Crafting Features to Ease Workout Stress
I redesigned Fitbit’s mobile experience to reduce gym anxiety and support consistent fitness habits.
MY ROLE
UI/UX Designer
UX Researcher
TEAM
1 UI Designer
1 UX Researcher
TOOL
Figma
TIMELINE
Feb - Mar 2023
Contribution
User Resesrch
UX Design
Usability Testing
Probelm
Adults aged 25–34 with exercise anxiety often feel uncomfortable working out in public, leading to lower workout confidence and consistency.
Introducing
4 Features to empower comfortable and confident public workouts
Fitness Tribe
Workout Buddy
Buddy Session
Occupancy
impact
-42%
Anxiety
Reduce workout anxiety
58
SUS
Easy to use
7.8/10
CSAT
High Satisfaction
Research Findings
What did interviews with 5 participants aged 25–34 reveal?
Research Insights
What we uncovered through user research?
User interviews and Secondary Research indicate that exercise anxiety is a core problem
80%
of participants
Feel anxious due to crowded gyms and the presence of more skilled individuals
60%
of participants
Reported general anxiousness about going to the gym
88%
of participants
Said they feel better with social support to reduce gym-related anxiety
Persona reflected 2 key traits, social anxiety and social accountability, that emerged from our affinity mapping.
Design opportunities
How might we ease public workout anxiety through Fitbit’s mobile app?
🫱🏻🫲🏽
Foster social support
Create a safe, encouraging space to reduce anxiety and build belonging.
👥
Partner with similar users
Ease gym anxiety by matching users with similar goals or personalities.
🟢
Enable real-time connection
Boost motivation and confidence through interactive buddy workouts.
🚦
Minimize crowd anxiety
Help users plan stress-free workouts with real-time gym occupancy info.
Storyboarding
I made 2 storyboards to illustrate how new features change user behavior
An user using the occupancy feature
An user finding a fitness buddy
User Flow
What does a stress-free workout journey look like?
Testing & Iteration
Findings were gathered from testing multiple wireframe versions
Testing Insights
Consolidated insights from testing 4 key high-fidelity flows with 5 participants
What worked well
✔︎ Occupancy Feature Appreciated
✔︎ Workout Buddy Concept Resonated
✔︎ Faster navigation
What could be improved
✘ Unclear Personality Trait Questions
✘ Low Visibility of Progress Indicator
✘ Cognitive Load in Question Wording
✘ Tiny or Hidden Goal-Setting Entry Point
✘ Unclear CTA Hierarchy
✘ Ambiguity Between Two Flows
Final Iteration
Unified fragmented flows to improve clarity, visibility, and hierarchy
Before
Flow 1: Find your tribe questionnaire
Flow 2: Setting goals questionnaire
One questionnaire flow for finding tribe and setting goals
+
After
Before
Flow 3: Explore community group
Flow 4: Notification for finding workout buddy
Pin "Find Your Tribe" at the top of the homepage, showcasing success rate statistics, and reorganize the information hierarchy
+
After
Final design
4 features designed to empower confident, stress-free public workouts
Feature 1
Fitness Tribe
A supportive space for sharing experiences and challenges with like-minded users, fostering encouragement, reducing anxiety, and building a sense of belonging.
Feature 2
Workout Buddy
Match users with like-minded fitness partners to reduce gym anxiety and build motivation through shared goals and support.
Feature 3
Buddy Session
Real-time workouts with a partner via Bluetooth to boost motivation and accountability.
Feature 4
Occupancy
Check real-time gym capacity to avoid crowds and plan stress-free workouts.
Impacts in Numbers
Usage statistics show the 4 key features effectively reduced public workout anxiety
–42%
Anxiety
Reduced average anxiety from 4.2 to 2.4 (5-point scale), indicating much lower discomfort in public workouts.
58
SUS
SUS score of 58 falls in the ‘OK’ to ‘Good’ range, suggesting moderate usability and opportunities for improvement.
7.8/10
CSAT
Achieved a Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) of 7.8 out of 10, reflecting generally high satisfaction and positive user sentiment.
Takeaways
Learnings and takeaways
💭
Set aside personal bias
Recognized how my own experiences could cloud objective design thinking.
🧘♀️
Embraced objectivity
Learned to detach from my user perspective and design with clarity.
🫶
Practiced broader empathy
Shifted focus from personal needs to those of diverse users.