More New Year’s Resolutioners Than Ever Are Using Fitness Apps This January

Dec 14, 2021 - 4 min read
Keep members on track with a fitness app

A study of 800 million activities predicts most New Year’s resolutions will be abandoned on January 19. How to create new habits that actually stick?

- INC.com

We’ve all been there; wanting to make massive health and fitness changes at the start of every new year, but failing miserably as the humdrum of life carries us back towards our hold habits. It’s not your fault, recent studies have shown that in 2019, over 800 million fitness app users stopped logging workouts around February.

The day on which most people stop logging? January 19. Strava aptly calls it ‘Quitter’s Day’. If all of this is reading slightly depressing, fret not – we come bearing good news.

Fitness and nutrition apps are a great tool to help your client stay motivated and engaged. An app with gym workouts and apps that motivate you to work out is the best for fitness accountability. And this January, they will be unmissable in your offering.

Can Fitness Apps Motivate You to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions?

Times have changed – and sure, that seems like a big statement to say for the span of a year, but the pandemic really has shifted the paradigm.

People have gotten used to the idea of remote and online fitness coaching – and that means that there’s a readier-than-ever market for fitness apps to keep them accountable. For resolutionists, they’ll be more on board with the idea of digitizing their workouts and health through an app with gym workouts, as they have their work and social interactions.

At Virtuagym, we’ve realized this potential and created PRO+ , which is a comprehensive hybrid membership solution for gyms and studios. The idea is that health clubs can cover all bases including, workout streaming, holistic health, remote personal training, outdoor fitness, and nutrition tracking from one easy-to-use app for fitness accountability.

For members who are about to fall off the wagon, this is the ideal way to keep them starry-eyes with a library full of fresh workout content, leaderboard, and challenges. This app with gym workouts has it all to keep clients motivated. Keep members on their toes and accountable – while helping them get back up on their feet amid the winter blues.

In Our Not-So Distant Past, Apps Were Already On the Rise

Being active and visiting the gym during wintertime is a hard sell, but the steady growth of fitness app usage during this time of the year was already going strong.

Last year, we drew data from more than 16 million of our users worldwide, and we noticed one phenomenal thing: one app, in particular, the Virtuagym Food app was showing huge growth.

The app showed an increase of 512% more users in January 2020 compared with January 2019, reflecting that more people than ever are using technology in order to meet their New Year’s health goals. In the time between December 2019 and January 2020, app usage increased a phenomenal 800% – now, that’s a lot of January health-kicks.

“We always see solid growth in active users in January, but this is explosive. The increase of more than 500% more food app usage compared to last January reflects a worldwide trend in the growth of wellness and proves how important technology is becoming as a tool for better nutritional health throughout Europe and North America.”

- Virtuagym founder, Hugo Braam

We also noticed a 228% increase in the usage of the Virtuagym coaching app – which we have since revamped for remote, virtual coaching. This cutting-edge app is used by gyms and trainers to coach members amid the pandemic. Last year’s substantial increase is a result of more people visiting the gym or their trainer in January, to keep to their New Year’s resolutions. This year’s reason? Fitness apps are just a way of life.

Help Your Members Stay Motivated and Connected to Their Goals – and To You With Your Fitness App

Giving your members a custom fitness app with gym workouts goes beyond branding. It promotes a sense of belonging to a club while empowering members to take control of booking and scheduling a timeslot at your facility.

And if that’s not possible right now, there are always that 1,000 on-demand workout videos plus meditation and wellness content that can tap into in the app that motivate your clients and grows their sense of accountability.

On top of that, many studies into big tech companies such as Apple, Samsung, and Garmin shows that the market for fitness wearables are at an all-time high. In fact, it grew by 30% just last year. People are using technology to keep themselves on track, and future-savvy fitness businesses are meeting members in the middle with the right type of gym software .

As a fitness professional or entrepreneur, people may be looking to you to help them with their health goals with an app with gym workouts and holistic options. And with the myriad fitness software and apps that motivate you out there, there’s really no excuse to not bring your business into the future.

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Nan de Bruin

Content Marketing Team Lead

Visual storyteller and winter sports enthusiast with 15 years of writing experience in English, Dutch, and Czech. Currently doing reps as the Content Marketing Team Lead at Virtuagym.