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How to Start Working Out Again

The reality star, 43, appeared nearly topless as she completed her exercises in a nude sports bra.

Kim Kardashian looks nearly topless in nude sports bra as she hits the gym for early morning workout session | Daily Mail Online

Kim Kardashian showed off her shredded back muscles during an intense workout with Khloé, who was cheering her on in the Instagram Story she posted.

Kim Kardashian shows off her shredded back muscles during intense workout with Khloé

Kim Kardashian displayed her back muscles in a video filmed by her sister Khloé during a personal training session on Thursday. The sisters bantered about what Kim was training for, with Khloé joking Kim could participate in "the Olympics."

Kim Kardashian Shares Intense Workout Session with Sister Khloé

Iconic British director Christopher Nolan ran into an unusual hater of his 2019 film, Tenet, while working out on his Peloton bike.

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Peloton is sharing custom fitness content on the video-sharing app, including live classes and workout series.

Peloton Brings Workout Content To TikTok Amid Falling Revenue

I've worn Ten Thousand shorts for years. The brand's vibe may be a bit intense, but its workout shorts are really, really good.

Ten Thousand Interval Shorts Review, 2023: The Best Workout Shorts | GQ

Women's health news, exercise tips and advice for healthy living according to top medical professionals.

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Arizona State boasts one of the top NCAA teams and pro groups in the USA, including arguably the top male swimmer in the world right now, Leon Marchand

Leon Marchand Leads Star-Studded Mid-Distance Workout at ASU | PRACTICE + PANCAKES

Taylor Swift got in shape for her Eras Tour by singing her entire set list on the treadmill. Fan Jennifer Brown attempted to replicate the workout and says she wanted to "throw up" after about an hour.

Mom Attempts Taylor Swift's Singing-on-the-Treadmill Workout

WorkoutMe

workoutme

Part 1: Sample App for Collecting High-Frequency Sensor Data I have played tennis for 25 years, and I always try to improve my game – whether by watching some coaching videos or trying new apps like . At the latest WWDC, I noticed a session about introducing higher-frequency sensor data. The presenter was showing how such data can be used to analyze a golf swing. I thought that tennis could also be a perfect use case for leveraging the new sensors, so I set out to build an app that would collect raw motion data and share it as a file for further analysis. Swing Vision What's New in Core Motion In this part 1, I will show how to build such an app and share sample . In the following parts, I will present data from a real tennis session and try to turn it into something meaningful. code New in Core Motion Core Motion has been with us since the early days of iOS SDK, and it has always provided interesting capabilities that led to fun applications – such as the famous – or games where you could tilt your phone to control objects. On iPhones, Core Motion has also powered utility things like navigation and, eventually, Health and Activity. With the advent of the Apple Watch, motion data became even more useful in various workout apps where developers could use Apple-provided APIs or just raw data from the sensors. iBeer Starting from WatchOS 10.0, there is a new class, , that can give updates, which are 8x and 2x, respectively, more frequent than in the previous versions. CMBatchedSensorManager 800-Hz accelerometer and 200-Hz gyroscope Sample App Let's implement a simple Watch app that can collect the data from the new sensors and transmit them to the iPhone so that we can use this data later. Full code is available on my GitHub: https://github.com/pavelshadrin/tennis-motion First of all, we need a shared model that would be able to hold the sensor data. will let us encode and pass this data between the devices or store it on disk if needed: Codable Codable struct AccelerometerSnapshot: Codable {
    let timestamp: TimeInterval
    let accelerationX: Double
    let accelerationY: Double
    let accelerationZ: Double
}

struct GyroscopeSnapshot: Codable {
    let timestamp: TimeInterval
    let rotationX: Double
    let rotationY: Double
    let rotationZ: Double
}

struct TennisMotionData: Codable {
    let accelerometerSnapshots: [AccelerometerSnapshot]
    let gyroscopeSnapshots: [GyroscopeSnapshot]
}

struct TennisDataChunk: Codable {
    let date: Date
    let data: TennisMotionData

    // init from non-codable CM classes
} On the Watch, apart from the UI to start and stop motion data collection, we need to implement several main things: 1. Set up CMBatchedSensorManager This is the main driving force of our app. let sensorManager = CMBatchedSensorManager() 2. Set up HealthKit and workout-related logic As a bonus, the app will record tennis workouts and save them in the Health app. let healthStore = HKHealthStore()
var workoutSession: HKWorkoutSession?
var builder: HKLiveWorkoutBuilder?

// ...

// sensor data can be collected only during workout
let configuration = HKWorkoutConfiguration()
configuration.activityType = .tennis
configuration.locationType = .outdoor

do {
    workoutSession = try HKWorkoutSession(healthStore: healthStore, configuration: configuration)
    builder = workoutSession?.associatedWorkoutBuilder()
} catch {
    return
}

builder?.dataSource = HKLiveWorkoutDataSource(
    healthStore: healthStore,
    workoutConfiguration: configuration
) 3. Set up WatchConnectivity session to pass the recorded data to iPhone let session = WCSession.default

if WCSession.isSupported() {
    session.delegate = self
    session.activate()
} 4. Connect all those pieces together When the user starts data collection, we need to start the activity and begin data collection: let startDate = Date()
workoutSession?.startActivity(with: startDate)
builder?.beginCollection(withStart: startDate) { (success, error) in
    if success {
        self.state = .active
    }

    Task {
        do {
            for try await data in CMBatchedSensorManager().accelerometerUpdates() {
                let dataChunk = TennisDataChunk(date: Date(), accelerometerData: data, gyroscopeData: [])
                sendToiPhone(dataChunk: dataChunk)
            }
        } catch let error as NSError {
            print("\(error)")
        }
    }

    Task {
        do {
            for try await data in CMBatchedSensorManager().deviceMotionUpdates() {
                let dataChunk = TennisDataChunk(date: Date(), accelerometerData: [], gyroscopeData: data)
                sendToiPhone(dataChunk: dataChunk)
            }
        } catch let error as NSError {
            print("\(error)")
        }
    }  
} With this code above, every chunk of fresh data from the sensors will be immediately sent to the iPhone. If we don't send it right away, the data will become too large to fit into a message payload that can be sent quickly with . Otherwise, we would have to pass files. The simplest and quickest way is still to send a message with a : session.sendMessage Dictionary private func sendToiPhone(dataChunk: TennisDataChunk) {
    let dict: [String : Any] = ["data": dataChunk.encodeIt()]
    session.sendMessage(dict, replyHandler: { reply in
        print("Got reply from iPhone")
    }, errorHandler: { error in
        print("Failed to send data to iPhone: \(error)")
    })
} Then, on the receiving end, the main things to take care of are: 1. Receive and decode the motion data chunks to display them in a table view extension ViewController: WCSessionDelegate {
    // ...

    func session(_ session: WCSession, didReceiveMessage message: [String : Any], replyHandler: @escaping ([String : Any]) -> Void) {
        guard let data: Data = message["data"] as? Data else { return }
        let chunk = TennisDataChunk.decodeIt(data)
        DispatchQueue.main.async {
            self.tennisDataChunks.append(chunk)
        }
    }
} – for example, a .csv and then share it using to send it via AirDrop or save it to iCloud drive: 2. Be able to export those chunks as a file UIActivityViewController private func exportAccelerometerData() {
    var result = tennisDataChunks.reduce("") { partialResult, chunk in
        if !chunk.data.accelerometerSnapshots.isEmpty {
            return partialResult + "\n\(chunk.createAcceletometerDataCSV())"
        }
    }
    shareStringAsFile(string: result, filename: "tennis-acceleration-\(Date()).csv")
}

// same for gyroscope ^

// creating file and sharing it with share sheer
private func shareStringAsFile(string: String, filename: String) {
    if string.isEmpty {
        return
    }

    do {
        let filename = "\(self.getDocumentsDirectory())/\(filename)"
        let fileURL = URL(fileURLWithPath: filename)
        try string.write(to: fileURL, atomically: true, encoding: .utf8)

        let vc = UIActivityViewController(activityItems: [fileURL], applicationActivities: [])

        self.present(vc, animated: true)
    } catch {
        print("cannot write file")
    }
}

private func getDocumentsDirectory() -> String {
    let paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.documentDirectory, .userDomainMask, true)
    let documentsDirectory = paths[0]
    return documentsDirectory
} Now, we can run both apps simultaneously and see the data popping up on the iPhone. This is what the final app looks like: Conclusion , one of which collects the motion data, encodes it, and sends the payload to the companion app. On the other side, we decode the payload, render it in the table view, and export it by writing the data into a .csv file and launching the system's share sheet. I hope this can serve as a good example of how to use the new APIs and leverage the frameworks that are commonly used in various workout and motion Apple Watch apps. We've implemented two apps What's Next In the next article, I will show the motion data collected from my Apple Watch during a tennis session warm-up.

Getting High-Frequency Tennis Motion Data from Apple Watch [Part 1]

Now that gyms are closed, I’m using Peloton more and I love how Peloton tracks . But I always found it difficult to browse through previous workouts with the user interface on the tablet on the bike. What if I wanted to see summary stats just for 20-minute classes? What are my personal records for a given time period? I know they exist on the app , but I just want one place to visualize and analyze the data that matters to me. everything somewhere I looked into how to get my Peloton data to do some custom sorting, filtering, and analysis. After a few weeks, I realized I could get updates to a Coda doc with all my Peloton stats. Read below to see how I was able to get these near-real-time stats synced to Coda. automated 👉 Go straight to the template and copy it. The template contains this write-up as well as the tables and views you need to analyze your own Peloton workout stats. Go to the Cycling page to see the cycling dashboard I’ve always wanted for myself. Use the Google Apps Script or Python script to start syncing your Peloton data (step-by-step instructions here ). Video tutorial below: See your workout stats on Peloton’s website You’ve probably used the Peloton website before to . Similar to the bike tablet, however, you have to click into each workout to see the stats for that individual workout: view your workouts If you click on the “Overview” and “Achievements” tabs, you’ll see some additional information about your workouts that might be useful. I just really wanted to see the stats associated with my bike rides, and those stats are “trapped” in each individual workout. You can’t see your output, calories, etc. over time. Download a CSV of your workout stats In the top right of the screenshot above, however, is a “Download Workouts” button. This lets you get a of all your workout data which is pretty sweet! This has most of the info I care about: CSV download Some of the columns include , , , and . This means you can start answering questions like: Length Type Total Output Avg. Watts - What was my max output for 45-minute classes? - What was the max average cadence for each instructor I’ve taken a class from? - How has my average output been trending over time? For many of you, this CSV should be enough for you to analyze your bike and non-bike workouts. You can throw this data into a spreadsheet (or a Coda doc 🙂), build some charts, and be on your merry way. Any time you want to get your most updated stats, just download the CSV and plug it into your spreadsheet or Coda doc. For me, I wanted to see and of updating my stats. I don’t want to download the CSV and copy and paste the data into Coda every time I finished a workout. additional stats automate the process Specifically, some questions I wanted to answer were: - Can I get stats like (based on ratings submitted by Peloton members), , and additional info about Peloton instructors? Difficulty Leaderboard Rank - How can I automate the process of getting my stats into a Coda doc downloading a CSV? without Playing with the unofficial Peloton API Turns out a few people have dabbled with the unofficial Peloton API. from Pat Litke is probably the most well-documented project. This library is great if you want to build a custom application on top of the Peloton API, but I wanted to find a way to simply get the data out from my Peloton account and into Coda. This one Turns out there are quite a variety of endpoints off of . You can get data about your Peloton account, instructors, and most importantly, your workouts. Here is a sample of data you can get about your account after authenticating with your username and password: https://api.onepeloton.com Some high-level data about your workouts: After some more searching, there’s an API explorer on showing the endpoints you can ping on the Peloton API. One of the more interesting endpoints is where you can get second-by-second metrics like output, resistance, and more: SwaggerHub all api/workout/{workoutId}/performance_graph With this data, you can build your own workout chart like the one you see on the bike tablet or on the website: So I know the data is there, I just need to figure out which metrics I want and the charts and I want to see. Picking the right Peloton workout metrics At the very least, I wanted to get the metrics you get from the CSV output. So those columns are a given. The additional metrics and stats I wanted to get include: - — And total leaderboard users too. Leaderboard rank - — a crowdsourced rating from 1–10 you give after a workout. Difficulty - — the total number of workouts others have done for this workout (gives you a sense of the popularity of the workout). Total workouts - — correlated with and is just interesting to see which workouts people provide ratings for. Total ratings Total workouts - — basically anything you can find on this . Instructor data Peloton instructors page There’s a whole plethora of metrics you can get from the API but these were the ones I wanted to see in addition to the properties from the CSV. You can see every metric I pull in from the page. All workouts Main cycling dashboard If you go to , you’ll see the main “dashboard” with the stats I wanted to see. Cycling You can get from the last 10 rides on the tablet or from the website, but it’s all in one place. Additionally, this list gets re-sorted every time new workouts get synced over from Peloton in . You can also filter the list by the length of the workout so that you are doing an apples-to-apples comparison. This is a nice condensed list to see how my workouts have been trending recently: All workouts View of 10 most recent workouts on the Cycling dashboard Below that 10 latest workouts table, I have a that just shows the best workouts I’ve had by Again, this is all data you can get from the CSV download, but the main difference is that this data gets updated automatically every hour, day, week, or whatever interval works for you. Personal Records table workout length . Personal records by workout length Finally, the charts below these tables show metrics over time so I can get a sense of how my performance have improved or declined over time. Key views of Peloton workout stats In sub-pages of the page, I sliced and diced my data based on different views I wanted to see my workouts. For instance, I’ve always wanted to see one view of my workouts and then . Seeing the dates when I reached a really high output encourages me to work harder to get back to that level of performance. You can see this view in . Cycling grouped by workout length sorted by output (kj) By length Another view I’ve always wanted to see is how my stats look . Maybe certain instructors are more encouraging and therefore lead me to better performance. That’s what the page allows me to see. Looks like I’ve taken quite a few classes with Matt Welpers 💪. grouped by instructor By instructor Finally two other views I thought would be interesting for cycling workouts are: - — See your workouts sorted by your position on the leaderboard. These are stats that you can’t get in the CSV, so it’s neat to see which rides I’ve performed the best in relative to all other Peloton members. By leaderboard rank - — While there is a calendar on the tablet and website, this view color-codes the events by . This means you can see other workout stats like running, strength, meditation, etc. Calendar workout type Two additional pages I set up to quickly sort and filter through Peloton data are: - — Filter across all different dimensions Filter Workouts — See the profiles for all your favorite instructors (this list also gets updated in the sync as new instructors are added) - Browse Instructors Syncing data in “real-time” from Peloton to Coda What good are these charts and tables if they don’t stay updated? Since we know the API exists, I wanted to find an for keeping the workout data in my Coda doc up to date with my workouts on Peloton. automated process Caveats about Peloton API As I mentioned earlier, the Peloton API is unofficial and undocumented. This means Peloton (the company) has not “blessed” the use of their API for the public, so the API could change at any time. This would essentially break the scripts I’ve written to sync data over from Peloton to Coda. Caveat #1: As with any API, you may use the API too aggressively and the fine folks at Peloton might rate-limit you. Don’t be the guy or gal who runs these scripts every thinking you need near-real-time updates. In reality, a sync would probably be sufficient for most of you out there. Long story short - be nice or else Peloton might block your use of their API 🚫. Caveat #2: minute daily Google Apps Script If you’ve come across my other , you’ve probably noticed I’m a big fan of . It’s a low-code, scalable, and most importantly, tool to connect your different tools together. Of course, Google makes it super easy to get data in and out of Google products, but you can set up workflows between non-Google tools as well. published docs Google Apps Script free The reason I think Google Apps Script is the right solution to sync your workout data from Peloton to Coda (as of the writing of this post) is because you can set up . These are basically the rules for how often you want the script to run. As I mentioned in the caveats above, I would highly recommend setting a as the highest frequency to run the Google Apps Script. time-driven triggers daily interval Authentication with Peloton This was probably the most difficult part of the script to figure out. In order to get your Peloton stats, you have to provide your username and password so that Peloton knows that you are, well, you! In the Google Apps Script, there is a that lets you fetch any URL and convert the response to a JSON object. This part of the authentication code allows you to “login” to Peloton by submitting an parameter that contains your Peloton login details: UrlFetchApp class options base_url = options = { : , : , : .stringify({ : PELOTON_USERNAME, : PELOTON_PASSWORD}), : }; login = UrlFetchApp.fetch(base_url + , options); var 'https://api.onepeloton.com' var 'method' 'post' 'contentType' 'application/json' 'payload' JSON 'username_or_email' 'password' 'muteHttpExceptions' true var '/auth/login' : We need to make various other calls to the API and those calls authenticated. Peloton won’t just give you workout data for anyone just because you know their Peloton username. This is where the cookie for the login session comes into play: The problem won’t be cookie = login.getAllHeaders()[ ]; var 'Set-Cookie' The returns all the header information from the HTTP response (which contains the cookie we need). We just store the relevant attribute in the variable. getAllHeaders() method cookie The cookie object returned from the headers looks like this: Another problem: [ , , ] "__cfduid=d88dc31d26154890903e4ed470ce2d2d31610584581; expires=Sat, 13-Feb-21 00:36:21 GMT; path=/; domain=.onepeloton.com; HttpOnly; SameSite=Lax" "peloton_session_id=57c891b1d8004745b7f19280a25af2cb; Domain=.onepeloton.com; HttpOnly; Max-Age=2592000; Path=/; SameSite=Lax; Secure; Version=1" "__cfruid=14a3728b6c055fbcd9384022acdfdf91f2ec912e-1610584582; path=/; domain=.onepeloton.com; HttpOnly; Secure; SameSite=None" There are all these expiration and domain attributes we don’t need. So, we just need the , , and as one long string, so this part of the authentication function creates that string for us: cfduid peloton_session_id cfruid ( i = ; i < cookie.length; i++) { cookie[i] = cookie[i].split( )[ ] } authenticated_options = { : { : cookie.join( )}} for var 0 ';' 0 var 'headers' 'Cookie' ';' Now we have this variable we can use it for all our subsequent calls with the API so that Peloton knows we are still “logged in” to our Peloton account. authenticated_options Getting existing Peloton workouts from Coda The first time you run the script, your workouts will get synced over to the table. To prevent unnecessary calls to the API, the script first pulls all the workout IDs from the table and compares them with the workout IDs returned from the API. We only look at the workouts that need to be synced over to Coda since previous workout data won’t change. all Workouts Workouts new Remember the endpoint I mentioned earlier? Turns out that returns a of data, so we want to make sure we ping this endpoint . This ensures we don’t pull performance graph data from Peloton we don’t need to and gives the Peloton API a break. api/workout/{workoutId}/performance_graph ton only if we have to You can get workout data from the endpoint the endpoint. You would think that the most detailed stats would be in the “performance graph,” but it turns out there is some data in like leaderboard stats. So I created a object that contains “summary” and “performance” metrics. api/workout/{workoutId}/performance_graph and api/workout/{workoutId} api/workout/{workoutId} workoutData Once we have all the relevant columns, we just format the data in a way that the needs and push that data to the table. Coda API Workouts Python script The works pretty much the same way as the , without the added benefit of being able to schedule the script to run at some interval in an easy way. Authentication, however, was much easier to accomplish with the Python script. Python script Google Apps Script By importing the requests , you get a user-friendly way to manage the logged-in session on Peloton. For instance, with these four lines of code, we can authenticate with Peloton so that for future calls to the API, we just need to use with various parameters: library s.get() s = requests.Session()
base_url = payload = { : peloton_username, : peloton_pw}
s.post(base_url + , json=payload) 'https://api.onepeloton.com' 'username_or_email' 'password' '/auth/login' There’s no messing around with cookies 🍪, it just works. Deploying a serverless function on Google Cloud You could run the script on your local machine or on some public cloud platform. The tradeoff for having a more difficult method for how often the script runs is the with where/how you run the script. automating flexibility Serverless functions were all the rage the last few years so I thought I’d try it out and see if I could spin up an example on Google Cloud Platform. get a URL that we can ping to trigger the Python script to run. The goal: Setting up Google Cloud Just setting up Google Cloud to get one Cloud Function to run was a bit of a pain. In addition to setting up a billing account (requires a credit card) and tying a project to a billing account, you need to enable the and APIs (two services we need) to even start using Cloud Functions: Cloud Functions Cloud Scheduler A helpful I came across from a developer advocate at Google Cloud is this one. It’s a little harder to use since the blog post assumes you are using the command line tool. Nonetheless, Dustin creates a pattern for running the function that I wouldn’t have otherwise figured out (via Cloud Scheduler). blog post gcloud Setting up the Cloud Function Once you start creating a Cloud Function, the key settings are to set the trigger type to “HTTP” and “Allow unauthenticated invocations.” I didn’t want to mess with IAM policies and all that stuff, so this should be fine for our needs: Once you’re in the source code editor, you just need to set the runtime to “Python 3.7” and rename the to something like . Then you can copy over the to the code editor. Entry point runPelotonSync Python script In order for this script to work with Cloud Functions, however, you have to wrap the script inside a function like this. Almost all the code goes into the function: pelotonData(request) After that, hit and wait for Google Cloud to deploy your function. If everything works out correctly, you’ll get a unique “Trigger URL” on the “Trigger” tab of your Cloud Function: Deploy Get your Cloud Function to run every day Unlike Google Apps Script where you can simply tell Google how often you want your script to run on a dropdown menu, we have tell Google Cloud how often the python script should run via cron rules. We can set up the interval for calling the URL we got from our Cloud Function by using Google Cloud Scheduler. The key field to fill out when you set up a new Cloud Scheduler job is the . This is the you got from your Cloud Function: URL Trigger URL The is where you need the indicate the cron rules for how often you want Cloud Scheduler to ping the URL. In the above screenshot, this job would run every minute. A helpful site to figure out what characters you should put for the cron rule is . Once this is all set up, you can get detailed logging on your job and see manually run the job from the main Cloud Scheduler interface: Frequency https://crontab.guru/ Final notes I’m still playing around with this template for visualizing my Peloton stats and with the data that gets returned from the Peloton API. If you have any suggestions or see mistakes with the scripts, feel free to submit a PR . here Hope these stats encourage you to hit new PRs whether your cycling, running, or doing a strength exercise. Train hard, train smart, and have fun! — Matt Welpers

I Used Python To Analyze My Peloton Workout Stats With Real-Time Updates 

First, welcome to my series of I will share with you my trip to make my workout app into a popular mobile app. “My Roadmap For Making a Popular Workout App”. With that said let’s start with this. A little about me Me and my son My name is Alexis Djamgossian, alias “Yango’’ for my close friends, I am 33 years old at the time of writing this. I graduated in 2003 as a Software Engineer and I have been working in the IT industry since I was 17, so I have the expertise (I hope to have it 😊) as you can imagine. I am from Argentina. Maybe you know us because of Maradona or Messi, the most popular football players in the world. I am a tech geek, nerd and sports lover that enjoys working out at the gym. Why a workout app? Now that you know me let me explain why I decided to create another workout app (because we do not have enough of these apps). As I told you I studied Software Engineering, this can be a very stressful career but for me the first years were very hard and a pain in the ass because I had a full-time job at the same time, I was building my professional career, so I felt a lot of pressure because I had to work to keep paying my studies. Because of this pressure, I got sick very often and my body wasn’t able to manage all of this stress. I was very worried about graduating from college and giving my best at work at the same time. In my second year at college, one of my friends asked me if I was practicing any sport and I told him that I never was very good at this. Besides this, I wasn’t in good shape, or have any resistance or enough strength to lift weight (I was the common nerd that you see on a movie). This is how I looked before I started working out. You can see how I use a fanny pack (super nerd right hahaha) My friend asked me to join him at the gym. I doubt a lot about that because I never tried before, I was worried that wasn’t for me and would turn into just more stress, but for some reason I decided to try it. At the beginning it was terrible, for example to do a bench press I only could lift the bar without any weight. I saw an old lady lifting more than me without any issue and I felt terrible, so I set my goals to focus on gaining some strength. The days were passing by and I noticed that I started to enjoy it. Going every day and on occasions without my friend. I started to feel motivated. Besides feeling good and doing a good thing for my body, I found that it was a way to open my mind, relax and stop being stressed out. I also noticed that I wasn’t getting sick anymore. I left my stress on every bench press, on every curl bicep. This wasn’t only a mind changer, I could manage my studies and work in a more efficient way, being easier to concentrate and faster to complete my tasks. Also noticed that I not only gained strength and body shape, but also gained health. When I studied, I could concentrate more and my time during the university started to become easier. During this journey, a great help to reach my goals was meeting a lot of people that shared their fitness knowledge with me. This is a more recent picture. I tried a lot of apps along these years and I saw that all were lacking something, because they do not have all the exercises I was looking for, or find them too complex, don’t track all the metrics or are not designed for creating supersets exercises. Because of this I decided to stop trying more apps and create my own (that is why I decided to become an engineer, to fix issues and make things happen). So, let’s set hands on the keyboard and start the coding. The beginning At first, I created a simple mockup of what it should look like and created the first MVP and shared it with some friends that workout at the gym with me. They started using this MVP and gave me some feedback on what they liked or not. The first MVP only let you create a workout and has a simple workout player, but nothing fancy, it was super simple. You can check the screens and notice how it looked. Workout Screen Workout player After a lot of iterations and back and forth on what I should change, remove or add I finally arrived (after several month of work) with a final product. The final product Let me introduce the definite gym tracker, for beginners to advanced users. “X-ercise” X-ercise Workout Screen Workout exercise selection Workout player Workout log tracker With the help of personal trainers, we created workout plans so you can achieve the goals you are looking for. Let me show you some highlights of this app: ► Hundreds of exercises with animated preview ► Default workouts for men and women ► Remember what was the last day you trained ► Workout exercise player ► Improve your rest , set, exercise and routine times ► Resting timer ► Simple and intuitive design ► Special routines for specific goals ► Record your workouts automatically ► Graphs of weight improvement and training time ► Detailed exercises by muscle group ► Build exercises in superset (compound) ► Create your own exercises and routines ► Access free and premium training plans ► Multiple active workouts ► Monitor your training ► Calendar with detailed record of your workouts by exercise, repetitions, weight lifted and set times, exercise and routine. ► Personalized exercises and routines with your own images ► Multiple days of training per routine ► We continually add exercises and routines without the need to update the application ► Determine rest times between sets and exercises Right now, it is only available for Android but don’t stress out I am working on the IOS version too. It is coming soon. Summing up That is how I ended up creating my own workout app, I hope you all enjoy it as this first series post. Let me know in the comments section what do you want me to talk about in the second series of this roadmap to make a popular workout mobile app: 1- How did I achieve my first 50 subscribers? 2- About what tech stack I decided to use it 3- Any other thing that you want to know I hope to see you soon on my next post. If you want to try the app, here is our landing page: https://www.x-erciseapp.com

My Roadmap For Making a Popular Workout App From Scratch

In modern society, health is one of the most important aspects of life. Digitization of life’s all areas had a huge impact on healthcare, leading it through digital transformation too. In 2019, fitness apps ranked 13th in popularity among the whole application market. It's increasingly difficult for gyms to compete with apps today: taking into account the COVID-19 situation more people switched to the train-from-home regime, using various workout applications. As a part of healthcare, fitness and related apps’ popularity among users had tremendous growth over the last several years. Today we face unprecedented interest in various apps under the fitness category, free and accessible for all those who have smartphones. Market Research According to the Statista market is estimated $17,963 million in 2020, and Polaris Market Research predicts the fitness app market to hit $14.7 billion by 2026 with 23% CAGR growth. workout app Types of Fitness Apps Before starting the whole process, a potential fitness app developer should decide on the type of fitness app. Fitness and workout apps target three main directions – Nutrition and Diet, Workout Tracking, and Workout Apps. Fitness Apps Features Depending on the fitness type, applications have different features and functionalities. However, there are key features common for each of them. These are: Sign up/sign in. This feature allows us to create and enter the created account. The latest activity can be done either by email or social media accounts. User account In the personal user account, all information concerning fitness plans, achievements, personal data, or results is gathered. Integration with other devices Wearable smart devices are common nowadays for fitness activities. This feature allows us to collect and analyze personal information got from the wearables. Activity tracking This feature provides the user with correct data regarding workout requirements and needs, based on personal activity data. Notifications Notifications and reminders are planning features, which help users to plan and achieve their workout goals easily. Geolocation This feature is designed for accurate routing for outdoor workout activities, such as walking, cycling, running, etc. How to Monetize Fitness Apps Guess you have developed a brilliant fitness app, have the super team, including marketing along with the developers. What about thinking about monetization? There are different you can choose for earning a pretty penny. monetization strategies The most popular strategies for workout apps are: In-app Purchases Advertisements Sponsored content Freemium Fitness App Development Cycle We’ve talked about the workout application’s main types, basic features, monetization strategies. Let us talk about the workout application development full circle. 1. Market Research This stage includes market research, workout application type decision as well as competitors’ research. Collected data will help in developing competitive, relevant applications with the potential of collecting a huge user base. 2. Alpha-Version Planning This is the first working version of your application with the basic features. Hence, be careful, while deciding on the key features of the version, based on stage 1 research. 3. Development Stage In general, the mobile application development process consists of five circles or as we call SLDC’s five stages are: Requirement Analysis UX/UI Design Implementation & Coding Testing Maintenance 4. Promotion and Marketing The marketing and promotion stage starts when the application is still in the development phase. Choose the one or complex relevant marketing strategy to achieve your goals. 5. Maintenance and Support The development process never ends. Keep going in your application development by adding new features and eliminating those unnecessary, fix the bugs. There are thousands of healthcare and workout apps in the market. Hence, keeping up with the latest user demands, offering the best user experience, offering flexible and easy-to-use apps are the main goals for all those who want to create a stable, relevant, and useful solution. Previously published at https://addevice.io/blog/how-to-create-a-workout-app-detailed-guide/

A Guide on How to Create a Workout App

is a software engineer who graduated from Ohio University in 2018 and founded . Logan Koshenka AccuFit, a custom workout app He’s also twenty-five years old, a former personal trainer, and a . Hacker Noon 2.0 investor Having recently deployed the 3.0 version of his own app, we interviewed him for his insights on , ideation, , , , and more. software development startup prioritisation roadmapping AI Logan, thanks for the opportunity to interview you. And hey, congrats on the recent growth and latest product update on AccuFit. For those unfamiliar with the app, can you share its origin story and give us an update on where it’s now? Thanks so much! The idea for AccuFit came from when I was working as a personal trainer. I would always send my friends and family workouts for whatever situation they were in. I would get texts like, “Hey I need a quick cardio / leg workout that I can do at home with no equipment.” It became very normal to receive these sorts of requests, and it got to the point where I was sending about 10 a day. I thought there was a large opportunity for a fitness app that is simple, straight-forward, one that just says, “What’s your situation?” and immediately gives you a custom workout. A couple years later, I taught myself how to code and the idea never left. The first version launched in July of 2019 and I decided to make the app 100% free with an update that was released about a month later. The app has experienced a surprising amount of growth, and I just rolled out an update that adds several features that users have been requesting, along with a new and improved design. So I’m really excited about what the future holds. What’s next on the product roadmap for AccuFit? I’ve been talking to users and getting a lot of feedback, so I’m curious to see how they all react to this recent update. Moving forward, I am working on rolling out an Android version while continuing to tweak the iOS app. What kind of product management and prioritization process/es do you personally prefer and utilize? I'm a big fan of the Kano Model and typically do my own version of that. I’ve also found a lot of value with the game-style formats, like “Buy a Feature” and “Prune the Product Tree.” In fact, with this recent update, a lot of the new feature ideas were born out of a modified version of the “Buy a Feature” game. I think it’s important to mix things up and to not depend on just one approach, so I try my best to do that. During the first quarter of 2019, the number of available health and fitness apps in the Google Play store amounted to 37,143 . How do you differentiate AccuFit in such a competitive space? At first glance, it’s easy to think, I think it says a lot about the demand for health and fitness products though. It’s something people want, and I believe that if you build a great product then you can fight through the noise. When this idea began forming for me, around 2015, there were plenty of fitness apps out then, too. “This is such a crowded space. There’s so much competition.” A few things stand out about AccuFit. The biggest one is that the app is 100% free. I believe that great workouts should be free, and the majority of fitness apps are charging at least $8 per month, with many being more than $20 per month. Another differentiator is that AccuFit has a great variety of rep schemes, exercises, and methods. What I mean by that is that you won’t see the “3 sets of 10 for everyone” one-size-fits-all approach. The workouts are custom made for your goal, where you work out, your fitness level, and the muscle group(s) selected. Then, depending on the difficulty, your workouts will incorporate things like going 4 seconds on the eccentric (down) motion, drop sets, 30-second max rep intervals, 21 method, and more. Simply put, my personal training clients received great results and enjoyed these kinds of workouts - because of the constant variety - so I incorporated them into the app. What’s your take on the role of much-hyped but only somewhat-adopted tech ( like AI ) in app development , particularly in so far as user personalization is concerned? AI is exciting. We’re already experiencing the user personalization aspect in a lot of products and, when done correctly, it gives them a massive advantage. I think it’s important as an entrepreneur / software engineer to be ahead of the curve on AI. It’s obviously the future, so you don’t want to fall behind. I've been looking into ways to incorporate Machine Learning into AccuFit to better serve our users and that’s something that will probably happen in 2020. In fitness especially, user personalization is very important. Everyone’s bodies, goals, and fitness journeys are different, so to be able to cater specific workouts or meal plans to someone based on their needs is huge. It’s exciting to think that user personalization through AI will be the new normal moving forward. Where and when did you learn to code, and what initially interested you in software development? I've been passionate about building things my entire life. I kept an “invention notebook” as a child, created and later sold a Wordpress blog when I was 15, but I taught myself how to code after a failed startup. I was 19 and trying to recruit developers to join me. I hated the idea that I was depending on other people for my success. I just remember thinking, “If I learn how to code, there will be nothing in my way.” I wanted to have an idea and be capable of building it by myself. As far as the method, I learned through online courses. In the beginning, it’s tough and there is definitely a learning curve. After getting a solid foundation, I think the fastest way to learn is to just start building whatever ideas you have. Break things. Fix them. Google the issues you run into. Watch tutorials. That’s what worked best for me. In software development, there’s such a wide variety in the background developers can have.  Some graduate with a CS degree, others come from a code school background, while some are completely self-taught...  Have you found in your experience that any one pathway to a development career is more beneficial/preferred than others? I don’t want to say that one way is better than the next because everyone has their own journey. That being said, I do take pride in the fact that I came from a business background because it definitely helps when I’m building something. Understanding the big picture and that the end goal is a product that somehow makes money, thinking about the business side as you incorporate different features, these sorts of things have helped me a ton. Like I said, I don’t think one way is necessarily better than the other but there is something very valuable about having a unique perspective when building a product. The real excitement is when you have a diverse team with all sorts of backgrounds. That can be borderline magical. AccuFit isn’t the first app you’ve developed . What did you learn from the Skyway experiment during your time at Ohio University? I was so naive! I was still pretty early into learning how to code, and I thought I had a cool concept for Skyway (a location-based chat / social app). But here I was, a broke college kid trying to build a two-sided market by himself! I learned so much from that experience in terms of both coding and building a business. More than anything else, I was just addicted to building something, whatever it was. One of my favorite quotes is “The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.” I’m slowly learning that a large part of becoming successful at something is just showing up and putting in your reps. You learn more and more along the way from each experience, and I figure if I keep showing up, keeping putting in my reps, then eventually I’ll be pretty good at this. I’ve learned that it’s best to be patient and play the long-term game. Do you have a mentor, entrepreneurial or otherwise? Two people come to mind, and although I may not connect with them as much as I probably should, I know that they are always available to help me out when I need it. The first is Paul Benedict, an entrepreneurship professor at Ohio University. Ironically, I wasn’t even one of Paul’s students but we met while I was building Skyway. He was, and continues to be, incredibly helpful and it’s obvious he loves what he does. He is one of the many reasons why Ohio University is such a special place. The other was actually my high school football coach and later became more of a friend / mentor, Jose Davis. Jose taught me the value of discipline and preparation, and my work ethic wouldn’t even be close to the level it is now without him. A founder I used to know used to say “the best opportunities are the ones closest to you.” I reckon you’d agree with that sentiment, given your personal passion for fitness. What other advice would you give to engineers looking for their first app idea? I totally agree. Naturally, we all have areas we are passionate about which eventually causes us to be knowledgeable in that area. Fitness has always been a passion of mine, and after creating products in categories where I wasn’t very knowledgeable, the process of building AccuFit almost felt like I had a head start. There are so many tiny details that I feel confident about with AccuFit because I have been obsessed with fitness for the past 12+ years. Those same tiny details are very hard to navigate when you don’t understand the market as well. So, yes: it’s a great idea to start with your interests, hobbies, passions, etc. whether you are building an app, a blog, or a product to sell because a) you already understand the market and b) you love it enough to get through the really tough challenges. As far as other advice when developing your first app, I would say to keep it simple. More doesn’t always mean better. Try to create a product that does one or two things extremely well, then you can move forward from there. What are some of the best ways for new entrepreneurs and developers to become involved in relevant and beneficial communities? There are several! Today we are lucky enough to live in an era where you can create and join communities online. I would say to look for facebook groups, local meetups, or other online communities to join and go from there. There is also something to be said about doing your best work and making it as public as possible, because similar people tend to find you that way. I met several like-minded people like this in college after the local newspaper published an article about my app. You could and sharing your own original content on every social channel you can, right now. You’d be surprised at how many people come to you through content marketing. start writing Also, college campuses typically have groups and organizations for entrepreneurship and coding, and that’s another great way (especially at that point in your life because it’s exciting to meet like-minded people your age). If all else fails, create your own event or group! In your experience and/or opinion, what are the key mistakes founders make in the earliest stages of their business? Rushing to build something people don’t want just because you’re in love with the idea. I know this because I did it several times! The truth is that ideas change. When you first get an idea for a product or service and it feels complete, you should assume that it is about 30% of what it will evolve into. Get started immediately, yes, but talk to potential users / customers and find out what people want before you invest time and money into building it. Draw mockups of every possible version that could exist. Leave no stone unturned, and then when you have enough data (and in turn, way more confidence), go on 100% offense-mode, and build. With , this translates to an obsession with figuring out how to over-deliver for our users, analyzing data, and only implementing the features and/or changes that line up with our user-centric mission. It’s a challenging, never-ending process because contexts and priorities are constantly changing - but it’s definitely a the number one lesson I learned the hard way. AccuFit

AccuFit Founder Logan Koshenka is Making Personalized Workouts Free for Everybody

every day and are you aware of how many calories you are actually burning? While there are several modes of tracking these processes, this has been actually possible with the upgrading and innovative technologies. The embedded in the shape of a watch, attached to your body, keeps on measuring the internal system. Hitting the gym fitness tracking software As simple it may sound, just pairing with your smartphone, the apps take care of the rest. Okay, let us go this way! Every day is not the same and there are some bad days and some are extremely productive ones. But have you ever tried to figure out, what actually makes your day productive- your exercise regime, or your food or some other factors? You probably forget and that’s pretty obvious. So, how to know what is the reason for your great day? Well, tracking the data will give you the answers. But out of so many models available in the market, how to decide which one will best serve your purpose? So, leaving apart those watches let us just focus on the power of your smartphones. The Primary Choices To narrow it down, even more, there are numerous website available online, that build a software for personal trainers, and through which you can not only be able to track clients, you will too have loyal clients. Excited to hear this? This fitness tracker software is loaded with so many features. fitness tracking On your behalf, this software will keep an eye on your clients and will make sure that they are on track and meet their fitness goal or weight loss. If a client forgets to weigh or don’t reach their weekly targets, the workout tracking software will at once mail you and your client. Once you log in, there will be a report informing you where your client is lagging behind and as such, you can instantly work on that. Clients can easily upload their photographs, making collecting of testimonials very easy. The before and after photographs will help in better understanding the progress. To upload your own logo and make it look like your own software program, you can easily create a custom URL. You can easily make your community larger by adding unlimited amount of teams and creating weight and body fat goals. Even for the clients, they can easily create group goals and groups with their friends, thereby increasing accountability, referrals, and results for you. You can check out the monthly reports to know what percentage of your clients reached their goals. This result will give you an idea about where to focus on exactly. So, trainers out there; make the use of these features and develop an online workout tracker. This will give you a systematic approach, at the same time saving a great deal of energy and time. So, before you approach a technological partner to create a workout tracking software, make sure that it is mobile friendly and works on all type of devices. This will help you in getting more clients. While there are a plethora of options for choosing the right partner for software development, make sure the clients get the best technology at no or low cost and can stay connected very easily. fitness tracking Whether, tracking in a smartphone, or doing it on the web, apps are the most important factor. The app is the most vital thing because this is where the information is stored. So, a great app tracking your calorie consumption to our stress level provides comprehensive accounts of your . progress Developing An App Although there are so many different priorities, when it comes to , there are three choices- Fast, Good and Cheap, and you can pick up any two, depending on which you will get your results. It should be very clear on your mind that your payment will be directly proportional to the quality of your app. So, if anybody is claiming a very good yet inexpensive one, time to reconsider this fact again! building an app What Does This Software Provide You? Once you develop an online workout tracker, there are so many things that this software does for you. It saves your time and client tracking becomes easier. Easily Capture Testimonials: It will take care of your personal training or any camp programming by collecting your client’s photos before and after the training sessions and ultimately displaying it both online and offline. : Transformations Contest On your behalf, it will manage transformation contests or any form of team challenges and record the results of both individual and the team and from the web , you can easily get it. : Clients Account It will generate a weekly report and let you know about the progress of your client. This way, you can follow up with them and help them in meeting their goals. A lot of your valuable time is thus saved. : An Unfair Advantage By saving a great deal of your time and effort, and tracking your clients, it helps the clients to get faster results which help in increasing referrals and retentions, thereby giving you an advantage on this competition. Solution To The Gym Owners While the main focus of the should be mainly on the fitness and lives of the individuals, it is seen that lot of time is wasted in manual administrative works, naturally reducing your contribution for gym members. So, what if you get a solution to this problem too? gym owners With the help of gym tracking software, which is very easy to use, it helps you in growing your gym even more and spending minimum hours in the back office. This way one can very easily focus on the clients and build back relations and even grow exponentially. A trainer or just an individual planning to grow your fitness business, even more, you now know what to look for, right? Make fitness a part of your life and simply keep on tracking very easily!

How To Make The Best Use Of A Workout Tracking Software?

Cloning Zwift on iOS Part 2: Reverse Engineering a Workout

What happens when users get distracted by everything but an app? Why should anyone care about a product when there’s no reason to? These are the questions I often ask myself as I work with different brands. It’s even tougher in the summer. The sun’s out, people are on vacation, and your app is the last thing on their minds. We saw this firsthand with a well-known pizza delivery service — their customers weren’t exactly dreaming of pepperoni between beach trips. So, how do you keep people interested when pizza isn't their priority? You get creative. And by creative, I’m talking about transforming the way people interact with your brand, giving them a reason to check in just for fun. We wanted people to stay engaged and loyal, while also driving more pizza orders. To make that happen, we needed something fresh to keep them coming back. Turning Summer into a Game So, picture this: it’s mid-June, and you’re a pizza company. Sales are down because people are on holiday mode. What do you do? Cut prices? Send out boring email promos? Nah. Instead, they flipped the concept of the holiday advent calendar — a tradition people associate with Christmas — and dropped it into the middle of summer. I know, it sounds a little wild. But that’s the point. They turned each day into a mini game. Customers would open the pizza app daily, like a digital advent calendar, and uncover two key elements behind each "door." Game Mechanics in Action First, a new postcard: each day featured a unique postcard, which users could collect, customize, or share with friends. These weren’t just generic images — there were three types of postcards to keep things fresh: illustrative postcards with custom designs, city-specific postcards featuring local landmarks depending on the user’s location, and customizable postcards, where users could upload their own photos, adding a personal touch. Along with the postcard, users would receive a daily promotion, like a reduced price on a specific product. This wasn’t just about discounts, though. It was about adding a tangible reward to the game, encouraging users to open the app every day and take advantage of the deals while enjoying the fun, personalized content. This mechanic plays directly into a behavioral principle called the variable reward system. When you scroll through your news feed, you don’t know what new story or post you’ll see next. This unpredictability is addictive. So, our pizza delivery service made it fun to keep checking in, day after day. The idea wasn’t new, but it was placed in a fresh, unexpected context. And it worked. Over half of the pizza app users joined in, with participation peaking around lunch and after work. Users created and shared more than 1 million postcards, adding a social twist. In total, the campaign drew 880,000 participants across Europe and Asia. Why It Worked: The Power of Dopamine Let’s get real. People are wired for rewards, especially when they don’t know exactly what they’re getting. When users opened that app and saw a fresh offer, it wasn’t just about the discount — it was about the dopamine hit that comes with curiosity. That’s something brands like Spotify and TikTok have nailed with their recommendation algorithms. It’s not the certainty of what’s next, but the excitement of discovering it. The advent mechanic we created together tapped into that same feeling. And the best part? The offers felt more like little gifts, not desperate promos. This shifted the perception of value for customers. It wasn’t "buy now," but "here’s something special just for today”. Building Engagement Isn’t Just for Pizza Now, I’ve worked with in-app engagement for a long time, and I can tell you this: the mechanic isn’t limited to pizzas or food delivery. Any brand with an app can implement it. For example, I’ve seen fitness apps that give users daily challenges to unlock personalized workouts or nutrition tips. And it works. Why? Because it makes people want to come back, even if they weren’t originally planning to. I once joked with the team that we could put a picture of a puppy behind one of the digital calendar doors, and the next day our daily active users would triple. Who can resist puppies? I never tested it, but if you try, let me know how it goes. Whether you’re running an eCommerce app, a B2B SaaS platform, or even a content-driven site, you can use these tactics. Here’s how: Make it fun: Your engagement tactics don’t need to feel like work. Offer users something they don’t expect.
Add surprise: Use the variable reward principle. People love surprises. If they don’t know what they’re getting, they’re more likely to come back.
Keep it light: No one wants to feel spammed or manipulated. Make your gamification subtle and rewarding, not sales-y.
Build habits: Think fitness apps or loyalty programs. It’s not just about engagement today. It’s about getting your users to come back tomorrow and the day after. What did I learn from this experience? People crave excitement and engagement — not just products. As a marketer, it’s not your job to just “sell” something; it’s about creating an experience that people actually enjoy. The pizza delivery service’s digital advent calendar was a hit because it took something simple and transformed it into a daily delight. And it’s something any company can do. What We Learned: How to Keep Users Engaged So, what can you do to make your users look forward to engaging with your brand, even when they don’t need to? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Just take something familiar, make it fun, and watch as your users turn into daily fans: Don’t be afraid to experiment Sometimes the boldest ideas, like launching a summer advent calendar, are the ones that pay off. Try unconventional tactics Go beyond the usual promos. Interactive tools like skill wheels or daily challenges can keep things fresh. Make it a habit Use gamification to build routines. Daily rewards give people a reason to keep coming back. Surprise your users Everyone loves surprises. Small, unexpected rewards keep users engaged and curious. Personal touches matter Personalization, like custom postcards, adds a unique connection that keeps users interested. And hey, if all else fails, try the puppies. What happens when users get distracted by everything but an app? Why should anyone care about a product when there’s no reason to? These are the questions I often ask myself as I work with different brands. What happens when users get distracted by everything but an app? Why should anyone care about a product when there’s no reason to? These are the questions I often ask myself as I work with different brands. It’s even tougher in the summer. The sun’s out, people are on vacation, and your app is the last thing on their minds. We saw this firsthand with a well-known pizza delivery service — their customers weren’t exactly dreaming of pepperoni between beach trips. So, how do you keep people interested when pizza isn't their priority? You get creative. And by creative, I’m talking about transforming the way people interact with your brand, giving them a reason to check in just for fun. We wanted people to stay engaged and loyal, while also driving more pizza orders. To make that happen, we needed something fresh to keep them coming back. Turning Summer into a Game Turning Summer into a Game So, picture this: it’s mid-June, and you’re a pizza company. Sales are down because people are on holiday mode. What do you do? Cut prices? Send out boring email promos? Nah. Instead, they flipped the concept of the holiday advent calendar — a tradition people associate with Christmas — and dropped it into the middle of summer. I know, it sounds a little wild. But that’s the point. They turned each day into a mini game. Customers would open the pizza app daily, like a digital advent calendar, and uncover two key elements behind each "door." Game Mechanics in Action Game Mechanics in Action First, a new postcard: each day featured a unique postcard, which users could collect, customize, or share with friends. These weren’t just generic images — there were three types of postcards to keep things fresh: illustrative postcards with custom designs, city-specific postcards featuring local landmarks depending on the user’s location, and customizable postcards, where users could upload their own photos, adding a personal touch. Along with the postcard, users would receive a daily promotion, like a reduced price on a specific product. This wasn’t just about discounts, though. It was about adding a tangible reward to the game, encouraging users to open the app every day and take advantage of the deals while enjoying the fun, personalized content . personalized content This mechanic plays directly into a behavioral principle called the variable reward system. When you scroll through your news feed, you don’t know what new story or post you’ll see next. This unpredictability is addictive. So, our pizza delivery service made it fun to keep checking in, day after day. The idea wasn’t new, but it was placed in a fresh, unexpected context. And it worked. Over half of the pizza app users joined in, with participation peaking around lunch and after work. Users created and shared more than 1 million postcards, adding a social twist. In total, the campaign drew 880,000 participants across Europe and Asia. Why It Worked: The Power of Dopamine Let’s get real. People are wired for rewards, especially when they don’t know exactly what they’re getting. When users opened that app and saw a fresh offer, it wasn’t just about the discount — it was about the dopamine hit that comes with curiosity. That’s something brands like Spotify and TikTok have nailed with their recommendation algorithms . It’s not the certainty of what’s next, but the excitement of discovering it. The advent mechanic we created together tapped into that same feeling. TikTok have nailed with their recommendation algorithms TikTok have nailed with their recommendation algorithms And the best part? The offers felt more like little gifts, not desperate promos. This shifted the perception of value for customers. It wasn’t "buy now," but "here’s something special just for today”. Building Engagement Isn’t Just for Pizza Now, I’ve worked with in-app engagement for a long time, and I can tell you this: the mechanic isn’t limited to pizzas or food delivery. Any brand with an app can implement it. For example, I’ve seen fitness apps that give users daily challenges to unlock personalized workouts or nutrition tips. And it works. Why? Because it makes people want to come back, even if they weren’t originally planning to. I once joked with the team that we could put a picture of a puppy behind one of the digital calendar doors, and the next day our daily active users would triple. Who can resist puppies? I never tested it, but if you try, let me know how it goes. Whether you’re running an eCommerce app, a B2B SaaS platform, or even a content-driven site, you can use these tactics. Here’s how: Make it fun: Your engagement tactics don’t need to feel like work. Offer users something they don’t expect. Add surprise: Use the variable reward principle. People love surprises. If they don’t know what they’re getting, they’re more likely to come back. Keep it light: No one wants to feel spammed or manipulated. Make your gamification subtle and rewarding, not sales-y. Build habits: Think fitness apps or loyalty programs. It’s not just about engagement today. It’s about getting your users to come back tomorrow and the day after. Make it fun : Your engagement tactics don’t need to feel like work. Offer users something they don’t expect. Make it fun Add surprise : Use the variable reward principle. People love surprises. If they don’t know what they’re getting, they’re more likely to come back. Add surprise Keep it light : No one wants to feel spammed or manipulated. Make your gamification subtle and rewarding, not sales-y. Keep it light Build habits : Think fitness apps or loyalty programs. It’s not just about engagement today. It’s about getting your users to come back tomorrow and the day after. Build habits What did I learn from this experience? People crave excitement and engagement — not just products. As a marketer, it’s not your job to just “sell” something; it’s about creating an experience that people actually enjoy. The pizza delivery service’s digital advent calendar was a hit because it took something simple and transformed it into a daily delight. And it’s something any company can do. What We Learned: How to Keep Users Engaged So, what can you do to make your users look forward to engaging with your brand, even when they don’t need to? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Just take something familiar, make it fun, and watch as your users turn into daily fans: Don’t be afraid to experiment Don’t be afraid to experiment Don’t be afraid to experiment Sometimes the boldest ideas, like launching a summer advent calendar, are the ones that pay off. Try unconventional tactics Try unconventional tactics Try unconventional tactics Go beyond the usual promos. Interactive tools like skill wheels or daily challenges can keep things fresh. Make it a habit Make it a habit Make it a habit Use gamification to build routines. Daily rewards give people a reason to keep coming back. Surprise your users Surprise your users Surprise your users Everyone loves surprises. Small, unexpected rewards keep users engaged and curious. Personal touches matter Personal touches matter Personal touches matter Personalization, like custom postcards, adds a unique connection that keeps users interested. And hey, if all else fails, try the puppies.

How Gamification in a Mobile App Boosted Pizza Sales During the Off-Season

The One Word That Turns Bad Luck Into Gold

Die Een Woord Wat Ongeluk In Goud Verander

একটি শব্দ যা খারাপ ভাগ্যকে সোনায় পরিণত করে

La palabra que convierte la mala suerte en oro

Zorte txarra urre bihurtzen duen hitz bakarra

Le seul mot qui transforme la malchance en or

המילה האחת שהופכת מזל רע לזהב

एक शब्द जो दुर्भाग्य को सोने में बदल देता है

Yon sèl pawòl ki fè move chans an lò

不運を金に変える一言

Het ene woord dat ongeluk in goud verandert

Izwi Rimwechete Rinoshandura Rombo Rakaipa kuva Goridhe

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In July 2023, I had the opportunity to start working remotely for a couple of blockchain companies. Not wanting to waste a single moment of this opportunity, I dove into a digital nomad lifestyle, traveling across three continents, 13 countries, and 20 cities over the course of a year. Even before I graduated college, I started working in an office at an IT startup, so after three and a half years of office work, there was nothing more liberating and enchanting than opening my MacBook in cafés with an uniquely exotic backdrops. The freedom to go anywhere I wanted was ecstasy. During the first three months of remote work, I probably visited almost every café in Seoul. Then, I went on a trip to Europe with my parents and also visited my sister in Philadelphia, working remotely while traveling freely. Then, at the beginning of 2024, I decided to set off to Southeast Asia, starting with a month-long stay in Bangkok, the mecca for digital nomads in Asia after Bali. Experienced digital nomads would usually pack as lightly as possible, but as an overjoyed beginner, I left home with a fully packed 25kg suitcase and a 7kg carry-on. Of course, I regretted it several times along the way. My luggage included multiple dresses that would have been a bit too flashy to wear in Korea, along six pairs of shoes in anticipation of any special occasion that might just come up. I was so thrilled that I even published a post on my Medium blog titled How I Became a Digital Nomad in 6 Months With No Coding Skills. At the time of the post, I only had 22 subscribers, but it gained quite a bit of traction, attracting 20 new fans and receiving over 100 reactions. Seeing the enthusiastic response to my blog, which remains my most popular piece to this day, I was able to reaffirm that this lifestyle is something many people aspire to. This reaffirmation became very valuable to me because, in reality, the digital nomad life I experienced was lonely, unstable, and extremely stressful. The idea of breaking free from the constraints of traditional work and daily life felt like such an adventure for me. I thought that my days would be filled with delightful peaks if I just stepped outside of my regular routine—so much so that I packed six pairs of shoes! But reality turned out to be quite different. Settling into new places is undoubtedly fun and exciting, but even the excitement of newness becomes routine after about two weeks - but this is all on just the surface-level of our perception. Within our subconscious systems, circuits and gears are working tirelessly to adapt to the new environments we’ve placed ourselves in. When we’re in unfamiliar surroundings, our brain’s orientation system activates. This system helps us navigate our surroundings, recognize patterns, and adjusts our behavior accordingly. The hippocampus and amygdala play key roles in this process, helping us to perceive and remember spatial information and evaluate safety within those spaces. This cognitive load that comes from processing a vast amount of new stimuli and situations consumes significant brain energy, unlike the familiar routine tasks that used to take minimal effort. Imagine your brain only used to walk familiar paths, but now everywhere needs is new and needs to be calculated. As this cognitive load builds up until the environment feels sufficiently familiar, we start to consciously experience it as pressure or stress. I never stayed in a single city for over a month. I had believed the best way to get the most of remote work was to explore as many places as possible. The second reason was that until I felt certain that this was the right place to settle down, I didn’t want to deal with the uninspiring hassle of administrative procedures like visa issuance. At that time, my job involved frequent business trips, so I often planned my travels by extending my stay for a few weeks at the locations I visited for work. However, my ambition in wanting to see the world, and failure to take the leap and commit resulted in a cumulative unconscious workload of constantly having to adapt to multiple places in a short period—which scientifically resulted into stress. Moreover, I had full-time work on my plate, which psychologically felt like a heavier burden than it should have been. I was working more hours and on the weekends trying to make up for the time that I spent unfocused. I often found myself getting irritated with people around me, fearing I wouldn’t complete tasks on time, or becoming almost obsessive about getting things done in a certain way. I think I had this underlying sense of being unable to control my life in constantly changing environments, and it was quite overwhelming. Excerpt from my journal entry on the 12th of February, 2024 which is 19 days after I arrive in Bangkok. Oh God, this morning I felt this dense ball of air stuck in the back of my head, like an air bubble. Although air physically carries no weight, the one back there felt heavy that my head was tilting back as I was walking out from the bed. It’s like my brain was trying to stop me. Back home, I maintained a regular routine with five workouts a week with home-cooked meals. However, when my fatigue level reached its peak, it became difficult to stick to my regular exercise routine at local gyms, and even cooking meals at home became a luxury once I started traveling. I knew that home-cooked meals are the best, so I bought the necessary soy sauce, Gochujang, Mulyeot etc. that were needed to cook Korean meals when I arrived at my first destination in Southeast Asia. However, I didn’t even get to use a quarter of them before leaving them behind as I moved on to Phuket, making eating out was much less wasteful. Korean food abroad is more expensive than it is in Korea, and healthy meals are just as pricey. So, I mostly relied on local cuisine, and found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the oily fried dishes and unfamiliar flavors. While it's quite obvious that traveling would make it hard to maintain the diet I wanted, I intend to highlight the irony of how gaining freedom in place means but losing freedom in meals. Now, I often joke that people living this lifestyle should be called "digital homeless" rather than digital nomads. In fact, historically, nomadic living was primarily based on collective or communal life. However, digital nomads don't travel with their community. They travel alone, or sometimes as a couple. So in my joke, the word "home" in "digital homeless" doesn’t refer to a house or an apartment, but rather to a community where one belongs— family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. Yes, there are digital nomad communities that can be accessed anywhere in the world, but those digital nomad communities can be more simply put as ‘a group of strangers that hosts co-working and after hour bar sessions’. A community isn’t a community until it starts feeling like yours over a period of time. A segment of people from history that actually resembles a digital nomad would be the Mountain Hermits and Monastic Wanderers. For example, Christian hermits in medieval Europe or wandering Buddhist monks in East Asia often chose to live away from home, moving from place to place to find spiritual enlightenment, or solitude. So, why do people choose the digital nomad lifestyle? Like the wandering Buddhist monks and Christian hermits - the instability and stress from exploring so many different places does in fact provide spiritual enlightenment and growth. That’s the for story next week. Thanks for reading. In July 2023, I had the opportunity to start working remotely for a couple of blockchain companies. Not wanting to waste a single moment of this opportunity, I dove into a digital nomad lifestyle, traveling across three continents, 13 countries, and 20 cities over the course of a year. Even before I graduated college, I started working in an office at an IT startup, so after three and a half years of office work, there was nothing more liberating and enchanting than opening my MacBook in cafés with an uniquely exotic backdrops. The freedom to go anywhere I wanted was ecstasy . During the first three months of remote work, I probably visited almost every café in Seoul. Then, I went on a trip to Europe with my parents and also visited my sister in Philadelphia, working remotely while traveling freely. liberating enchanting ecstasy Then, at the beginning of 2024, I decided to set off to Southeast Asia, starting with a month-long stay in Bangkok, the mecca for digital nomads in Asia after Bali. Experienced digital nomads would usually pack as lightly as possible, but as an overjoyed beginner, I left home with a fully packed 25kg suitcase and a 7kg carry-on. Of course, I regretted it several times along the way. My luggage included multiple dresses that would have been a bit too flashy to wear in Korea, along six pairs of shoes in anticipation of any special occasion that might just come up. I was so thrilled that I even published a post on my Medium blog titled How I Became a Digital Nomad in 6 Months With No Coding Skills . At the time of the post, I only had 22 subscribers, but it gained quite a bit of traction, attracting 20 new fans and receiving over 100 reactions. Seeing the enthusiastic response to my blog, which remains my most popular piece to this day, I was able to reaffirm that this lifestyle is something many people aspire to. This reaffirmation became very valuable to me because, in reality, the digital nomad life I experienced was lonely , unstable , and extremely stressful . How I Became a Digital Nomad in 6 Months With No Coding Skills lonely unstable extremely stressful The idea of breaking free from the constraints of traditional work and daily life felt like such an adventure for me. I thought that my days would be filled with delightful peaks if I just stepped outside of my regular routine—so much so that I packed six pairs of shoes! But reality turned out to be quite different. Settling into new places is undoubtedly fun and exciting, but even the excitement of newness becomes routine after about two weeks - but this is all on just the surface-level of our perception. Within our subconscious systems, circuits and gears are working tirelessly to adapt to the new environments we’ve placed ourselves in. When we’re in unfamiliar surroundings, our brain’s orientation system activates. This system helps us navigate our surroundings, recognize patterns, and adjusts our behavior accordingly. The hippocampus and amygdala play key roles in this process, helping us to perceive and remember spatial information and evaluate safety within those spaces. This cognitive load that comes from processing a vast amount of new stimuli and situations consumes significant brain energy, unlike the familiar routine tasks that used to take minimal effort. Imagine your brain only used to walk familiar paths, but now everywhere needs is new and needs to be calculated. As this cognitive load builds up until the environment feels sufficiently familiar, we start to consciously experience it as pressure or stress. orientation system As this cognitive load builds up until the environment feels sufficiently familiar, we start to consciously experience it as pressure or stress. I never stayed in a single city for over a month. I had believed the best way to get the most of remote work was to explore as many places as possible. The second reason was that until I felt certain that this was the right place to settle down, I didn’t want to deal with the uninspiring hassle of administrative procedures like visa issuance. At that time, my job involved frequent business trips, so I often planned my travels by extending my stay for a few weeks at the locations I visited for work. However, my ambition in wanting to see the world , and failure to take the leap and comm it resulted in a cumulative unconscious workload of constantly having to adapt to multiple places in a short period—which scientifically resulted into stress. ambition in wanting to see the world failure to take the leap and comm Moreover, I had full-time work on my plate, which psychologically felt like a heavier burden than it should have been. I was working more hours and on the weekends trying to make up for the time that I spent unfocused. I often found myself getting irritated with people around me, fearing I wouldn’t complete tasks on time, or becoming almost obsessive about getting things done in a certain way. I think I had this underlying sense of being unable to control my life in constantly changing environments , and it was quite overwhelming . underlying sense of being unable to control my life in constantly changing environments overwhelming Excerpt from my journal entry on the 12th of February, 2024 which is 19 days after I arrive in Bangkok. Oh God, this morning I felt this dense ball of air stuck in the back of my head, like an air bubble. Although air physically carries no weight, the one back there felt heavy that my head was tilting back as I was walking out from the bed. It’s like my brain was trying to stop me. Oh God, this morning I felt this dense ball of air stuck in the back of my head, like an air bubble. Although air physically carries no weight, the one back there felt heavy that my head was tilting back as I was walking out from the bed. It’s like my brain was trying to stop me. Oh God, this morning I felt this dense ball of air stuck in the back of my head, like an air bubble. Although air physically carries no weight, the one back there felt heavy that my head was tilting back as I was walking out from the bed. It’s like my brain was trying to stop me. Back home, I maintained a regular routine with five workouts a week with home-cooked meals. However, when my fatigue level reached its peak, it became difficult to stick to my regular exercise routine at local gyms, and even cooking meals at home became a luxury once I started traveling. I knew that home-cooked meals are the best, so I bought the necessary soy sauce, Gochujang, Mulyeot etc. that were needed to cook Korean meals when I arrived at my first destination in Southeast Asia. However, I didn’t even get to use a quarter of them before leaving them behind as I moved on to Phuket, making eating out was much less wasteful. Korean food abroad is more expensive than it is in Korea, and healthy meals are just as pricey. So, I mostly relied on local cuisine, and found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the oily fried dishes and unfamiliar flavors. While it's quite obvious that traveling would make it hard to maintain the diet I wanted, I intend to highlight the irony of how gaining freedom in place means but losing freedom in meals. the irony of how gaining freedom in place means but losing freedom in meals. Now, I often joke that people living this lifestyle should be called "digital homeless" rather than digital nomads. In fact, historically, nomadic living was primarily based on collective or communal life. However, digital nomads don't travel with their community. They travel alone, or sometimes as a couple. So in my joke, the word "home" in "digital homeless" doesn’t refer to a house or an apartment, but rather to a community where one belongs— family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. Yes, there are digital nomad communities that can be accessed anywhere in the world, but those digital nomad communities can be more simply put as ‘a group of strangers that hosts co-working and after hour bar sessions’. A community isn’t a community until it starts feeling like yours over a period of time. Now, I often joke that people living this lifestyle should be called "digital homeless" rather than digital nomads. digital nomad communities A community isn’t a community until it starts feeling like yours over a period of time. A segment of people from history that actually resembles a digital nomad would be the Mountain Hermits and Monastic Wanderers . For example, Christian hermits in medieval Europe or wandering Buddhist monks in East Asia often chose to live away from home, moving from place to place to find spiritual enlightenment, or solitude. Mountain Hermits Monastic Wanderers So, why do people choose the digital nomad lifestyle? So, why do people choose the digital nomad lifestyle? Like the wandering Buddhist monks and Christian hermits - the instability and stress from exploring so many different places does in fact provide spiritual enlightenment and growth. That’s the for story next week. Thanks for reading.

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