Gym Buddies: Technical Report

Gym Buddies is a community based health and fitness mobile application aiming to curb the rising trend in obesity levels and increase physical activity by tapping into the huge market penetration of smart phone devices. The application offers an endless supply of workout programs and health and fitness advice through user generated content as well as a community where users can advise and aid each other with their health and fitness goals. Studies by the World Health Organization show that Ireland is set to become the most obese nation in Europe by 2030. The purpose of Gym Buddies is to help people avoid becoming a statistic and increase their quality of life. According to a survey carried out by Eir (Formerly Eircom), 70% of the Irish population now owns a smart phone, this affords a huge opportunity to change people’s behaviors through a device most consider essential to their daily lifestyle. Gym Buddies aims to be a one stop workout companion for a user looking to exercise and improve their personal health. A survey carried out during the gathering of requirements showed a very positive response to the premise of using a mobile application for the purposes outlined above and an overwhelming majority confirmed they already use online sources to put together their workout programs. Respondents also agreed they were more likely to stick with exercising as part of a group or in collaboration with other people. These findings show that by combining all of the things people find useful into one application, Gym Buddies has the potential to fill a gap in the market and help people get active and improve their health