App means fitness is close at hand
Convenience is essential in a fast-paced world where time is precious, Jiang Yijing reports.
Huang Rong used to work out at the campus gym during her college days and would use it at least five times every week. But after graduation and the commencement of a fast-paced life in Beijing, the 26-year-old found working out on a regular basis became problematic.
But help was at hand, literally. Huang turned to fitness apps. Now, with the guidance of a mobile phone app named Keep, she exercises five times every week for at least a half hour each time at home.
The fitness app, with videos, gives instructions for various exercises like yoga and push-ups. Every workout day, Huang opens the app and follows the instructor in the video.
“The best part of this app is you can do it anywhere, anytime. And you can set a notification on the app to remind you. Traveling to the gym is no longer necessary. I can work out more consistently,” says Huang, adding she usually uses it at night and feels refreshed every time she finishes.
Another advantage of the app is that when she chooses her exercise target it can develop a personalized training program that meets her needs.
“My program provided me with different classes from day to day, which repeat periodically. All I need to do is to follow its plan and instructions. The app is like a personalized instructor, and the videos explain every movement clearly. More importantly, all the classes I use are free.”
Huang relished the workout experience with the app so much that she recommended it to a colleague, who claimed that he lost five kilograms after a month’s exercise.
According to a Sootoo Research Institute report in June, Keep is one of the top three fitness apps in China. The other two apps, Joyrun and Codoon, are focused on tracking people’s running performance. In another report released in December by Sootoo, Keep was the most downloaded fitness app in China with 38.8 million downloads from July to September.
Wang Ning, Keep’s CEO, claims at the end of March 2018, the app had 160 million users, 80 percent of whom are under the age of 30. Every day 5 million of them use it to work out.
Challenges motivate users
The birth of the app in February 2015 came from Wang’s own weight loss experience.
The 29-year-old recalls that during his college years he managed to lose some 20 kilograms in about eight months. But that didn’t happen in the gym. As a student who couldn’t afford expensive sessions, Wang searched for exercise videos and became familiar with each workout.
“I wanted to help people like me find videos and lose weight more easily,” says Wang. Due to sedentary habits from a modern lifestyle, many young Chinese find themselves putting on weight when working behind a desk. However, keeping up regular exercise is not an easy thing and many people will find any convenient excuse to quit. Encouraging people to use the app consistently became a challenge for Wang.
One of his solutions is to let app users set targets and show their progress on the app’s social platform. “I gained five kilograms after graduation, and always want to lose weight,” says Du Qian, a 32-year-old project manager at an advertising company in Shanghai. She is active on the app’s social platform and posts every time she finishes a workout.
“Though it gives you star ratings after exercise, people’s ‘likes’ satisfy me more. I get a sense of fulfillment receiving attention, especially when it’s from strangers.”
Du says she likes to scan people’s posts, too. She thinks it is important to know there are many people doing the same thing with her, and it makes working out much easier.
On the app’s social platform, there are photos comparing users’ physical shapes before and after, which encourages Du.
“I can see obvious differences, and it makes me believe that, as long as I keep going, I will see the miracle happen for me as well.”
Du, who has used the app for half a year, took part in three successive “28-day challenges” launched by the app to help people get into the habit of regular exercise.
Besides losing weight, she is also more confident and feels she is leading a better life.
Instructors’ new platform
Apps are also seeing fitness instructors diversify their methods of teaching. Many instructors have found opportunities to teach classes on the apps for a fee.
Li Yu is a fitness and boxing instructor. Persuading people in a gym to take boxing classes is not an easy task for him. Moreover, boxing is not a sport with wide public appeal.
But in the past six months, more than 5,000 people have taken part in his boxing classes on the app.
The 37-year-old started to use the app out of curiosity in June 2016. As a fitness instructor, he used it to post his photos after exercising. A military veteran who served for five years, Li knows a lot about how to work out and box. The content he posted always related to training skills and quickly received many “likes” from other users.
“I’m not good at talking proactively to people in a gym, but on the social platform with people’s ‘likes’, I tend to share more of my training and boxing know-how,” says Li, who became a “key opinion leader” with 496,000 followers.
However, the instructor was not satisfied with just sharing tips and photos. Li also wanted to launch his own class on the app to share his knowledge and skills with his followers. In June, Li developed his app boxing class, with videos of 10 sessions. It costs 46.9 yuan ($6.90) and buyers can watch it as many times as they want.
On the app, the price is not cheap considering that most paid classes charge just 20 yuan, and many are actually free. Li thinks his success is due to the large number of users on the app.
“People who practice boxing are usually sports enthusiasts. There are many potential users on the popular fitness app. Compared to talking to people in person at a gym, introducing boxing on the app’s social platform can be more direct and efficient,” says Li, who also stresses the importance of professional advice when doing any exercise.
I can see obvious differences, and it makes me believe that, as long as I keep going, I will see the miracle happen for me as well.” Du Qian, 32, a fitness app subscriber who is inspired by fellow users