Personal training isn’t restricted to gyms or fitness centres anymore. In this digital age, where apps are available for food, cabs, and groceries, the fitness industry is another sector that is slowly moving online with apps.
As a fitness coach aspiring to go digital and build your online fitness brand, you must have thought of starting a YouTube fitness channel at some point. Or maybe you already have one.
You can have YouTube training sessions, videos, and live streaming demonstrating different types of exercises. From HIIT sessions to cardio workouts, deep core exercises, and yoga, you can offer diverse workout programs on YouTube. But what is that one thing that makes mobile apps better than YouTube for your online fitness coaching business?
Mobile apps give you a convenient way to offer 360-degree personalised training to your clients. It is convenient, flexible, and more accessible than YouTube. You can build workout plans, onboard clients, give diet plans, monitor performance, track habits, and manage payments all in one place. That’s not all. It can do much more for your online personal training business.
Let’s know what more mobile apps can do for your online training coaching.
Fitness App Market Insights
Here are a few statistics that prove the rising demand for fitness apps in the market:
- The fitness app market was valued at 2.10 billion in 2024, which is estimated to reach $9.67 billion by 2033.
- The CAGR for the fitness app industry is projected at 18% in the period 2025 to 2033.
- North America holds the largest share of fitness apps due to high demand and technology penetration.
- The Asia Pacific region is predicted to witness high demand for fitness apps with the smartphone revolution, increasing disposable income and health awareness.
- Women constitute a significant portion of the user base, accounting for 75% of health and fitness app users.
- The dominant revenue model for fitness apps is in-app purchases, contributing to 47% of total revenue.
- In 2024, fitness apps generated around $6.10 billion in revenue.
- Popular apps like MyFitnessPal and Fitbit generate over $16 million and $7 million in revenue through in-app purchases, respectively.
5 Ways Mobile Apps Are Transforming Online Fitness Coaching
Mobile apps in the fitness coaching industry are transforming the way you train and manage clients. Here are 5 ways fitness apps can be a game changer for your online training business.
1. Enhance User Experience, Flexibility & Convenience
Traditional gyms or fitness centres restrict the users’ comfort and flexibility to work as per their routine. They don’t fit into our routine. Instead, we have to make room for gym timings and if we don’t, we eventually stop going to the gym. In fact, the majority of people cancel their gym membership because they cannot align their routine to gym timings.
This is a major setback for fitness trainers, which mobile apps resolve easily. With fitness apps, you bring people closer to living the ideal healthy lifestyle they desire. You put workout plans on their fingertips to exercise as and when they get time from the comfort of their home. They no longer have to adjust their routine and choose between personal or work commitments and fitness.
So, you no longer lose clients because they cannot make it to the gym. You can now train them online through an app.
Talking about the user experience, YouTube videos or live streaming does not offer the experience a fitness app delivers. From personalized workout plans to nutrition guidance, habit monitoring, progress tracking, and community building, with an app you offer your clients more than just traditional training.
Some fitness apps on the market also offer a chat feature that enables you and your clients to connect as and when required, enhancing the overall training experience.
2. Offer 360 Degree Personalised Training Programs
The level of personalisation that fitness apps offer is unparalleled. You can cater to each client individually as per their needs. With a fitness app, you can build personalized workout plans from the video library or connect your own videos, keeping in focus the client’s fitness goals, routine, and health conditions.
From cardio to strength training, flexibility exercises, pilates, yoga, and more, you can customize the programs for every client. This helps you meet all your client expectations, deliver quality services, and earn client trust quickly.
Additionally, you can track your client’s performance and make alterations to the workouts along the way. This gives you the flexibility to adjust to the client’s changing fitness goals hassle-free.
3. Sell Products and Services Beyond Traditional Personal Training
In a traditional gym setting, all you offer is personal training and group sessions. This puts a limit on your revenue sources. A fitness app allows you to leverage your expertise and offer clients services beyond traditional training. You can offer:
- Diet plans
- Nutrition guidance
- Health tips
- Healthy recipes
- Beginner-friendly workout guides
- eBooks
- Supplements
- Training accessories
- Workout gears
…and more.
These not only diversify your revenue sources but also help clients get all services under one roof. The best thing is that clients are more likely to buy your other services as you have already established your trust.
4. Performance & Habit Tracking
Only training will not help your clients meet their fitness goals. Diet plays a major role in the fitness journey.
Suppose you trained someone for the last 6 months to lose 20 pounds. But the client is not able to lose weight as you intended. The client may think your workouts are not effective and cancel their membership after some weeks. The fault was not in your training but in the client’s routine and eating habits.
In a traditional setting, all you can do is offer nutrition guidance. But you cannot track their habits, diets, and progress. The fitness app offers a comprehensive dashboard where you can track their progress, workout performance, health metrics, and eating habits.
You can put them on a special diet on the app, set reminders, and send healthy recipes motivating them to stick to the diet to meet their desired fitness goals.
5. Build Supportive Fitness Community
A community is what makes the fitness journey enjoyable. People are always asking around for health tips, diet plans, meal preparation tips, and exercise guidance online. Sometimes they get the right answer, but the majority of the time not.
Also, some people need little motivation to keep going. The survey indicates that lack of motivation is a major reason why people leave their fitness journey midway.
Popular fitness apps like Trainerfu, TrueCoach, PT Distinction, and Trainerize offer community-building features. This enables you to build a Facebook-like newsfeed where people can share their experiences, tips, and updates. Therefore, you make a closely knit community for your clients as well as keep them encouraged to keep up their healthy lifestyle.
Conclusion
The digitalisation of the fitness industry is the much-needed transformation we need in our lives. With increasing health awareness and a demand for flexibility, fitness apps are offering training coaches the medium to build online training businesses with ease.
Are you a personal trainer looking for an easier way to manage bookings and memberships, or a fitness studio searching for a system to streamline PT gym bookings?
Vibefam is a comprehensive fitness booking system designed to simplify class scheduling, payment processing, client management, marketing, promotions, and reporting—all in one platform. Whether you’re an independent trainer or a gym owner, Vibefam helps you automate operations so you can focus on coaching.