Three Keys To Developing A Mobile App For Fitness

Jun 7
08:29

2013

Jennifer Lewis

Jennifer Lewis

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Exercise and fitness may be difficult for some people to keep a tab on in their daily life, however the two are very measurable. When constantly on the go it can be even more difficult for people to keep track of their physical activities.

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Exercise and fitness may be difficult for some people to keep a tab on in their daily life,Three Keys To Developing A Mobile App For Fitness Articles however the two are very measurable. When constantly on the go it can be even more difficult for people to keep track of their physical activities. With that said, through the creation of fitness apps such as MyFitnessPal and Fitness Buddy, mobile device users are able to accurately log their daily exercise, as well as the calories they intake and expend throughout each day. The fitness industry is comprised of billions of dollars in revenue, and these apps cut to the core of what so many fitness enthusiasts are in search of: a simple way to get healthier. If you are looking to capitalize off of the trend by creating a fitness related mobile app, here are three things you should include.

Demonstrations

All good fitness apps have a library of exercises for users to try out. With that said, simply explaining an exercise in words may not accurately instruct someone on how to do it. For such reason, it is crucial that you include photo and/or video demonstrations of each exercise. Ideally, you will provide video instructions on how to perform each exercise listed in your app's fitness library. This is optimal as it is extremely difficult for someone to get the gist of a moving exercise from a still photo. So, while photo demonstrations of exercises on your app are certainly better than no visual instruction at all, the ideal method of doing so is by using a moving video to display the motion involved with each exercise.

Calorie Counter

Calories are an integral part of fitness and someone’s overall health. For such reason, if you are going to offer a fitness app to the mobile market, it is pretty much a given that you will need to intertwine some sort of calorie tracker. More specifically, this means allowing mobile device users the ability to easily keep tabs on the calories they burn and consume each day. For instance, the MyFitnessPal app effectively offers a database of food and associated measurements for users to add to their daily food diaries. Additionally, the app also lets users measure the amount of calories they burn through exercise each day.

Suggestions

The third key to offering a successful fitness app to the mobile market is providing encouragement and suggestions on how users can improve their health and fitness. In other words, if a user is simply using the service that your app provides, but has no idea on how to improve their fitness as they see it suffering, then the purpose of your app is sort of a bust. This is why you should aim to provide guidance on how users can become healthier with their exercise and diet.

Conclusion

As you have seen from the previously mentioned three elements to developing a fitness app, creating such a mobile offering can be more complex than it initially seems. By providing photo and video demonstrations, along with helpful suggestions and the ability to accurately measure caloric intake, you will be providing users with a complete method of improving their fitness and diet. Taking after apps like MyFitnessPal, if you can provide the aforementioned elements to your fitness app, you will undoubtedly be able to compete in the market.