Fitr. Training is a complex solution created to simplify the lives of fitness coaches and their remote clients. It’s a platform where coaches can manage their programs, finances, and communicate with clients — all in one place. Visit Website
Leon Cassidy approached us after a referral from our previous client, owner of the UNIGHT platform, Artur Engalychev.
The problem Leon wanted to solve was that many coaches face the limitation that is lack of clients able to come to the gym. This made it challenging for coaches to earn their living with coaching alone. Leon came up with an instrument that would allow coaches to manage more clients and expand to the online fitness niche.
Leon came to us in 2018 with an idea of premium remote coaching software.
He wanted to create a platform where athletes could compete without meeting offline, and coaches had a tool that would allow them to build relationships with private & group messaging, expand client base, and manage automatic payments and training plans with ease.
During our first meeting, Leon showed us an app he already had — CVLT — with part of the intended functionality.
Initially, he wanted us to help with updates and maintenance, however, having discussed all sides of the idea with us, Leon agreed that we should start anew and make a better version of his app.
Our main task was to make sure that Fitr Training hit the market. We spent a lot of time discussing with Leon the main pain points our target users — coaches and their clients, athletes — had.
Thorough market research and competitor analysis helped us shape the idea of a product that would find its market fit.
One of the most important ingredients for success is a clear understanding of the market size.
The global fitness app market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 21.6% from 2020 to 2028 and reach USD 15.5 billion by 2028.
people used fitness apps in 2020. The number of fitness apps users grew almost by 25 million between 2018 and 2020.
Sourсe: Statista Survey
Fitness App market size 2017- 2028 (USD Million) I moved off our old system because I needed a website that took payments, synced to my athletes profiles, was clean, easy to use, and reliable. The user interface is much more professional than the solution we were using before.
During the Discovery stage, we created typical “user persona” portraits of our target audience. This approach helped us sharpen the marketing strategy and increase the chances that we hit the market. Interviews with real coaches allowed us to better understand what the platform needed to stand out.
We took necessary parts from multiple platforms coaches used to manage their businesses and built a platform where all the functionality was combined flawlessly.
Add and remove clients, assign programs attached to a calendar, monitor progress and feedback.
Create and manage programs: upload, replace, and delete videos, customize and assign programs to clients.
Communicate with clients and other coaches, share photos and videos instead of using various messengers and social media.
Make all payments via an all-in-one platform instead of bank transfers or cash payments.
The initial idea for Fitr. Training was a mobile app. However, during the discovery, we’ve decided to switch to web. There were two reasons:
We’ve built Fitr. Training platform from the ground up. We started with the information architecture — a detailed prototype of the user experience. We’ve created prototypes for each user flow and tested them to be certain we haven’t missed any important bits.
Fitr. Training for coaches became a web platform with a satellite mobile app that provides full functionality from program creation and distribution to payment. Through it, coaches can manage all sides of their business as well as monitor client activity and feedback.
A mobile app is an extension of sorts created to provide on-the-go access to community features — communication with clients and leaderboards.
Coaches spend a lot of time creating custom training programs for their clients. We wanted to streamline this process. One of the Fitr. Training partners and also famous coach, Steven Fawcett, helped us create a system of benchmarks. Benchmarks optimize the program creation process by using variables instead of constants.
How does it work?
A coach creates a program and sets up each training day’s benchmarks in % of max load.
An athlete defines their default parameters: max weight they can lift, max speed and distance they run, average heart rate, and so on.
The Fitr. Training custom-written algorithm calculates each athlete’s benchmarks based on their default parameters and the program’s benchmarks.
Time spent =
10 min
Time spent =
60 min
As a result, an athlete receives a program customized to their needs and abilities and a coach doesn’t have to calculate individual benchmarks for each athlete.
Also, our custom algorithms automatically convert measurements between systems. If a coach and an athlete use different measurement systems, the algorithm will convert benchmarks between them.
Coaches usually work with one or more gyms. To offer coaches access to the gym site functionality, traditionally, gym management distributed access credentials among all their coaches to build programs and upload videos to the platform. This sometimes made it hard to find the source of any site activity. If something went wrong, it was hard to detect which user was at fault.
To deal with this issue, we’ve implemented a functionality in Fitr. Training that enables coaches to participate in multiple gyms from their personal account. On the Fitr. Training platform, coaches join teams and brands with their personal profile via invite from the brand/gym owner.
For gyms, this system has two benefits: a gym can monitor activities by each member and doesn’t need to distribute credentials among coaches.
For coaches, it allows them to participate in multiple gyms or teams using the same account without keeping records of multiple credentials.
To help coaches avoid accidentally mixing up their programs, we've implemented another smart piece of functionality: when a coach switches their active team on one device, they’ll be automatically switched on their other logged-in devices as well.
For athletes, Fitr. Training also has both web and mobile platforms. On the web platform, we’ve implemented all the functionality athletes need: a calendar to never miss a training session, program purchases, access to benchmarks and videos, an opportunity to offer feedback with both comments and by simply choosing an emoticon to let a coach know how the training felt.
iOS and Android mobile apps for athletes are equipped with all the same features that a web platform has sans some features that several users deemed less important.
Fitr. Training launched overall successfully. However, having monitored the platform’s performance for some time, we saw an opportunity to further improve conversion.
Conversion rate Aug 2020 - Jul 2021 (%)We tested different sign-up and program creation flows over several iterations and managed to increase conversion
from 25% to 38%This data combined with regular feedback from our client and the fitness community allowed us to build a monetization model that could make Fitr. Training profitable. On August 1, 2020, we’ve launched subscriptions.
The result was more than good — one in four coaches using Fitr. Training is now a paying user.
Payouts (Aug 2019 - Jul 2021)We used technologies and frameworks that would make Fitr. Training a fast, smooth, and stable platform.
Vue.js
Axios
Bootstrap
Webpack
Video.js
TipTap
Sass
Redis
Ruby
PostgreSQL
Kotlin
MVVM
Clean Architecture
SwiftUI
Firebase Crashlytics
WebSocketsComposable ArchitectureYears after its first launch, Fitr. Training is a platform we’re still overseeing, updating, and providing maintenance for. Our client trusts us to understand what his clients need and provide the best solutions. And we are proud of building a product that has found its niche and is loved by its users.
Today, Fitr. Training collaborates with big names in the fitness community, like Invictus Fitness.
It is also a project that helps shine light on important social issues: Fitr. Training partners with the Battle Cancer project.
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