How to Create a Fitness App: 10 Steps Development Guide

Nowadays, fitness apps are still on the roll. There was a time when we relied on these for our, well, fitness during lockdown. But these tools stayed in our lives ever since.

At the same time, your fitness trainer app offers mobile tools to:

• help improve diet or exercise

• get timely health information

• monitor chronic health conditions

• provide educational content

The fitness app market revenue in 2024 is $6.86 billion, expected to grow to $10.04 billion by 2028. So, the market is quite fruitful.

In this article, ProCoders will walk you through every step of developing a fitness app. We’ll talk about:

• choosing a monetization model

• picking app features

• design

• development, and further

Welcome to our ultimate guide, based on our own experience in fitness application development!

How to Build a Fitness App: Market Overview

The global health and fitness mobile app market grows. The main reasons are:

• continuous adoption of smartphones and wearable devices

• rising health awareness

• growing focus on fitness and wellness

The market offers a lot of different apps for many goals. Those include:

• monitoring physical activity

• maintaining healthy lifestyles

• achieving fitness goals

According to a report by Allied Market Research, the global fitness and health app market can reach $13.05 billion by 2027, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21.6%.

This growth is met by user adoption of these apps.

According to Statista, the number of users in the eServices Fitness segment is projected to reach 353.2 million users by the end of 2023, up from 306.9 million users in 2021.

This makes it all clear as to why so many companies have been moving forward to fitness app development!

Market Players

Some of the key players in the global fitness apps market include:

• Fitbit, Inc.

• MyFitnessPal, Inc.

• Nike, Inc.

• Under Armour, Inc.

• Runtastic GmbH

• Adidas AG

• Asics Corporation

• Azumio, Inc.

• Garmin Ltd.

• Google fit LLC

These companies constantly invest in product development, partnerships, and acquisitions to expand their target audience.

How to Start a Fitness App: Key Market Trends

At ProCoders, we know businesses have to stay in tune with industry trends. So, we created a list of the hottest ones:

• The rise of wearable devices. The increasing adoption of smartwatches and fitness bands has boosted the demand for wearable integration for fitness apps. Even the Apple watch can measure your heart rate now.
  Many mobile app developers for hire focus on apps that can be complemented by wearables for real-time tracking.

• Gamification and social engagement. These features increase user engagement, make using the app fun, and foster a sense of community.

• Personalized user experience. AI and machine learning help deliver personalized workout plans, nutrition advice, and progress tracking based on user preferences. It’s like having your trainer in your pocket all the time!

• Virtual fitness classes. The pandemic has made home workouts a staple. And businesses hopped on this trend readily. We at ProCoders, by the way, are a part of the trend. We developed Dryft, an innovative health and wellness platform that offers unique experiences by providing fitness classes in scenic locations across major cities.

Types of Fitness and Workout Apps

Here, we at ProCoders highlight just some of the most popular options that you may want to consider:

Activity Tracking Apps

These apps allow users to monitor their daily exercise and wellness routines. For that, the apps use data from smartphone sensors or wearable devices. They collect info about activities like:

• walking

• running

• cycling

They offer important insights such as distance covered, calories burned, and progress charts. If you’re trying to create a habit of walking a certain number of steps, this is a great option.

If you want to build a fitness tracker app, but don’t know where to start – contact ProCoders! We can start a Discovery Phase, where we’ll consider all your requirements for the project and create a full development roadmap!

Diet and Nutrition Apps

These help users manage their diets and make healthier food choices. Nutrition apps offer features like:

• meal planning

• calorie counting

• nutrient tracking

Such an app will help you see your eating habits.

Additional features for such apps are:

• extensive food databases

• recipe suggestions

• personalized diet plans

Gamification elements and scoreboards should be the key focus of diet planner app development.

Workout App

The workout plan app primarily delivers workouts, offering diverse exercise options beyond standard cardio or dance routines. You can improve user engagement with gamification features like:

• progress tracking

• rewards

• social interaction

Create a workout app with unique experiences, such as:

• VR-based exercises

• outdoor adventures

• story-driven workouts

These can motivate users and help your gym application stand out in the competitive fitness market. A dynamic, captivating workout app appeals to a wide audience and promotes fitness success.

Tip from ProCoders. To make a workout app with online classes and personal trainers, you should be aware of one significant pitfall that not everyone knows. You may need not 1, but 2, or even 3 apps! Why? One for customers, one for trainers, and maybe you will also need one for administration purposes. So, keep this in mind!

Yoga and Meditation Apps

Yoga and meditation apps support mental and physical well-being through:

• mindfulness

• relaxation

• flexibility exercises

• spiritual practices, etc.

Featuring guided yoga sessions, meditation exercises, and breathing techniques, these apps cater to users of all levels. You can include various yoga styles, meditation-focused features, and detailed instructions in your app. This will help users customize their routines, which may contribute to the success of your app.

Some other features to include are:

• progress tracking

• personalized recommendations

• reminders to maintain consistency

Popular examples include Yoga Studio, Headspace, and Calm.

Features of a Fitness App

We already talked about the main features of different fitness app types above, but which features are common for all types of apps? Here is a table created by ProCoders:

Feature	Description
User Profiles	Personalized profiles storing age, gender, height, weight, fitness level, and workout preferences for tailored workout and nutrition plans.
Goal Setting	Users can set specific fitness goals and track their progress for motivation.
Progress Tracking & Analytics	Monitoring of workout and nutrition data over time, providing visual representations of progress, such as graphs and charts.
Social Features	Connection with friends, sharing achievements, participation in challenges, and joining communities for added motivation and support.
Gamification Elements	Incorporation of rewards, badges, and leaderboards to make the fitness journey more engaging and enjoyable.
Reminders & Notifications	Push notifications or reminders to encourage users to stay consistent with workouts, nutrition, and other healthy habits.
In-app Purchases & Subscription Plans	Offering premium features, content, and services through in-app purchases or subscription plans for additional revenue streams and enhanced user experiences.

10 Steps on How to Create a Fitness App

Step 1. Define Your App’s Purpose and Target Audience through Market Research

Identify the primary goals before creating a fitness app. These can be:

• targeting weight loss

• eliminating muscle gain

• achieving general fitness, etc.

To choose the right goal, learn about your target audience’s struggles.

To gain more initial info:

• analyze the competition

• identify market gaps

• gather insights on the most popular and successful features in existing fitness apps.

This will help you create a unique value proposition and differentiate your app from competitors.

Step 2. Plan the App’s Features

Based on your research and target audience, pick the features for your app. These can be:

• workout libraries

• personalized plans

• activity tracking

• nutrition tracking

• progress analytics

• social features

• gamification elements, etc.

Step 3. Choose the Right Technology Stack

Select the fitting programming languages, frameworks, databases, testing algorithms, etc. Consider factors such as cross-platform compatibility, scalability, and maintainability.

• The framework—do you want to use JavaScript-driven React Native, Dart-driven Flutter, or some other cross-platform framework? Determine this upfront.

• Integrations—does your app need to integrate third party API or be compiled with social media platforms like Facebook? What services and software you choose will have a significant impact on those integrations, so do your research.

• Payment systems—How will users pay for the services they get in-app? If you have vendors, like fitness instructors, who get paid per click or download, how will they be compensated? How will you accept payment for sponsored ads? The software solutions you choose will have a significant impact on this.

Step 4. Create a User-Friendly Fitness App UI/UX Design

Design an intuitive, visually appealing, and easy-to-navigate user interface. Your app has to be accessible and inclusive for users of various fitness levels and abilities.

Step 5. Assembling a Team

When choosing how to assemble the team, you have several options:

• In-house team. Hiring an in-house development team offers pros like direct communication and full control over development. However, it’s time-consuming and costly to recruit, train, and maintain a team of skilled developers.

• Offshore dedicated development team. Partnering with an outstaffing company to hire a dedicated development team can eliminate the cons of an in-house team. It saves time and reduces costs while providing access to a diverse pool of professionals.

• Freelancers. While freelancers can offer specialized skills at a lower cost, they may lack the commitment and availability for long-term projects.

Step 6. Develop an MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

Create a simplified version of your fitness app, also called an MVP (minimum viable product). Focus on core features.

An MVP allows you to test your app’s concept with real users, gather feedback, and validate its market potential.

Then, you can seek further investment for development

Step 7. Develop the App

Based on the users’ feedback from the previous step, you can now create a more complex app with all the features you initially planned.

Step 8. Test the App

Conduct thorough testing during the process of building a fitness application to check its functionality, usability, and performance to identify and fix any issues or bugs. Use a combination of manual and automated testing, and consider beta testing with real users to gather valuable feedback.

Step 9. Launch, Market, and Promote the App

Release your app on the stores of your choice (Google Play Store, Apple App Store). Make sure you follow their guidelines and requirements.

Optimize your app store listing with:

• relevant keywords

• compelling descriptions

• attractive visuals

Develop and execute a marketing strategy to create awareness and drive user acquisition. Actively use social media, consider influencer partnerships, content marketing, and app store optimization (ASO) techniques to reach your target audience.

Step 10. Monitor Performance and User Feedback

Continuously track app usage, user feedback, and app store ratings to identify areas for improvement and opportunities for growth. Update and enhance your app based on user feedback and market trends to maintain user engagement and satisfaction.

If you have a feeling you may not handle any of these steps, you can always reach ProCoders for help. We can pick up your project at any stage and continue the work for you! We only hire app developers who are high professionals, and some of them already have experience with fitness app development for weight loss, you can expect a thorough and custom approach to your project. Contact us today, and we’ll see what we can do for you!

Breakdown of Fitness App Development Cost, Based on Your Dev Team

The easiest path is to hire an outside development team that can handle the entirety of the project, from beginning to end.

Developers from the US and Australia charge an average of $110/hour. In Western Europe, costs can run from $80/hour. And in Central Europe, developers can be hired for $50/hour. So, hiring developers from a Central European country like Croatia or Albania can cut your costs in half.

Keep in mind that, also, that some tasks will not need the highest-paid developers and programmers, junior developers can handle them as well.

The number of hours needed to develop your app will vary widely. However, we’ve generally found that these industry averages hold true.

Phases	Estimation in hours
Technical documentation	80+ hours
Design	160+ hours
Development	800+ hours
Project Management	240+ hours
Quality Assurance	280+ hours

So you can use this table to roughly calculate the cost of developing a fitness app, just multiply the hours by the developer’s salary in the region you want to hire from. But these estimations will be inaccurate.

If you want to have a more precise budget and even a development plan, you can contact ProCoders to do just that. Our Discovery Phase is the service we created to help startups achieve a clear vision of their development strategy. We also know where and how to cut corners and still achieve the results you desire. Contact us and have a free consultation about your project today!

How is a Fitness App Monetized?

Monetization Strategy	Description
In-app advertisements	Display ads within your app, either as banner ads or interstitial ads, generating revenue based on impressions or clicks.
In-app purchases for fitness apps	Offer additional features, premium content, or virtual goods that users can buy directly within the app.
Subscription-based model	Provide users access to exclusive content, ad-free experiences, or advanced features through a recurring subscription fee.
Sponsored content	Collaborate with fitness brands, equipment manufacturers, or health companies to promote their products or services within your app in exchange for a sponsorship fee.
Freemium model	Offer a free version of your app with basic features and a paid version with advanced features, encouraging users to upgrade for an enhanced experience.
One-time purchase	Charge users a one-time fee to download and access your fitness app and all its features.

Outsource Fitness App Development: ProCoders Experience

At ProCoders, we have experience developing an innovative fitness app project called Dryft, which allows users to book diverse fitness classes at unique and dynamic locations that change daily.

Dryft’s app needed to offer extensive capabilities for both individual fitness instructors and their students, providing a seamless platform for promotional content, class booking, royalty payments, and more. ProCoders took on the challenge, beginning with a comprehensive Discovery Phase to refine the scope of work, evaluate the best tools and platforms, and plan the project’s execution.

After a four-week Discovery Phase, Dryft was so impressed with ProCoders’ approach that they hired us to code and assemble the app. ProCoders collaborated closely with Dryft’s UX/UI designers to create a user-friendly experience, with daily progress updates ensuring transparent communication throughout the project. After thoroughly analyzing the project parameters during the research phase, we went with Angular 8 and the Ionic framework.

The result was a groundbreaking app that combined booking, search, and payment functions, while also integrating with ride-sharing services like Lyft and Scoop for effortless transportation to classes. Users could even follow other users and share their fitness journey with friends, encouraging engagement and motivation.

ProCoders’ unique approach and cross-platform development strategy led to a 40% reduction in costs and the fact that Angular 8 and Ionic both use the same code base allowed us to reduce development time by 35 percent, from five to three months. And because of this alignment, changes that need to be made in the future can be done faster, and more inexpensively, too. By assembling a qualified, vetted team quickly and using offshore software engineers, Dryft saved about 50% in comparison to hiring a California-based team.

“ProCoders has been the best development firm I’ve worked with. Despite there being a time zone difference, they’re able to deal with urgent issues. If we notice there’s a bug, someone on their team is always available to provide a solution. They’re excellent”

Nathaniel Jewell

CEO at Dryft

Conclusion

The key to good fitness app development for mental health or another goal is proper research and planning. If you understand your market, carefully think through your needs, hire the right team, and make sure they’re fully resourced, your chances of developing a great fitness app will go up significantly. Here at ProCoders, we have all the development and design resources you need to create a fitness app, from beginning to end. Or, our developers can work together with your in-house team to provide only the extra support you need. No matter how you’d prefer to work, or which kind of health and wellness app you want to create (maybe, you want to know how to develop a women’s health tracking application or develop a healthcare app) we’d love to talk to you about your next project. Contact us today for a free consultation!