Problem statement

How might we make going to the gym less intimidating for seniors? The gym, for any age, can be intimidating if you’ve never gone before. We discovered one of the biggest fears our members have is embarrassing themselves by not doing exercises properly, or misusing the equipment.

Research

We conducted surveys and combined internal knowledge with 1:1 interactions various teams have had with members to discover the best way to help people who are new and experienced at the gym. We then had to discover more around our seniors tech usage and adoption of mobile apps.

Solution

We concluded a gym companion app was a solution worth going for - a sort of personal guide of workouts tailored for seniors. Additionally we wanted to include activity tracking for those members who were already in a routine.

Specialized workouts & tracking

Instead of typical follow-along exercises, we created dynamic workouts that use animated GIFs and full videos that can be adjusted depending on the level of the person. If something seems too hard, the person would simply adjust to the “Easy” option and an easier exercise would populate.

Additionally, a robust tracking system allows the members to schedule upcoming workouts, or log past workouts so they can stay on track with their new routine. Some programs even have a feature to automatically add a multi-week schedule to their SilverSneakers GO calendar. After each workout, they can rate how they felt and whether or not they liked the gym they were at.

SilverSneakers Locations & Account Access

Being the first app from SilverSneakers, we included some features that helped members get to locations and their membership faster. A digital membership card was added to the profile of members, and the robust location finder from the website was integrated and reimagined specifically for this experience.