Fortunately, with the beginning of the rapid digitization of all spheres of human life, everything has changed dramatically.
The fitness industry has also undergone tremendous technological changes, primarily related to the creation and popularization of various fitness apps, with the help of which users can easily track their progress and see all the changes in real-time.
But today fitness applications can not only track your progress but also create specialized diets that will ideally suit your health condition and personal training goals.
Let's take a look at the statistics regarding the fitness development market and its future trends.
According to a study conducted in early 2019, it was predicted that the fitness apps market will reach $14.7 billion by 2026, with a CAGR of about 23%.
But according to Statista, in 2020 alone, fitness app revenue totaled nearly $18 billion and continues to grow at a rapid pace. It is expected that every year this domain will grow more and more and show better results.
Growth rates are projected at 5% annually by 2023. Everything can change dramatically, given the constant research and development in this field, as well as in the healthcare sector.
The Importance of a Fitness App Nowadays
Because of the fact that today's world has become very fast and competitive, most people do not have enough time to exercise or lead a healthy lifestyle.
The hard work that people do every day, from early morning to late at night, causes severe stress, weakness, and various illnesses.
However, thanks to advances in technology, we have many fitness applications available that can not only help you keep fit, but also measure your vitals.
Businesses might create a fitness app in order to make users’ life healthier by tracking the diet, water intake, and exercise regimen.
Some programs can even track your heart rate, which is vital for people with heart problems. If even these benefits could not convince you of the need for a fitness app, then below are some of the other benefits of a fitness app.
Nutrition Tracking
People who are watching their weight, or people who are looking to gain or lose weight can use the fitness app.
By specifying information about the type and amount of foods they consume each day, the fitness app can easily calculate the calories, carbohydrates, proteins, and fat content of the meal. Such apps also allow keeping an electronic food diary.
This helps to avoid eating foods that are harmful to one's health. Scientists have shown that keeping a food diary can help people consume food more consciously.
Progress Tracking
Thanks to the fitness app, users can easily monitor their workouts and health with just a couple of clicks. Programs like these allow people to fill in data related to their health indicators and track changes over some time.
For example, they can easily compare the blood counts at the start of their fitness journey and after a few months. That will allow them to understand whether the body condition has improved or not.
Tracking Number of Steps Taken
Every year, fitness apps only increase the number of functions. One of the available features is a pedometer. Now people can track the number of steps taken every day, as well as get all the supporting details, about the walking distance and the number of calories burned.
Opportunity to Exercise With a Coach
In some fitness apps, it is possible to use the services of a personal trainer at very affordable prices. You don't need to go anywhere to work out with a coach as all you have to do is just download the program.
Remote consultations with a trainer through the application help users form a balanced lifestyle and training regimen.
Continuous Support of Motivation
Most fitness apps are designed so they can constantly motivate users to exercise because, without motivation, all efforts are in vain.
A system of diverse achievements and regular notifications that spur people to physical activities also motivates them to take decisive action in sports.
Also, spending only a few minutes a day recording health data helps users keep track of their health. It is also a good motivation for people who have problems with excessive weight.
Types of Fitness Apps
Today, there are 3 popular types of fitness applications. All of them differ only in the method of processing and storing information:
- Workout and exercise apps
- Nutrition apps
- Activity tracking apps
There are cases when a fitness app is a combination of two or even all three types of programs. But basically, every program falls into one of these categories.
Workout and Exercise Apps
Workout apps are the most extensive category on our list. As you might have figured out, this type of app is workout-oriented.
The main purpose of this type of fitness app is to show users what exercises to do and how to perform them correctly. Despite the vastness of this category, it would be advisable to divide it into several groups:
- Personal trainer apps
- Logbook apps
- Workout fitness apps that pair with devices
Personal Trainer Apps
The main task of such programs is to develop a set of exercises for users. They offer a set of exercises that can be tailored for each person individually only by choosing the difficulty level and the set of exercises that they like best.
Such applications also show how to correctly perform certain exercises, because improper execution can lead to serious injuries or not result in the desired effect.
People no longer need to go to the gym and pay for the services of a trainer. Personal trainer apps have everything needed for comfortable sports in any condition.
Logbook Apps
In most cases, similar programs are fairly minimalistic. They do not have huge functionality but only work as a list or journal that stores information about training.
Apps like these are useful for tracking exercise progress or health condition changes. But in them, users can also find a library of exercises and workout programs for various purposes.
Workout Fitness App Compatible with Wearable Devices
These apps are indispensable for people who cannot imagine their own sports activities without a wearable device.
If you use a fitness bracelet or smartwatch during workouts, you can connect it to the program and all the data that these devices collect will be immediately displayed in the application on your smartphone.
Moreover, such programs can sync with intelligent sports equipment.
Nutrition Apps
Nutrition apps measure various health indicators such as weight, calories burned, water balance, etc. in order to help people stick to a healthy diet. Additional functions may include monitoring your daily coffee consumption and body fat content.
Such programs are geared towards setting and achieving goals. If it is difficult for a person to eat healthily, the application will help create a shopping list and draw up recipes.
Activity Tracking Apps
This type of app is suitable even for people who are not involved in sports but want to be sure they move a lot. In similar apps, there are features for calculating the steps taken and calories.
But, probably interesting functions of such programs are sleep tracking and sleep quality assessment. You can also use a smart alarm to make your waking up easy and quick.
Must-Have Features for Fitness Apps
Before moving to tips on how to create a fitness app it is important to think over the functions that would be included in it, as well as the design in which it will be made.
Let's take a look at a few features that are important for all of the above categories of fitness programs. Implementing them will help you attract more users.
User Personalization
This function is responsible for collecting personal information about each user as age, weight, height, gender, and training goals. The info is used later to create or tailor the best nutrition or exercise program for the user's body.
With the introduction of this function, you will be able to improve the interface of your fitness app several times, as well as increase your profit.
The user will feel that the program meets their needs and helps to achieve their fitness goals, and therefore will constantly return to it and recommend it to friends.
Synchronization with Various Devices
In order to develop a fitness app, you should pay particular attention to synchronization. Your app needs to quickly and easily sync with other programs and wearable devices.
That will help users track their metrics and progress more easily. You can also work out the possibility of using your app not only on smartphones but also on a computer.
That allows users to view various workouts from a desktop. Such advanced functionality will attract thousands of users to your application, and will greatly increase the income and reputation of the company.
Information for a Specific Period
With this feature, the user can view data about their physical activity or other health indicators over a specific time, such as a week, month, or year. With this feature, people can easily track their progress and set long-term goals.
Some programs also use a system for automatically sending reports to the mail so that the user does not forget to review them.
Goal Setting
This is probably one of the most essential functions of fitness applications because most users use such programs to achieve their own athletic goals. Your program should be able to set goals related to sports and nutrition.
The user can select a task, set a goal by entering a date and an action to be taken to complete it. Here you can also add statistics on the execution of tasks for a certain period.
How to Create a Fitness App
There are a few things you need to be aware of if you want to develop a fitness app. To avoid unnecessary costs, problems, and delays in creating a program, as well as to create a high-quality program, you need to follow certain instructions.
We've prepared a list of steps you can follow to create a fitness program.
Explore the Fitness Apps Market
To begin with, you need to conduct a detailed study of the fitness software market. Since there are so many different sports-related apps now, the chances that the program may not be profitable are high enough.
To avoid this, you must analyze in detail which applications are popular, problems that bother people most. It is also worth reviewing the apps of your potential competitors and finding their flaws that could be adjusted in your app.
Choose The Fitness App Type You Need
After conducting market analysis, you need to determine what main types of applications exist on the market today as well as their pros and cons. We have already written in more detail about all types of fitness apps in this article.
With the help of this information, you can determine exactly what kind of app you want. It will also make it easier to choose the features that can be implemented in your program, while you create a fitness app.
Define Key Features
Each fitness program has different functions and offers unique opportunities for its users. However, there is a set of functions that you must introduce during the workout app development process.
In the previous chapters, we talked about the features that are required for fitness app development.
Choose the Monetization Model
Some people are engaged in workout app development only because it gives them pleasure and they do not seek to make a profit. But in most cases, you want to make a lot of money and recoup all the investment you have put into workout app development.
There are various ways to monetize your application. To generate income from a fitness app, you can use one of these types of monetization:
- Paid app downloads
- In-app purchases
- Advertisements
- Paid personalized training or nutrition plans
Choose the Right Fitness App Development Team
To create a fitness app you need to find skilled developers. You can choose between hiring an in-house team, working with freelance developers, and using the services of a software development outsourcing vendor.
The last option is recommended as it usually guarantees the best results. It is better to choose a company that has vast experience in the fitness niche and a lot of positive reviews from previous clients.
By choosing a company for collaboration, you can create a fitness app with high performance and solve all the problems that may appear during a fitness application development process.
Conclusion
Sports app development, like the development of any other app, is a rather complicated process. However, if you conduct thorough market research and create a program that fully satisfies users’ needs, your fitness app idea can turn into a profitable business.
If you are looking for a reliable outsourcing software development company to develop a fitness app, don’t hesitate to contact Intellectsoft.
We have extensive experience in this field and will be able to create a solution that will successfully serve your end-users and meet your business goals.
Contact us today and let us create a competitive fitness application for you!
