How to create a fitness app: A fit app development guide

Technology has gifted us with various apps that we can use to make our daily living easy. Among them are fitness applications that can be accessed from anywhere you are, hence it does not matter if you are on a holiday you will still be able to take your classes online. Visiting a Gym can be expensive and unentertaining at the same time. How fit app development can help here- this article will tell you!

Then coming back home? Shouting out in your head, “Oh god please carry me home!!” When you create your own workout app for iOS, your users will be able to attend the gym right at home. It is a different story if you are into outdoor sports like cycling, running, climbing, etc. 

But your main concern is how to make a fitness app for your business, just ask Vyrazu Labs. *just kidding* Actually we have already made such an app and it excites me to write on this topic. Before coming to any conclusion we have to put aside a few other issues which will help set up the fitness application for your future use. What are the things that you will consider before you start planning your business? Simple advice: Read till the end to know about making your fitness application unique.

It is quite simple. What is the first step in creating a fitness app? That will only be clear to you when you know about the types of apps that can be released in the market. But before that, we will take a look at the fitness app market as it is going to help to make the investment decision-

The Fitness app industry

According to research, the global app market valued at USD 2.3 billion in 2018, and the growth rate is 21.1% (CAGR). Researchers are expecting that it will reach USD 3.4 billion by the end of 2020 and by the end of 2026, it will be USD 10.9 billion. So, you can understand now that investing in fit app development is quite a profitable option comparatively. And the app development process is going to be simple and easy to digest for you after reading this complete app development guide blog.

Fit app development | Kinds of apps

There are five types of fitness applications that are presently working in the market, to make a fitness app you will have to understand these categories. Fitness applications were created for customer benefit keeping in mind the business success these apps can attain. These apps are developed in such a way that they can track human activity and other such requirements. Many fitness applications have been modified for achieving a better user experience. 

Those apps can be pointed as :

• Tracking Activity 

As the name suggests, these apps are programmed to track the activities done by the users. A particular fitness application can be functioned to track one activity or sport the user is doing. Or, it can be functioned for tracking many activities like exercise trackers, cycling, swimming, etc.

This fitness application will help in keeping track of the users’ activities calculating how much activity that individual has done. Suppose the user is a cyclist how many kilometers he cycled, how much time did he take, how many calories were burnt, etc are tracked in this app as a reference for the users. 

To build a fitness app you must know that often tracking apps must be all device compatible. The users tend to link it with wearables like Fitbit or smartwatches. In a few fitness applications, it is seen that these apps have music access so that the runner or any sports person is able to play music from the same app.

For example, a fitness application called Rock My Run is programmed to be a running/fitness application as well as is an online music website service lead by Rock My World, Inc. The purpose of this app is to provide running and workout music which are DJ mixes.

• Diet Control 

The diet and nutrition apps might have a little complicated design as often it is seen to be synced with other fitness applications. The stunning example is “Lose it!” The functionalities of such apps are to control the diet according to height, weight, age, etc for helping the user while buying food items for checking the calorie of that food either by selecting from the charts these apps provide or by manually inputting the values.

They calculate the calories the users are intaking. While you make a fitness app you can experiment with compiling two kinds of apps so that it provides diet charts as well as exercises. These apps can be complicated as some of them are able to scan barcodes.   

• Yoga-Meditation 

A yoga or meditation app helps the users to perform Yoga, learn the positions and master the art of shapes. Well, this app basically deals with different Yoga forms providing its users to choose from the levels of complexity.

As the user chooses a level that fitness application sets a goal for that particular user until they finish that level they won’t be able to move to the next level. Different types of yoga and meditation apps are programmed for different groups of people like pregnant women, elderly people, the general people, etc.

You can try out “Yoga Studio” to understand the working of this kind of fitness applications as other apps are coming from a different category of working-out. There are meditation apps that help you focus on doing one particular task at a time in order to focus your concentration so that your mind could clear out giving space for meditation. Sometimes these apps play soothing music so that only the hearing works and the user can go into his own world of peace.

• High-Intensity Intermittent Training

These are also called sprint interval training or high-intensity interval training or HIIT. These apps have short videos on high and intensive workouts performed by professionals. These fitness applications are not for beginners as the training can be complex and intense training generally for 10-15 minutes long. This helps in a quick workout for users who have become pro in terms of training. One example is the Workout Trainer which makes custom made exercises for their users. To create your own workout app for iOS or Android you can consider this type, just suggesting.

• Personal training 

A personal training fitness application will help users to hire trainers while being able to see the videos made by the trainers. They will be able to see the videos to learn from them to workout accordingly. The interesting feature in this app is the live streaming, it helps in seeing and performing the exact same exercises.

With the trainer being able to see how his trainee is doing while the user can see what the instructor is doing and focusing on. With a face-to-face feature, keeping a track of a particular user becomes easy along with a scope of better activities. A fitness application called Skimble Workout Trainer is working seamlessly providing similar functions. 

After you are able to determine which kind of app you will be making you will need a business model that will follow you up on your project so that the execution process is hassle-free and it can help you in the long-term run of the project. While you build a fitness app you need to know what will help your business grow and which grounds will be focused on, in the initial stages.

How to do fit app development: The business model 

For setting up a business you will need a particular plan. This plan should consist of the component that you will need to establish in your business. There are many things that have to be considered before making the final decision. Your business model will comprise a plan, a set of rules, design ideas, availability of the content, and other such areas. 

Fit app development: Planning the project  

When you sit to plan out the project you might take help from a business analyst or just start with forming a plan that later can be discussed with a business analyst. If you are certain with your plan then you take a step ahead to create your own workout app for Android without consulting an analyst. This plan will be the discussion or documentation of the kind of fitness application will make, the company you will approach for the development process, the designer who you will hire, and the fitness experts who will help you determine the data initiated from the app. 

Fit app development: Availability of resources

Make sure that the content that you plan to fill in your app is ready. The components such as pictures, motivational quotes pictures, videos, music integration, social media integration, other apps will allow you to sync your app in their apps (if required) and the basic features that will rule your app. In short the necessary items, you need to create a fitness app.

Fit app development: Design  

When you design the fitness application you can opt for customizing the design as you can in the development process. When you provide the design, the designer will follow the creative brief that you will provide him initiated from the planning process. It can be that you are redesigning your app and you already have the designs a select few moderations has to be done even that can be an option. The designer is responsible for designing almost all the detailed work of the app like icons, buttons, the home page, etc. 

Fit app development: Development

In the development process, you will have to very clearly say your requirements like what kind of app you are building and what are the features that you want to include. The next question is how to make a fitness app will be: on which platform you will like the app?

If you have a knowledge of technologies you can suggest it to the developers as well. The first and foremost question will be in which platform will you launch the app, whether Android or Apple, even both is an option as technology has improved. After you have given these details the developers will start working on these grounds. 

Fit app development: Testing

The final testing of the app has to be done before it is deployed and can be used full-fledged-ly. 

Sooner the business model and the app idea has departed to make a fitness app you will have a lot of scopes to think about how to bag those extra bucks. How are you going to do that, right? It is easy! Just consider some basic turnovers and your job is done.

Capitalization after Fit app development

After the business model is ready thinking about future updates and insertions that will help you grow the business becomes one of the important points when you make a fitness app.

You will have to consider this:

• Subscription: You can introduce subscription fees for the fitness application. You may provide your users with a trial period after which payment will become mandatory. It can be a one-time payment or a monthly transaction.
• Freemiums: The app can be free initially with its best features locked with the key of payment. The user will be able to access the fitness application as much as they want but if they will those other features they will have to pay-up.
• In-app purchases: In-app purchases will let your users purchase the sponsored products directly from the app or some features can be put under a payment, barring the user from accessing it. 
• Advertisements: Different fitness products might want to post their ads in your fitness application or you might approach them for giving out ads. These will be paid ads which will increase the revenue of the app. 
• Sponsorship: A sponsorship will allow you to patch your fitness application with another similar app for a better traffic flow in both the apps. Or. The companies or individuals selling fitness equipment can have sponsored products in your app which might direct your users to their websites or stores for purchasing fitness goods.
• Affiliate Marketing: Promoting objects related to your app will allow the users to visit those sites and pages from where you will get a payment with each user who availed their services or buys their products. 

The basic and advanced features to consider while Fit app development

Making of an app is concerned with the features you add in when you build a fitness app, you will need these features. There will be some basic and advanced features that will allow your users to use the app without any complexity and confusion. I have made a list of features that seemed to fit perfectly under this category.

Have a look at the features which you will insert during Fit app development:

Basic Features: Fit app development

• Registration and Login

As you know this is a basic feature which is found in almost all the app that we use. This will let a new user register in your app and an old user to login. With this, you will be able to draw on information about the user either from a social media (if social media login is an option) or manually by filling up the necessary details like name, age, sex, mobile number, maybe height and weight, etc

• User Account

The user account will show what the user has been doing maybe statistics or a history of workout that will show their profile pictures, the training they are under, the basic information of the user and other such details. These details can be changed according to the user’s needs. 

• Push Notification

Reminding the user about the training times, diet charts, scheduled training, etc can be sent with the use of push notifications. This will send a message that your app cares for its users.

• Target

This option is for setting up the target of the user. Suppose one individual exercise for 30 minutes with the basic training exercises, as the days pass by and the user is able to perform the exercises may be the next target will be an intermediate set of training which might increase training time according to the user’s needs and time management.

• Workout Options

Giving users a workout option is a brilliant idea. The user can customize the exercises according to their needs or choose from a set of exercises that are already listed under this option. Suppose a user is concerned but belly fat and only wants to work out on that area, s/he can choose exercises that concerns belly fat reduction and nothing else.

•  Help and feedback

When a consumer uses an app they require an area where they can lodge their complaints or read Q&A about the app. The help and feedback help the user to stay connected with the help desk of the app, eventually connecting it directly with you (the owner).

Advanced features: Fit app development

• Geographic location

When you make a fitness app you must add this feature as it will guide the sports-men back home from wherever they ended up performing that sport losing track of the direction. This feature will also help the user to avoid crowded streets and the location jammed with traffic so that they can avoid those areas and train without any chaos or extensive traffic.

• Connectivity

When you create a fitness app its connectivity with other devices such as wearables, Fitbit, etc is mandatory. As the users will want the app to be connected with the devices they are using. In the case of tracking apps, a device attached to the body helps to provide an accurate reading. 

• Social Media 

People love to share everything on social media. Hence making the app social media accessible will help your users to share their progress over social media indirectly marketing for your app. As many social media integration, you will insert a fair amount of traffic that will follow.

• Activity Tracker

The activity tracker will help track the activities performed by the user according to their capability. This feature will assist the user to analyze how much workout they have done and how they can improve.

• Social Channel

There are few channels found on YouTube or generated as individual data which can be used as a channel, where the users can see what famous people have been doing about their health. This can also show useful videos on what to do and how to do, fitness tips, health tips, diet tips, etc.

Concluding to:

The cost of development can only be calculated when you will provide the documents on the above-mentioned details. The cost will depend on the features that you will want to include the UI/UX design you choose fit before you do Fit app development and the platform you choose to launch the app.

In the present setting, a lot of apps have modified themselves into a virtual gaming area designing the training in such a way that it feels like the user is playing a game. It can be made into a reality show like environment where they feel like a camera is noticing them.

Motivational videos and stories often keep the user going along with the progress they are doing. There can be music for the users to access it. There can be reward points, promo codes, etc in simple words do something unique that will attract the users as well as influence them, motivate them to workout making complete utilization of the app.I hope this article was useful and your questions on how to make a fitness app have been answered properly. If you think I have missed out on something leave a comment or feedback that appears to you, I will do the rest for you. Contact us for outsourcing your business needs to India and get a good price for design and development. Don’t worry we also provide consultation. So why wait? just call us and start chatting.