My Fit Club
A Case Study
Overview
Problem
Fitness apps and fitness journeys don't do so well because individuals get discouraged very easily.
Solution
I designed an app where users can keep track of their workouts, join challenges, and share their progress with others.
My Role
My role was to create a UX design supported by research to test if the new app design can sustain engagement and keep users motivated to workout.
Research
Secondary Research
Youtube has a great collection of fitness videos and personal fitness journeys, where people share their own experiences and describe the process of reaching their goals. I analyzed many of these videos as well as a handful of articles regarding fitness and motivation, and put together the main points described by all of them below.
Why you lose motivation:
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Doing the same thing all the time
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Your progress is stalled
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You can lose motivation when you don't see any gains
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Not leveraging a workout partner
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Having someone who can hold you accountable and support you can be very helpful
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Not recovering properly
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Fear of discomfort
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Environment gets old and boring
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Setting unrealistically high standards for yourself
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Setting unclear or unattainable goals
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Getting discouraged over your progress
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Not having a reason for working out
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Healthing issues or injury
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Getting a personal trainer can help rebuild strength
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Life changes
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Having patience and looking into virtual workouts like videos on youtube can be helpful
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Experiencing gym anxiety
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Virtual fitness options can be looked into
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How to stay motivated to workout:
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Make exercising feel like it’s something else (hanging out with friends)
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Go walking/running in an area with nice scenery
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Listening to audiobooks while working out
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Taking photos/videos of your progress
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Posting on social media
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Prioritizing exercise
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Be flexible
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Committing to specific times
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Workout buddy who will hold you accountable and support you
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Making bets on your exercises
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Set simple goals
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Schedule your workouts
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Incorporate resistance training
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Getting rewarded after making progress or hitting your goals:
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A mega study that was conducted on 24 Hour Fitness clients tested out different ways to motivate people to exercise more. This study revealed that one of the most efficient ways to get people to go to the gym was by offering them a free audiobook. This way individuals had something to look forward to during their workouts.
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Persona
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18 - 34 years old
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Very tech-savvy — they are on their phones for several hours a day
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Very budget-conscious
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Messaging and communicating with friends and family is a very important part of their daily lives
Competitive Analysis:
Productive Habit Tracker
Pros
- Challenges
- Productive streak record
- Programs
- Articles
- Habit management
Cons
- Subscription plan
- Subscription pop-up screens
- Lacks social
Action Items
- Habit management
- Stats
- Customization
Fitlist: Gym Workout Log
Pros
- Create workouts
- Track workouts
- Add workout notes
- Workout timers
- Connect with others
- Sample workouts
- Strength training
Cons
- There are no images or videos
to demonstrate the workouts
Action Items
- Customization
- Calendar view
- Connect with others
- Sample workouts
- Training
Nike Run Club
Pros
- Connect with friends
- Running plans
- View progress
- Guided runs
- Challenges
Cons
- There are no cons
Action Items
- Guided runs
- Connect with others
- Plans: weekly goals
Designing
User Flows
This user flow demonstrates how a user would access their daily workouts and calendar, as well as create a new workout from the homepage.
This user flow demonstrates how a user would access and join the challenges on the app.
This user flow demonstrates how a user would access their feed, friends, and notifications on the app.
This user flow demonstrates how a user would access their profile, friends, and goals on the app.
Style Guide
Brand personality
A trusted friend with a good sense of humor who always has your best interests in mind.
Brand attributes
Contemporary
Trustworthy
Humorous
Motivational
UI Inspiration
I chose this style of UI because the dark theme enhances focus and eliminates any distractions. A dark interface also represents elegance and looks minimal.
Color Palette
I chose the colors blue and orange because they are known to reduce stress, recharge the spirit, and emit happiness. Whereas green and pink are known to represent growth and safety, as well as a cheerful vibe.
These colors would also stand out and look great over a dark background.
Testing
Sketches
I sketched out possible screens after creating my user flows and then I conducted a guerrilla usability test to see if my participants understand the screens I designed. I wanted to test out if the individuals would run into any usability issues.
Homepage
Calendar: Day
Share Challenge
Select Friend
Calendar
Homepage
Send Challenge
Message Friend
Add Workout
Create Post
Friends Feed
Profile
Add Exercise
Challenges
Create Post
Friends
Add Exercise
Challenge Details
Notifications
Select Friend
Details
Challenges
Messages
Friend's Profile
Calendar
Share Challenges
New Message
Message Friend
Sketch Prototype:
Findings
No usability issues were found during this round of testing, but a few recommendations were made:
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Add images or videos to the exercises (so that if anyone doesn't know how to do a specific exercise, they can refer back to the images or video tutorials)
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Add programs with the challenges and include if they are in person or virtual
After completing this usability test and doing my secondary research, I believe adding an offer on the app to unlock an audiobook after accomplishing a goal, exercise, or challenge would also be something that would motivate people to continue exercising.
High Fidelity Prototype
After creating my high fidelity prototype, I conducted another round of usability tests with five participants and found no usability issues. I received great feedback from my participants and was told they would love to use an app like this. They mentioned that the social aspect of the app would be a great motivating factor, since you can post your progress and receive feedback.
Before
After
"In Person" challenge was added
"Virtual" challenge was added
Images were added to each challenge
Before
New Screen:
Challenge Details
After
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Image was added as well as the virtual program title
Free audiobook description was added
New Screen:
Challenge Details
Workout details are described in steps
Video was added to demonstrate the workouts
Final Screens
Track Daily Workouts
Access and check off your daily workouts then share your progress!
Send Messages
Keep in touch with your friends and compete in challenges with them!
Friends Feed
Keep track of your friends progress and share your workout journey with them!
Profiles
Check your friends progress and see how many trophies they received!
Final Prototype:
If I had More Time:
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I would include a workout playlist option within the app for users to listen to their favorite songs while working out
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I would include different meal plan/meal prep options for users, since a healthy diet is an important part of a weight gain or weight loss journey and because most individuals tend to struggle with maintaining the right diet
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I would also include a list of audio books for users to choose from
Homepage
Calendar/Add Workout
Challenges
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Profiles
Friends Feed
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