The COVID-19 restrictions led to a boom in fitness apps and sparked the development of new fitness technologies. The global fitness app market reached $1.5 billion worth of value in 2022. It is expected to reach $4.8 billion by the year 2030. This represents a 17.6% CAGR from 2023- 2030.
The number of fitness apps downloaded during the pandemic grew by 46 percent, as people were told to limit their social interactions and stay at home to prevent the spread of COVID.
COVID-19 was not the only reason for fitness to move mobile and digital. Fitness apps are now able to offer much more than home exercises, thanks to the rapid development of virtual reality, IoT, and machine learning. Fitness apps can also provide customized training plans, track diet and activity, and provide personal fitness coaches.
The fitness app segment as a group, with its 2.5 billion downloads in 2021, has been tipped by 2022. Fitness apps suffered a setback in 2022 as gyms make a comeback, and consumer behavior is changing.
Find out which fitness app types have fundamentally changed in 2023 and what ideas are still high-potential.
In 2023, there will be 8 new fitness apps that are sure to boom.
Apps for On-Demand Exercise
Apps that provide on-demand access to fitness workouts are available in your pocket. Modern technology allows people to choose between home workouts and brick-and-mortar studios, or combine them to create their own customized workout regimen.
Exercise Apps Available on Demand
Aaptiv offers 2,500+ audio workouts led by professionals, including yoga, strength training, outdoor running, and boxing. The app’s workout library is updated regularly, with over 30 new workouts being added each week.
Studio is a cardio app on demand that can be used with any cardio equipment. The app offers access to over 3,000 audio cardio classes that are suitable for all fitness levels. Studio members have access to a variety of fitness classes including boxing, yoga, indoor cycling, strength training, and treadmill.
The Studio app collects heart rate data and metrics from cardio equipment users to maximize fitness gains. The app also includes a leaderboard that is updated in real-time to encourage competition among users.
AI-based fitness apps
AI is used in many different ways. AI-powered fitness apps offer many benefits to users, such as a more customized fitness experience, increased fun and engagement, convenient home workouts, etc. AI-driven video assistants can replace human trainers, and can automatically adjust workouts for better results.
AI-based fitness apps: Examples
RunMotion coach is an AI-based, digital coach who adjusts the running session according to each user’s fitness and goals. App users can receive a complete cycle of training including nutrition, physical and mental training, and recovery. RunMotion Coach is also the first digital coaching service to offer a chatbot for running and motivational tips.
Volt is a training platform powered by AI that creates long-term plans of workouts based on performance data. Volt is a coaching platform that coaches athletes to achieve their goals. Volt provides hyper-personalized recommendations for workouts, adjusts each set from one to the next, and adapts exercises as users progress.
One-on-One Fitness Apps
Personal fitness apps can help you achieve better results with your workouts. Even professional athletes can find it difficult to plan workouts, diversify daily training, and build a dream physique. Personal fitness apps offer one-on-one sessions with fitness instructors.
One-on-One Fitness Apps: Examples
Flexit offers one-on-one sessions with personal trainers. Users can mix and match different fitness styles such as boxing, cardio workouts, HIIT, and yoga to engage them. Flexit offers nutrition and diet guides as well as physical therapy, support for pre-and post-natal women, and meditation.
The Future app offers unique digital training tailored to each user’s fitness goals and level. A Future coach is an actual person who provides support on-call to members on their fitness journey. According to Future, 94% of its members speak to their coach regarding nutrition, stress, and sleep. Coaches communicate with users frequently, create a new weekly training plan, and respond to questions or concerns in real time.
Apps for Meditation and Mindfulness
Meditation and mindfulness applications can reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep, and help combat depression. According to The New York Times Magazine, demand for mindfulness and meditation apps increased dramatically during the pandemic.
Mindfulness and meditation app examples
InsightTimer offers a library of over 80,000 guided mediations. Ten new meditations are added every day. Users can browse thousands of meditations to build daily habits. Users can also ask questions in the app’s discussion group.
Headspace is an app that combines mindfulness and meditation. It uses therapeutic music, breathing techniques, and yoga to reduce stress. The app has a library of over 500 guided meditations covering everything from stress management to better sleeping.
Apps for Diet and Nutrition
Like any other activity tracking app, these apps can help you track your calories and nutrition. Diet and nutrition applications help users maintain a healthy diet by meal planning.
Diet apps will focus on healthy eating habits in 2022 instead of dieting. People are choosing healthy meals over restrictive diets. Add a tracker for healthy eating habits to your app to encourage users to be more health-conscious.
Diet and Nutrition Apps Examples
Fooducate helps users maintain healthy eating habits and enrich their diets with nutrients. This app uses an algorithm to rate foods according to their nutritional value. The higher the grade, the more nutritious the food.
Members can add foods easily by scanning the barcodes or searching by name. Fooducate will ask users to enter the amount of food they ate, and it will calculate its calories, carbs, and protein. The app can track mood, sleep, and physical activity.
MyFitnessPal can be a useful tool for people who want to lose weight. It is easy to use and keeps track of calories and nutrients. MyFitnessPal logs the entire meal using the camera on the phone, rather than scanning the app or searching for a particular food. The app is not only a calorie counter but can also help users stay motivated by providing a library of healthy recipes.
Yoga Apps
Yoga is a daily favorite workout for most people. Yoga has many benefits including stress reduction, increased flexibility, weight loss, and better focus. Mobile apps allow users to practice at home or while on the move.
Yoga Apps Examples
Daily Yoga is a great app for beginners as well as seasoned yoga practitioners. The app includes over 500 yoga asanas, and 70 programs and tracks users’ exercise.
Daily Yoga also has a vibrant yoga community, where users can meet new people, share their experiences, and ask any questions. The app also has a rich music library that allows users to choose the background music they want for their mindfulness and yoga sessions.
MyYogaTeacher is a free app that helps people to become happier and healthier by practicing yoga. This app offers sessions with Indian Yoga Teachers trained in the birthplace of yoga. More than 70 teachers are available for group classes and one-on-one sessions. There are also workshops and teacher training.
Move to Earn Apps
Apps that reward users for exercise are built using the latest Blockchain-based technology. NFT allows users to own and sell items they earn in move-to–earn apps.
Move-to Earn App Examples
Genopets was the first NFT game to reward users for moving. Genopets rewards players for exercise and lets them convert real-life movements to tokens. The app uses wearables and health data to track users’ activities.
A Genopet in this app is an NFT animal you can use to play, just like a role-playing video game. Users can upgrade their Genopets with their tokens earned and create valuable items for battles.
Stepn is a first-of-its-kind move-to-earn app based on Solana. Users can earn cryptocurrency by running, jogging, or walking. Stepn has in-app purchases. Users must purchase NFT sneakers when registering to track their running statistics.
In this app, every NFT token has a predetermined time. One walker sneaker, for example, has a 10-minute energy. During this period, users can exercise and earn GST native tokens.
Connected fitness apps
Fitness apps that are connected bridge the gap between technology and fitness. These apps allow users to enjoy the benefits of a gym without having to leave their homes. AI, ML, and IoT technology level up connected fitness applications.
In the wake of the pandemic, internet-connected fitness equipment and apps became increasingly popular. Consumer Technology Association’s industry forecast states that the Internet-connected fitness equipment market will be worth $3.8 billion by 2021.
Investor enthusiasm for the market will wane in 2022. Slowing demand for connected fitness products caused the revenue of the biggest players to plummet. Key players such as Peloton Hydrow Zwift and iFIT are cutting costs and job opportunities after years of success.
We still see a bright future for connected fitness apps, even with this downward trend. The connected fitness sector is resilient, as attested by the fact that it will receive $290 million in funding total in 2022.
In addition, the majority of companies in this field have redesigned their business models, and are now offering smaller, cheaper products as a complement to hybrid workouts. The market will be able to coexist with traditional fitness, rather than compete with it.
Connected fitness apps: Examples
Vitruvian can pack 400 lbs. of resistance into a platform that weighs 65 lb. by using motors. The platform, when combined with the Vitruvian App, provides great resistance training sessions for sports enthusiasts to complete at home while connected to a community of like-minded individuals.
Vitruvian provides users with access to multiple classes and also allows them to create and share their workouts. This app also gathers and analyses performance data, offers personal records, and allows users to adjust the platform settings to maximize their workouts.
Oxefit is a smart system ecosystem for strength training. Oxefit uses data-driven insights based on AI analysis and computer imaging to plan and customize your workouts. Users can access 200+ strength workouts including cardio workouts and digital pilates. This platform, when paired with the Oxefit App, allows users to create their profiles and develop customized workouts. They can also access fitness content on demand.
Tips on Developing Fitness Apps for 2023
The fitness market is still ripe for new apps to revolutionize the industry. There are many unique features you can include in your fitness app.
Create a Community
A social component is crucial when creating a fitness application. It not only allows users to interact actively but also motivates people to compete. Add community elements, such as motivational posts and leaderboards to your app to encourage users to interact and share their results.
Add Gamification Elements
You can engage users by offering them leaderboards, prizes, and personal achievements. Have you thought about gaming elements such as those found in Zombies, Run? How about turning a run into a thrilling adventure?
Zombies, Run! users receive missions through headphones, and they can collect supplies to build their base. Users will be chased by zombies every time and need to accelerate to survive. This type of gamification can make fitness routines more exciting and efficient.
Personalize fitness experiences
Consider allowing users the option to set their own goals and customize their experience. AI, machine learning, and computer vision are useful in this case. FitnessAI, for example, uses AI technology to create custom workouts that include optimal weights, sets, and reps.
Synchronize your wearables
Fitness enthusiasts can now track their progress and improve it with multiple devices. In 2023, when building a fitness application, it is important to sync data from other apps, fitness bands, insoles, and clothes.
Remember Mental Wellness
78% of Americans will exercise in 2022 to improve their mental and emotional health, rather than focusing solely on physical fitness. Nike, Calm, and Peloton have all increased their efforts to provide low-impact exercise routines like yoga, stretching, and pilates.
We recommend adding mental muscle exercises, as well as more recovery programs to the user’s programs.
How to Create a Fitness App
You should first and foremost set your vision of the future product. You should consider the type of app, basic features, target audience, and other factors. You need to do a reality check on your application once you have decided what it is. This will help you determine if the app fits the market. You should validate your business concept by creating a Proof of Concept (PoC) along with the market demand. PoCs are also an excellent way to test the financial potential of your product.
You can then proceed to build wireframes and establish the structure of the application after testing it. For fitness apps, we recommend that you place a lot of emphasis on the design.
Your app development team then builds a minimal viable product (MVP) of your application, which only includes basic features. A minimum viable product (MVP) helps you identify the most popular features in your application, and reduces the development effort.
Then, your development team will release the MVP and collect real user feedback. This will help you iterate later on the app version.
There are many more things that you will need to do to develop your app. Read our guide to learn more about fitness app development and costs.
Summary
Over the past few years, there have been ups and downsides to the fitness app market. Although specific applications are no longer dominant, the market is still favorable to newcomers who have bold and innovative ideas.
You don’t have to follow any rules to build a successful fitness application. However, you can include various features to make your app more appealing to users. Orangesoft has been developing apps for more than ten years and can help you bring your app to life. Book a meeting with us to discuss your app ideas.
