Billy Hong
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Athos

Performance wearables & workout planner

Overview

Brief

Athos pioneers performance wearables tracking EMG (electromyography) data. As a Product Designer, I led the creation of a mobile app to translate captured data into real-time insights and dynamic workout plans.

Specs
Product designer
10 months
Product design, UI/UX, user testing
Problem

With cutting-edge EMG data capture, Athos sought to build an intuitive app to translate this into actionable insights and user-friendly workout plans, catering to diverse athletes from hobbyists to professionals.

Solution

Developed a mobile experience offering real-time EMG muscle output and post-workout insights, including a flexible, progressive workout planner.

Impact
EMG metrics

Created actionable, digestible performance metrics

Progressive planner

Dynamic workout plans that adapt to user progress

Define
The process begins by defining how workouts are logged, and how users expect to progress them.

Assumption

Users require real-time feedback on EMG metrics during workouts.

Users can and will make alterations to their workout plan in real-time.

Hypothesis

If we provide users with a digitized workout planner, replacing the traditional pen and paper format, and integrate real-time EMG feedback, they will experience a more streamlined and efficient approach to planning and executing workouts. This shift will empower users to progress more effectively, leveraging actionable insights from EMG data to create personalized and optimal workout routines, ultimately enhancing their overall fitness experience.

Ideal

The ideal state envisions a fully automated mobile app providing real-time audio feedback, guiding users in adjusting their movements during workouts. This app generates and adapts customized routines, both for the present and future, ensuring a tailored fitness experience for each user.

Customer problem

I am a

Fitness enthusiast

I'm trying to

Optimize my weigh-training routine

But

I don’t always know how or when to adjust my training program

Because

I have to calculate my own progress with pen and paper, and adjust based on my own intuition

Which makes me feel

Limited in optimizing my fitness routine

Test
Conducted interviews and live workouts with 20 athletes, uncovering key takeaways:
User interviews

What

I spoke to 20 athletes, ranging from hobbyist to professional  to understand their preferences with working out.

Half was a survey format.

The other half was a live workout, using the actual hardware and navigating the app.

Takeaways

Preventative: EMG’s accuracy for injury prevention is highly valued.

Progress: Users seek workout insights shaping subsequent routines.

Fatigue score: High demand for a fatigue metric.

Next steps

Sets:
Simplify logging and editing sets.
‍
‍Metrics:
Transform metrics into actionable, objective formats.

‍Warm-up:
Prioritize real-time features for warm-ups.

Iterate
Challenge:
‍It's difficult to monitor muscle balance while doing a movement.
Solution:
‍Create a video and body view side-by-side replay feature. Most of the focus should be on workout summary and insights.

Challenge:
‍Customers have a surface understanding of correcting movement imbalance, but sometimes more sophisticated muscle movements are required for corrections.
Solution:
‍Have data team validate prescriptive advice for the workout summary so we can recommend to and advise users corrective procedures in-app.
Outcomes
Conclusion

Tech vs user needs masterclass

While a significant portion of our focus was on delivering real-time EMG feedback to monitor muscle balance, user testing revealed a crucial insight. During workouts, users prioritize mental focus and found it challenging to constantly attend to a screen for EMG feedback on their movement. This led to a strategic shift, emphasizing the post-workout experience.

Outcomes
Major pivot

Team sports and coach focus

Highlighting the importance of injury prevention and how real-time EMG feedback might be best utilized, we pivoted the product be a tool for high school football coaches to oversee an entire team of athletes during training

Outcomes
Reflections
Model: Selina Selkeby Sven Mieke

Level up

This project's reflections highlight the intrinsic connection between technological innovation and user-centered design, emphasizing the importance of being nimble, listening to user feedback, and making strategic pivots. The experience of seamlessly integrating hardware and software elements has been not just a challenge but a rewarding journey that helped me develop skills in holistic and user-driven design.