Insider’s Guide To Health And Fitness App Development

Last Updated on July 12, 2022

Everyone’s primary priorities have always been health and fitness. However, being fit and trendy wasn’t as easy back in the day owing to the obstacles connected with hiring fitness trainers you’d be completely satisfied with. Fortunately, with the dawn of the digital era, the fitness business has also undergone a digital transition. Nowadays, there are several health and fitness apps being developed, and they are easily accessible to everyone. It’s no surprise that many entrepreneurs want to launch fitness apps like Fitcoach or other similar apps.

More and more people are discovering these apps, and since then, apps for health and fitness have earned a name for themselves with various techniques ranging from establishing healthier meals to varied weight reduction workouts with just one tap on their cellphones.

Do you want to learn how to make your own fitness app?

This blog will serve as your guide.

The Health & Fitness Market Overview

Before you go all-in on creating your fitness app, the first step is to research the industry, as the old adage goes, “look before you jump.” Not to worry, according to Statista, the number of fitness and wellness app users in the US has increased from 62.7 million in 2018 to a staggering 84 million in 2021, and is expected to increase to 86.3 Million in 2022, which is certainly a good sign!

So, from one point of view, let’s take a closer look at the global fitness app market size. While the fitness app industry was valued at USD 4.4 billion in 2020, analysts predict it would grow at a 21.6 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2021 to 2028.

That was all about numbers, but hey! It’s not a good idea to judge a market based just on its metrics. Take, for example, surgical masks. For more than a year, giant packets of such masks were on our weekly needs list, but once the immunization was completed, mask usage noticeably dropped.

Given that, data illustrate how recent demand has been, but they can only be considered as a firm stance when accompanied with in-depth reasoning and research to rationally comprehend the future requirement of that specific product or service, in our case, fitness applications. Right on time!

COVID-19 has prompted multiple lockdown orders to come and go rather often, and shortly after, for workplaces to universities, ‘remote’ operation became the new normal, and by now, many organizations have made it a permanent practice, while many more are intending to!

Meanwhile, to conform to social distancing conventions when conventional exercise studios, yoga classes, and gyms were closed, virtual fitness began as a ‘let’s try this’ and quickly evolved into a ‘better than the traditional approach’ to keeping fit.

Needless to say, this is reflected in the rising number of downloads depicting that this trend is undoubtedly here to stay, with virus variations springing off like popping corns and the solution being to use your own equipment at home for workouts and fitness in general.

The Types of Health & Fitness Apps

It may appear that fitness apps just demonstrate how to exercise. In actuality, these programs provide a lot more. There is such a huge demand for fitness applications that there is a distinct app type for practically every sort of exercise. As a result, there are several fitness apps on the market to meet the demands of all customers.

Let’s look into each of them.

1. The Smart Fitness Coach Apps

What are the essential elements to achieving consistent fitness progress? Build a training plan that is suited for you, regulate your exercise technique, gradually increase your physical activity, and create a balanced eating plan. Personal coaches often manage all of those for athletes. They understand which workouts are beneficial to individuals and how to make them sportier quickly.

Personal coaches, on the other hand, demand a high cost for their services, and individuals don’t always have time to go to the gym. Furthermore, a person who decides to attempt working out would be hesitant to spend four times the cost of a gym pass for coach services.

That is why firms develop training applications that include a smart fitness instructor. Based on the user’s physical traits and goals, these applications provide a tailored fitness regimen for them. Physical exercises get more intense as the user continues. Despite the fact that these applications cannot remedy your physical errors while exercising, they can serve as a terrific digital buddy during your workout.

How do you create a fitness app with intelligent coaching features?

• Algorithms for identifying workouts

Your fitness app’s goal is to analyze users’ physical states and provide a training schedule. Users cannot keep up with the speed if the training is too difficult. On the contrary, it is difficult to attain the necessary outcomes in a timely manner with mild workout regimens.

• Workout intensity.

When users achieve specified achievements, the app adapts the load to their current physical condition. As a result, people can get into the required shape more quickly.

• Workout displays.

Make your own fitness app that demonstrates how to do each workout. Users who do the exercise incorrectly will not progress and may potentially get injured. As a result, ensure each exercise is followed by a thorough explanation.

Nike Training Club and Fitbit Coach are two of the top companies in this sector. Nike Training Club provides a variety of fitness activities. They are created based on the users’ physical condition, although they can select whatever workout they like.

The app includes videos that demonstrate how to execute the activity. Professional trainers show proper workout techniques. Furthermore, the software logs all workouts for users to keep track of in the history tab.

2. Workout Logging Apps

This is the most basic method for developing a fitness app. Users may use these applications to keep track of their exercises. They do not offer individualized training sessions. Instead, users may learn more about each activity they undertake. The number of calories burnt, the muscle groups impacted, and the overall health impact. Apps can track even more data using third-party smart devices. Smart scales, for example, can be used to track the muscle-to-fat ratio.

How to make your very own workout logging fitness app?
Here’s a rundown of the essential features:

• Including exercise notes.

Users may make comments on workouts they’ve done to observe which muscle groups they’ve focused on and how much energy they’ve squandered.

• Collaboration with third parties

The software may connect with other fitness applications and gadgets to provide a complete picture of the user’s progress. Connect with nutrition applications, for example, to share statistics about calories consumed. Data from wearable devices may be used to measure users’ heart rates.

• Database of workouts.

This sort of software has a wealth of workout information. Databases collect information about energy consumption, bodily muscle types, and workout recommendations. The more information you include during fitness app creation, the more valuable the app will be to users.

There are several workout logging applications available. Athletes and regular users alike enjoy applications from software behemoths such as Samsung Health and Huawei Health. With the use of wearables, they enable users to measure daily physical activity and check health markers.

3. Diet And Nutrition App

All physical activity is practically meaningless without a well-balanced diet. As a result, it’s a good idea to keep track of your calorie consumption and the nutritional content of your meals. Diet applications are intended to make this process easier. They allow users to track the food they eat throughout the day and discover what micro components it contains.

Here is a list of items to consider while developing your own fitness app with nutrition tracking:

• A substantial food database.

Popular diet apps provide a wide variety of foods from across the world. It is critical to designate a manufacturer. Similar packets of almond milk from various manufacturers, for example, may differ in composition and calorie content.

• Including personalized meals.

If users are unable to locate a certain meal in the database, they should be allowed to add it on their own. They should, however, know the exact quantity of calories to add to an item.

• Recipes that are recommended.

As part of a paid membership, several apps provide healthy recipes. You may also design a fitness app with complete food plans based on the demands of the customers.

• Navigation is faultless.

It may be difficult to browse through all of the recipes and goods. As a result, applications provide a variety of filters and search clues to expedite the monitoring process.

4. Activity Tracking Apps

These applications, as the name implies, keep track of their users’ activities. They all feature a step tracker to assess users’ movement throughout the day. Furthermore, users may activate the app while jogging or cycling to have it recall the path.

What are the features necessary to create your own activity-tracking fitness app?

• Geolocation

Geolocation is used by the app to track the route and assess trip mileage, slopes, and lifts.

• Accelerometer

The program can count steps thanks to the accelerometer. Cadence is another essential signal for activity tracking. During cycling and running, devices calculate cadence to optimize leg loadings and produce better outcomes.

Runtastic is a well-known example of an activity monitoring app. Runners may explore their routes, participate in various fitness challenges, and compete against one another via leaderboards. Post-workout data aid in understanding the athlete’s weak points and correcting errors afterward.

Must-Have Features To Include In Your Health & Fitness Apps

• Registration

For the majority of applications, registration is required. If your app is only a simple step tracker, it may not be necessary. Users should always register if you provide customized training or food plans. Registration allows you to collect more user data and tailor their app experience.

• User Profile

How can you make a fitness app that is tailored to your needs? First and foremost, users should be able to control their own physical information. Data such as height, weight, age, and other criteria aid in the creation of personalized exercises and the achievement of faster results.

You may also award users with interactive badges for their accomplishments. They will be able to locate incentives in their profiles.

• Live Video Streaming

Users may wish to see a video to properly grasp the workout approach. There are several approaches to resolving this problem. The first is real-time streaming. Professional coaches can create group training sessions in which users connect to the session and repeat all exercises after the coach.

The benefits of this strategy include the ability for people to form groups of devoted exercise aficionados. They might visit a coach and talk about workout strategies together. Live sessions, on the other hand, occur according to a schedule. Some users may find it inconvenient.

• Workout Menu

Because the primary goal of fitness applications is to measure physical activity, exercise screens are required. Menus vary based on the app type, but the concept stays the same.

Smart fitness coach applications, for example, will have a menu with workout alternatives as well as a video demonstrating how to complete the activity. Simultaneously, the activity monitoring software displays the time spent on training as well as real-time session statistics.

• Fitness Coach On-Demand

Users can book a personal session with the instructor in addition to group training for an extra charge. Users learn new exercises and change their training plan with the coach during the live stream. It’s even possible to reserve a coach for an extended amount of time, however, the app should provide a timetable. As a result, instructors will find it easier to manage their customers.

• Third-Party App Integration

In terms of fitness, a single app with MVP features cannot be a jack-of-all-trades. You must link your app with other fitness and health apps to expand its capabilities. For example, your app may compute the number of calories burnt following an exercise. In turn, the third-party diet app offers information about the meals consumed, and your app calculates the daily calorie deficit or excess.

Synchronization with platforms such as Apple Health and Google Fit aids in the development of a fitness app that calculates the user’s degree of physical activity based on their heart rate. In terms of nutrition applications, sophisticated sugar-measuring gadgets aid in the creation of a healthy diet plan.

• Social Media Integration

It’s always fun to brag about your accomplishments to your pals. You may utilize social media integration tools to create your own fitness app with social interaction elements. They enable users to make instant posts regarding their athletic development.

Users may combine the app’s content with an appealing image to create a great post for their profile. Furthermore, you may make this functionality useful for your product. Simply provide the app’s name or a link to it. Users will advertise it for free on social media in this manner.

• Integration With Wearable Devices

Fitness trackers, smartwatches, heart rate monitors, smart scales, and other devices provide additional statistical data for your app. Furthermore, you may create a fitness app for wearable platforms in the future. As a result, users may leave their phones at home and access the same app functions through their timepieces.

• Food Database

It should have a vast fitness-related database, regardless of the app type. If you’re creating a diet app, provide users the option of adding things to their allowance. If people can’t discover certain meals in your app, they’ll likely quit and hunt for alternatives.

How To Monetize Your Health & Fitness Application

• Paid Apps

Users pay to install the app under this arrangement. This revenue model generates an immediate profit, but it does not generate a lot of money in the long run. Given that you must retain a team of developers to generate new updates and patch issues, the app fee should be high enough to pay these costs. Users may not purchase the unknown program, which costs a lot, in this situation.

The only plausible use for this method is when you have a small fitness app with no long-term intentions. You can set an affordable price to cover development costs while also attracting an audience. Other revenue models can be added later to this project.

Explore – HealthifyMe Business Model

• In-App Purchases

You design a fitness app and release it for free using this technique. The free app version offers customers basic capabilities that are more than sufficient for a smooth experience. However, for a price, the app includes certain capabilities. Users are not required to purchase them, but in most situations, if they enjoy the concept of your app, they will purchase extras that enhance its fundamental functions.

• Ads

If you pick this method, your partners’ adverts will be displayed within the app. There are several forms of advertisements. Ads promoting items can be integrated into the app’s various menus.

Another approach is to employ video adverts that display once specific actions are taken (after a successful workout, for example). Because customers dislike commercials, it is critical not to overdo them. Consider the ad arrangement ahead of time while developing a training app.

Wrapping Up

Health and Fitness apps are trending right now and with the growth, this industry is depicting, the future of such applications looks promising. However, as the industry grows the number of players in the virtual fitness and health industry grows as well.

Therefore, it is important to choose an experienced health and fitness app development company with relevant experience to ensure that along with your unique idea, a level of quality and perfection is attained in your app to make it stand out.