, only a few people have just one gadget. We often use different devices – laptop, tablet, smartphone, smart clock, and so on. Even smart speakers, such as Apple HomePod, are gradually becoming part of the home ecosystem.

The user can start training with their smartphone, then want to see the results somewhere on the computer. The optimal solution is to develop a mobile app combined with the server part where the data is stored.

In this case, the user can easily get the necessary information through the browser, having authorized it with his account in the system.

3. Activity tracking

Recordings of fitness activities (running, cycling, etc.), as well as information about rest, sleeping time, and more can be stored in the app. Based on this, you can build charts and diagrams, as well as share achievements on social networks.

Additionally, you can measure body parameters in relation to the training process so that it is clear how the training has influenced your body. The storage of this data will also be useful for users because they can adjust the system of workouts right in the process.

Tracking activity, writing reports, and displaying dynamics allows you to understand how effective trainings are and whether it is worth changing something. Therefore, in general, it adds motivation to training.

4. Geolocation function

If we are speaking not only about training at home, but also about outdoor activities such as running, walking, or cycling, then tracking the user’s location (geolocation) becomes an important option. This makes it possible to measure the distance covered and build routes. In addition to this, packages of route hints can already be formed by the developers.

Geolocation in mobile apps provides a huge number of opportunities, many of which are not obvious at first sight. For example, people who engage in similar activities can be grouped together. You can also plan routes from one location to another.

5. Goals and achievements

Setting goals is extremely important for any app that involves systematic training. Goals help people to stick to the activity and give additional motivation. Understanding that you are moving in the right direction is a good motivator for any person.

It is important to give the user the opportunity to set a goal from the very beginning and let them track the progress of their achievement. If a specific goal is achieved, you can add new ones to gradually raise the bar and increase the intensity of your training.

Goals can be different for everyone. For some, the goal is to gain weight. For other, it is to test endurance. Regardless, most people do fitness in order to improve their body.

6. Training programs

An unprepared person will need a lot of time to work out an optimal system of exercises or other types of workouts. Not everyone has free time to do this, and there is a risk of doing something wrong and working out inefficiently. Even a relatively simple task, which one would easily accomplish with a professional coach, can become too complicated for an average person.

The best scenario is when the app already has a ready-made library with training programs compiled by professional trainers. Subsequently, the user can simply choose the optimal variant for them according to a number of criteria (for example, frequency and intensity of training).

Imagine that the trainer and the client have a mobile app that allows the specialist to compose a detailed program for the user that would completely replace the presence of the coach during exercises.

7. Possibility to plan

Imagine that you already use such app functions as recording your activity, regular measurements of your body parameters, or tracking other indicators of your fitness level. This is already great, but you can get much more out of this process if you start planning your activities.

If a person only occasionally does training or exercises, then it is likely that after a few months, they will not have the desired results. Planning is an important element of effective work in any direction.

In addition to a measurable goal, there must be criteria by which you can understand whether you have achieved your goal or not. You must also have the ability to adjust the training conditions as progress is made. This program can be synchronized with your calendar, and one can set reminders to minimize the chance that the next lesson will be skipped.

Also, pay attention to useful tools, such as push-notifications. Using push-notification allows you to remind users to check the app, which encourages them to use the product again. The main thing to keep in mind is to adjust how frequently the app delivers push-notifications to avoid excessive and aggressive notifications that will make the user want to stop using the app.

Let’s sum it all up

As you can see, among the functions that are the most important for fitness apps, there is nothing that would be too complicated or expensive in terms of technical implementation. Together, they significantly increase usability and help to ensure that the user will want to interact with the app over and over again.

Additionally, in the eyes of the user, the advantages to any product are increased by the personalization possibilities. By adjusting the workouts for them, and tracking their progress and goals, the user will find the app useful for them and will be sure to recommend your app to their friends.