How to Build a Handy Workout Planning Platform?

For personal trainers, managing all clients and tracking their progress is always a tough task, especially when their client base is more than a small handful of people. For personal trainers and gym owners, we have prepared the following short tutorial on how to develop software for workout planning.

About 250,000 people die annually in the U.S. due to a non-active lifestyles. The numerous advantages of regular physical activity were proven long ago by such organizations as the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Research has reinforced the scientific evidence of the direct connection between physical activity and cardiovascular health.

According to PubMed’s data, walking at least two hours per week decreases likelihood of premature death from any cause by 39-54%, and by 34-53% for those with diabetes who suffer from cardiovascular diseases. Regular physical activity is crucial for our health. When we decide to participate in sports on a regular basis, we often realize that we suffer from lack of motivation and knowledge to create an effective training program and workout plan journal to ensure the fastest and best progress.

This is where a personal digital trainer can come in handy. Keep reading to learn how you can benefit from building a corresponding solution, despite your role as a sports enthusiast or gym owner.

Which Functions Should Be Implemented in a Workout Planning Website, Software, or App?

The market is full of various devices dedicated to tracking burned calories, distance passed, or other important measures; however, their cost varies from $80 to $400 for a standalone device, while most people have technology they would prefer to use for these purposes. Therefore, installing a mobile application or using a web app seems to be a more rational solution, especially taking into account that modern smart devices contain various trackers, to begin with.

The high functionality of these devices makes each training planning app even more useful. This is why it is important to understand which functions to consider in order to create a workout routine app or website that will help boost visitor power and stamina, and allow gym owners and trainers to track clients and their progress.

Functions Necessary for Clients

Let’s consider the required features for trainers and gym clients, separately, in order to understand the structure of the desired solution and determine the needs of each user type.

A client feature list should include:

• Photo galleries and photo sharing;
• User groups and chat rooms;
• Custom training programs;
• Dashboard;
• Custom Diets; and,
• Messaging.

Photo Galleries and Photo Sharing

Clients should be able to easily upload their photos and share them with friends in social networks. “Before” and “after” photos help visually track progress and motivate clients for additional training. Moreover, friends will be able to inspire clients on Facebook or Instagram and increase the likeliness that they will strive for new and more ambitious goals.

User Groups and Chat Rooms

Communication plays an important role in today’s digital world. With chat rooms, members of the same gym will be able to discuss their programs and progress in order to increase motivation. User groups will allow them to always keep in touch and help trainers implement a more effective marketing strategy to form a node of loyal customers.

Custom Diet and Training Programs

Building custom training programs and diets for women and men is the main function of any workout planning app or software. Clients should be able to follow their own personal workout routine that takes into account individual health characteristics and contraindications.

Dashboard

A dashboard is necessary for providing clients with the ability to monitor their success on a regular basis. Clear analytics will allow them to understand where they actually are on their path to a healthy life.

Messaging

Professional training is always about the right questions and qualified answers. That is why clients need to be in touch with their personal trainers, in order to inform them about any health reactions during the training cycle. This also allows them to receive timely answers that can make their physical activity more effective.

Necessary Functions for Trainers

Workout planning solutions are aimed at two key points: to improve client performance and simplify a trainer’s work. In order to be useful for professional trainers, an app has to contain the following functions:

• Client tracking;
• Notification system;
• Advanced analytics;
• Customer relationship management (CRM) system; and,
• Device Compatibility.

Let’s consider each function in more detail.

Client Tracking

One of the main tasks of any fitness app is to track the program progress: how a client follows his or her training program and how their health changes or adapts to it. The system must structure collected data and represent it in a simple and comprehensive way.

Advanced Analytics

An app has to analyze both data received from trackers and the information input by clients. This will allow it to track progress, detect causes for unachieved goals, and improve personal training programs. The inner analytics have to be connected to the notification system.

Notification System

A notification system is aimed at informing trainers about client success or emergency situations when there is a health threat. Timely notification will help limit any negative impacts of training programs for clients who have individual medical contraindications.

CRM

A personal training app for both clients and trainers also has to be an effective tool that helps coaches manage their clients in a structured way. An app should easily access the training metrics of each client, without the need to keep mental or paper records.

Device Compatibility

Compatibility with various devices is important for informative analytics and creating convenient training programs for each client. The more opportunity for different devices to be connected to the application, the more data can be collected and the more an effective workout program can be created for men or women by their trainer.

Technologies Used in Workout Planning Software Development

A workout planning platform can be a complex system, consisting of various components that enhance basic functionalities and provide a full set of necessary information for ensuring effective training.

Components of a workout planning platform include:

• Server for data storage;
• Web application for checking analytics results;
• Software for real-time messaging, training scheduling, CRM, etc.
• Mobile app that will be used during training; and,
• Set of various compatible trackers.

To build a server that will support the needed load level, we recommend using Ruby on Rails or Django. These server-side frameworks are famous for their simple and comprehensive syntax that will definitely allow users to build a workout plan app (web version) of any complexity.

A web app or software must have a comprehensive user interface that allows users to monitor dynamic data online. Such Javascript-based frameworks as React and Angular are a good fit for implementing dynamic features in web applications.

Indeed, mobile training apps must have both Android and iOS versions; therefore, they can be developed with native tools in Java or Objective C. Such web frameworks as Ionic or NativeScript will also facilitate the development process.

Existing Solutions for Planning Workout Routines for Men and Women

In this paragraph, we will consider some popular solutions for workout planning created for clients, gym owners, and personal trainers. We will focus on both desktop and mobile-based tools.

RhinoFit

RhinoFit is a simple software developed for gym owners and personal trainers. It is a CRM system that allows users to manage their client database for only $57 per month. Furthermore, this solution is absolutely free for less than 20 members, and it also has a web and mobile app for both Android and iOS.

FitSW

FitSW is a fitness software created specifically for personal trainers. It provides trainers with a set of tools for tracking client training performance using any device: a smartphone, desktop, or tablet. It allows users to create custom training programs for each client and record their progress. The solution is available on Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS.

WorkoutLabs Train

WorkoutLabs Train is a web application for both personal trainers and their clients. It allows them to create comprehensive illustrated workout plans that are accessible on any device. With this tool, personal trainers can track client attendance and schedule training for each client using the internal interactive calendar.

Wellcaster

Wellcaster is a web application built by our Gearheart team for both personal trainers and clients, and different interfaces for each type of user. The platform contains an internal editor that allows users to compose a custom training program and set days and goals. Wellcaster’s interface is developed with Angular using REST API. The solution has a media library that allows users to upload media files and it provides clients with the option to pay for their training through online payment methods without leaving the app. It also contains a comprehensive client management system and dashboard for reviewing client performance and progress.

Why a Custom Workout Planning Software Is Better

No matter which kind of sport you participate in: bodybuilding, fitness, or a CrossFit program, one way or another managing clients requires a lot of time and effort. You must remember everything: names, training programs, performance metrics, and medical contraindications of each client, etc. This task does not seem too difficult when you have less than ten clients and a decent memory and, in some cases, you can get away with a simple small notebook to record all your metrics. When your client base starts to grow, however, your notebook pages will not be enough to keep up with the amount of new information you need to retain. In this case, workout planning solutions will significantly improve your work. So, what is better: a “mass production” tool or a custom one?

The answer to this question lies in the individual requirements of each gym and personal trainer. A tool for fitness trainers and bike instructors must have different analytics systems that use corresponding metrics; however, app developers strive to target as large an audience as possible to increase their income. That is why they create multi-purpose solutions that may be equally inconvenient for different personal trainers or gyms. Therefore, a custom workout planning platform will fully match all your needs and requirements. Such a solution will allow you to wisely spend your budget without the need to pay each month.

How Much Does It Cost to Make a Workout Planning Software?

It is difficult to calculate the price of custom workout planning software without knowing specific requirements. That is why it would be more logical to calculate the cost of a minimum valuable product (MVP). In this case, an MVP with such basic features as creating custom training programs, client tracking, and a dashboard will take less than four months. Taking into account an average programmer’s rate of $50 per hour, the cost will be about $20,000-$25,000.

Workout planning and gym tracking software allows trainers and gym owners to create effective fitness programs for all their clients while applying an individual approach to their services. It helps professionals in growing their gyms or personal services with minimum time spent in the back office. It fully excludes the need for physical paperwork related to managing clients, and allows users to focus solely on the clients themselves, while forming a solid foundation for a loyal audience.

Feel free to contact our Gearheart team for further assistance with fitness related web app development. We will be more than happy to help make your services more profitable. Provide your clients with an individual approach with Gearheart!