Context:
At-home fitness has become a trend and a necessity during this time of Covid -19. The purpose of this study is to better understand 'why' people exercise both in general and specifically at home.
Role: User Experience Researcher
Methods: Generative Research, Qualitative Research
Team: Milan Gary, Vlad
OverView
The Project
Understand the behaviors and underlying motivations/aspirations, and intent for Millennials and Parents who exercise at home.
Learn what fitness content they currently follow. Gauge how they perceive visual signals of improvement.
The End Goal
To create personas that represent the spectrum of individuals and personalities that we want to attract to a digital fitness platform.
The User
Below are the potential target users we identified.
1. The Time Strapped individual. Someone who's looking for quick efficient exercises.
2. The Balancer + Holistic Health individual. Someone who consistently stays active because its one of their core pillars to their overall health.
Research Process
1
Identify
Assumptions
2
Identify
Methodology
Identify
Assumptions
1. People want a more collaborative than competitive experience
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2. Those who exercise at home, have preset goals before every workout.
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3. The seamless transition of data between hardware will make working out at home a better experience.
3
Recruit
Individuals
4
Interview
5
synthesize
Identify
Methodology
INTERVIEW
CONCEPT
TESTING
CARD SORTING
RECRUIT
INDIVIDUALS
NYC
Age 37,
Female
Married
Hispanic
Exercises 5 times/week
Age 42,
Male
Married
African American
Exercises 3-4 times/week
MidWest
Age 38,
Female
Married
African American
Exercises 3-4 times/week
Age 38,
Male
Married
Caucasian
Exercises 1-2 times/week
We wanted this study to have geographic, economic, and racial diversity across the US. We over-indexed on millennials and parents because this segment was a current gap in our research.
Age 35,
Male
In a Relationship
African American
Exercises 3-4 times/week
LA
Age 47,
Female
Cohabitating
Asian
Exercises3-4 times/week
Age 39,
Female
Married
Asian
Exercises 3-4 times/week
Age 23,
Male
Single
Hispanic
Exercises 3-4 times/week
South
Age 36,
Female
Single
African American
Exercises 5-7 times/week
Age 28,
Male
Single
Biracial
Exercises 5-7 times/week
synthesize
motivation
What are the underlying motivations/aspirations for Millennials and Parents who exercise at home?
Vanity
Mental/Physical Stamina
Long Term
Health
Self-Competition is an underlying motivator that has provided clarity on why certain visual language is not ideal.
Through our research, we have identified vanity, mental/physical stamina, and long term health as core motivators that are heavily influenced by age, time, and current life stage.
How you look is the main drive behind exercising. Achieving the “ideal” body shape is the overall goal.
"I’m just trying to stay fit. I want to lose weight” - Glenn (28)
Being able to last the day without burning out is the main output for those who desire this form of stamina.
"It helps me keep up with the kids.”
- Jason (38)
This is a more holistic approach to fitness. Developing and maintaining basic mobility and a healthy lifestyle to provide longevity is key.
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“I’m tracking everything.” - Judith (36)
Content Selection
Why do they select the fitness content they watch?
Intentional
Pre Established routine
Know what they prefer and what they are looking for in fitness content.
Less reliant on body intuition
Go, Go, Go
Hybrid
1st Timer
Covid-19 WoFH
Normally gym-goers but are transitioning / acclimating to the at-home fitness style.
Will casually browse content to familiarize themselves with the platform.
Newbies to fitness
Unsure of what they want but open to trying and experimenting with new things.
We have identified three mindsets (Intentional, Hybrid, and 1st Timer) that paint a picture of how people browse content.
When it comes to content and program selection, body intuition, relatability, and confidence provide a unique perspective on why people select and subscribe to certain content.
Deliverable
The end deliverables for this research study were to identify the major themes that exist within the fitness space and archetypes that express a range of individuals in the fitness space.
Major Themes
"All About Me"
At home exercising is widely preferred due to the control users have over their time, space, and music. Overall fitness needs to work with one's personality, time, and current life stage.
Fun + Engaging
People want to experience that is entertaining and captivating because it can help develop into a routine. Currently people are spending more time at home, being able to transform a stale space into a lively one would improve the fitness experience.
education
Users often have a knowledge gap, especially on what kind of exercise is best for their goals. An experience that understands and caters to the various levels of fitness expertise would aid a wider audience base .
holistic healh
There is a growing movement to embrace health as a lifestyle, evolving beyond physical workouts to include mindfulness and emotional wellness practices as an indication of health.
efficacy data
Providing data that consists of exercise statistics, individual vitals, and metrics would be advantageous for users striving for a more holistic approach to health and wellness.
self betterment
Physically, mentally, emotionally, people want to improve and strengthen and improve. Across all ages and motivators self-betterment acts as a consistent driver for the in-home experience.
Archetypes
As a result of these insights and previous research we have conducted, we were able to create personas that represent different types of people in the fitness world.
They are not meant to be mutually exclusive. We did create clear distinctions between them but slight overlaps exist.
