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Designing a Smarter Workout Tracking App
Role:
UX Researcher & UX Designer
Duration:
12 weeks (Part-time)
Tools:
Figma, Miro, Microsoft Suite, Hotjar
Type:
Personal Passion Project
Solo workouts are common, but they come with hidden challenges: losing track of sets, misjudging rest times, and overtraining due to guilt. This project explores how to design a fitness tracking app that supports users not only before and after workouts, but during them as well.
STUDY CASE OVERVIEW
This case study walks through each stage of the UX process, from identifying the problem and defining research goals to ideation, testing, and design. Each section below outlines a key milestone of the project:
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Many fitness apps are designed primarily for logging workouts after completion, rather than offering real-time guidance during exercise. As a result, users often lose track of their sets, skip exercises due to fatigue or distractions, or overcompensate out of guilt. Others may rely on handwritten notes or static workout plans without a reliable way to track progress or adjust in the moment. This leads to an inconsistent workout experience, reduced motivation, and difficulty staying accountable to fitness goals.
RESEARCH GOALS
METHOLOGY
Identify why people miscount or skip sets
Learn how users currently track workouts
Uncover gaps in current fitness app solutions
Understand emotional influences on training behavior
INTERVIEW THEMATIC ANALYSIS
After conducting interviews with five fitness-conscious users, the following themes emerged:
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Mid-workout confusion
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Users frequently lose count of sets
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Often rely on guessing or repeating sets to compensate
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Emotional Compensation
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Guilt and self-judgment drive users to overtrain
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Skipping sets leads to emotional distress or low motivation
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Lack of Real-Time Tracking Support
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Apps offer little or no help during workouts
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Users desire real-time guidance and reminders
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Manual Tracking Fatigue
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Users use paper or mental tracking that becomes distracting
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Logging between sets feels burdensome
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Desire for Guided Automation
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Users want effortless set/rest tracking
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Desire for auto-cue features and intelligent suggestions
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JOURNEY MAP: PRE-APP EXPERIENCE
User Journey Breakdown
Goal: Complete a 45-minute strenght workout
To better understand users' authentic habits and emotions throughout a workout, the five participants from the interviews were asked to complete a typical strength workout as they normally would, without any intervention or app assistance. Each participant recorded their process using voice notes or paper journaling immediately before, during, and after the workout. They were instructed to:
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Log what they planned to do versus what they actually did
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Note when and why they lost count or skipped/added sets
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Describe how they felt at each phase (before, during, and after)
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Reflect on distractions, focus, and motivation
This activity produced over 20 insights that were grouped into categories and laid out across an a journey map. These reflections highighted recurring pain points and emotional patterns across the workout experience.
The journey mapping revealed that user frustrations aren't isolated. They occur in a clear sequence throughout the workout experience. Planning challenges and memory lapses compound over time, leading to emotional and motivational consequences. Most notable, the mid-workout phase is a critical pain point due to distraction, inaccurate counting, and inconsistent rest. These insights calidated the need for a solution that supports focus and feedback during the workoutm not just before or after. This laid the groundwork for our real-time tracking features.
Summary & Analysis
COMPETITOR AUDIT
APPLE FITNESS+
Strengths: Seamless integration with Apple Watch; real-time heart rate, calories, and progress metrics; video-guided workouts
Limitations: No feature for real-time set tracking; manual control of workout flow; limited customization for strength training structure
User Feedback Highlights: Users valued the motivational videos and biometric sync, but desire more control over structure and rest tracking
NIKE TRAINING CLUB
Strengths: Wide range of workout programs; audio and visual guidance; strong brand engagement; clean, user-friendly user interface
Limitations: Does not allow for real-time customization; no rep/set tracking during workout; minimal post-workout data
User Feedback Highlights: Users enjoyed program variety but often supplemented with other tools to track sets and progress
KEY TAKEAWAYS
While both platforms excel in guidance and branding, they fall short in addressing the user's need to track detailed progress and stay on-task during a workout. This case study fills that gap.
PERSONA SNAPSHOT
KEY INSIGHTS
Jordan
Age: 28
Role: Fitness Enthusiast
Needs: Accurate in-session support and confidence in tracking
Pain Points: Loses count, skips
Users frequently lose track of which set they're on
Some user overtrain due to guilt
Rest timing is inconsistent or untracked
Users want in-the-moment support, no just post-workout stats
