Spot Me
Helping weightlifters safely lift solo by using human pose technology to analyze their form and provide real-time feedback.
At a glance
Many lifters start casually without guidance, often risking injury as they increase weight with poor form. Spot Me helps with solo workouts by using AI-driven pose estimation to "spot" your form. It gives real-time feedback, so you can focus on lifting your best without the worry of getting hurt.
Role
Principle Designer
Timeline
4 months
Area
Mobile App
I started by exploring emerging tech in the digital fitness experience.
Since the pandemic disrupted many people's exercise routines, there's been a growing trend towards online experiences and health-tracking devices. I was curious to explore these new technologies to see if they could lead to an innovative solution.
Emerging Technologies
Discovery Interviews
How do people at different fitness levels use tech in their exercise routines?
To create a solution that would really help people, I first wanted to understand how they currently use technology in their fitness routines. I conducted preliminary interviews with a wide range of users, from beginners (< 1 year) to veterans (10+ years) and those who don't use any tech to power users.
I asked them why they started working out, what their current routines are, and what motivates them. This approach allowed me to identify 3 key problem spaces, which informed my ideation process.
Physical changes take a long time to see.
53% of respondents use a wearable device to monitor their fitness activity.
Market.US, 2023
Difficult to see the correct form just from workout videos.
1/2 of Americans use virtual workouts and other digital solutions.
Statista, 2023
Afraid of getting injured during new exercises.
Exercise-related injury was common in non-elite exercise participants.
National Library of Medicine, 2017
Divergent Concepts
How will I address the pain points and problem spaces in my design?
I developed 4 divergent concepts to test with users and elicit strong reactions from them. I created low-fidelity prototypes to focus their reactions on the ideas rather than the design so that I could identify which solutions resonated with them and which to leave behind.
Users were most drawn to real-time coaching (Concept 4) and injury prevention (Concept 2) focused solutions since these were the things they struggled with the most when working out alone. They were concerned that they wouldn't invest in a smart mirror but wanted the form correction it provided.
Concept 1: Quiz generates workout routine
Concept 2: Abnormal biometrics halts routine to prevent overexertion
Concept 3: 360° viewable poses to see the form and position from every angle
Concept 4: Smart mirror with responsive, visual correctional feedback
And then I began to see a pattern —
"I was trying to train my chest but didn't know the right degree to do it in. I hurt my shoulders really badly."
Hao, Weightlifting 2 years
"I kept increasing the weight on the bench press until I ended up getting a serious shoulder injury."
Dennis, Weightlifting 10 Years
"I was doing deadlifts, and the posture wasn't right. I was alone at the gym without a trainer and hurt my back."
shaurya, Weightlifting 3 Years
"I was doing bench presses wrong the whole time till last year. Just by memory, you can still have incorrect form."
priyana, Weightlifting 7 Years
"Since I don't have a lifting trainer, there's no one who's gonna correct me. I want to see how to do it correctly."
Dhruvil, Weightlifting 4 Years
The Problem
Weightlifters struggle to correct their form when lifting alone, leading to injury.
83% of the weightlifters I spoke to had experienced serious injuries from lifting alone and pushing too hard, often without realizing their form was off. Since casual lifters often don't start with a coach or class to teach them proper form, they don't realize if their form is wrong.
Why does it matter?
Unlike cardio workouts, where signs like shortness of breath or lightheadedness signal overexertion, weightlifting makes it hard to tell if the muscle strain you're feeling is from progress or injury.
61%
Of injuries in weight lifting are due to technical errors.
National Institute of Health, 2023
1 in 4
People reported doing weight-lifting activities weekly.
CDC via Everyday Health, 2022
0
Association between injury occurrence and gender, age, or BMI.
National Institute of Health, 2023
Design Goal
A digital tool that teaches weight lifters proper form during solo workouts to optimize results and prevent injury.
I aimed to design a tool that could act as the "next best thing" to having a personal trainer, since so many lifters I talked to felt trainers were essential but often too expensive. By creating a digital product, I could make these services more accessible and affordable, so more people could benefit.
How might we teach lifters the correct form?
How might we provide correctional form feedback?
How might we encourage lifters to keep improving their form?
Narrowing the Scope
With my target user-defined, it was essential to return to my research. I also reached out to weightlifters, from those who had just started to veterans. To gain a deeper insight into their varied experiences, I researched emerging technologies and created a journey map of their injury experience.
How are weightlifters currently solving this?
'Spotting' in weight training is supporting the person lifting. Spotters help the athlete complete the lift, ensure proper technique, and prevent injury. They also boost an athlete’s confidence level and morale, leading to better performance during their workout.
Could we 'spot' weightlifters digitally?
Human pose estimation for corrective feedback. HPE gets the most attention in AI fitness applications, as it can analyze the movement of athletes in different scenarios using just a smartphone camera.
User Journey
I created a journey map to narrow down the feature goals into achievable design solutions.
Personas
I interviewed 7 users and identified 2 personas from my insights.
The Eager Learner
Weightlifting for 5+ years
Behaviors
Working out is an essential part of their routine. They started researching proper form after a serious injury, not realizing they'd been doing the exercise incorrectly the whole time.
Goals
To consistently improve their form to optimize progress and see results like a new 'personal best' in weight carried.
The Lifting Newbie
Weightlifting for 3 months
Behaviors
Just started lifting and follows fitness influencer workout videos. They're worried about getting hurt when trying a new set but found the personal trainers too expensive for someone just starting.
Goals
To get personalized guidance during workouts to make sure their form is correct and prevent injury.
Key Features
How can we develop a tool that improves weightlifters form during their workouts?
Based on my interviews with weightlifters and insights from the research, I outlined key features that needed to be addressed for the solution to impact their workout routine.
Track Users Form During Workouts
Do users want to choose when they're being tracked, or would that be the default?
Alerts Ensure Safe, Optimal Lifting
How much information on form analysis would be the most helpful for users and when?
Personalized Progress Tracking for Motivation
Will users want to compare the day's workout results with their progress history?
Ideation
After synthesizing all my focused research and narrowing down my potential features, I moved on to refining the prototype with my concentrated target user in mind- casual weightlifters.
I started by sketching out different screens based on insights from my interviewees, including coach-led workout routines, form analysis and corrections, and post-workout analysis. To gain perspective on which screens were missing, important, or unnecessary, I created a system map outlining the correction feedback and post-workout flow.
Sketching
Home Page, Weekly Progress
Workout Video
Human Pose Estimation Tracking
Post-Workout Analysis
System Map
Design Development
Tailoring the experience to weightlifting needs.
I turned these sketches into mid-fidelity prototypes to enhance my UI elements. I tested them with casual weightlifters who had just started lifting and those who had been doing it for years to ensure the UX could easily be introduced into their routine.
Design Consideration #1
Coach and 'Spot Me' Mode
Main Issues
Lifters prioritize quality over speed, so time indicating UI is unnecessary.
Rather than taking videos, users prefer live analysis.
Design Solutions
Remove the timer and progress bar.
Highlight exercise name, reps, and weights.
Toggle easily switches between modes for feedback.
Design Consideration #2
Attention-Grabbing Alerts
Main Issues
Need real-time feedback for immediate correction.
Alert size and text were too small to read from afar.
Prefers to read further information after the workout.
Design Solutions
Form alerts are large, simple, and audible.
Fullscreen modal to capture the user's attention.
An in-depth form analysis is given post-workout.
Design Consideration #3
Personalized Progress Tracking
Main Issues
Stats are too general- users want a set-by-set accuracy breakdown.
Helpful to see the progress over different periods.
Design Solutions
Show progress over week, month, and year.
Highlight improvements in accuracy, alerts, and weights lifted.
Final Solution
Spot Me is an AI-driven fitness app that corrects your form in-real time so that you can keep the focus on lifting at your personal best.
Step-by-step Workout Guide
How might we help lifters understand how to do the correct form?
Easily track this week's progress, motivating you to keep up the hustle. Workout cards and coach-led video tutorials make it easy to follow along each set and alleviate the stress of routine planning.
Pose Analysis for Form Feedback
How might we provide correctional feedback on their form?
Easily toggle between coach-led video tutorials and 'Spot Me' pose tracking mode. When incorrect form is detected, it triggers bite-size audio and visual alerts on how to correct yourself- as a coach would! Modal disappears once your form has been safely corrected.
Tracking Instructions
Human Pose Estimation
Personalized Progress Tracking
How might we encourage lifters to keep improving their form?
End the workout with a brief recap on how you did and gives an option for detailed information on each set's form accuracy. Lets you see all alerts to understand your mistakes and tips on how to improve.
Beyond today's workout, you can track your progress with that set over time including accuracy, alerts, and weight carried. Highlights even the smallest statistical improvements since it often takes longer to see changes physically.
Alerts Recap
Progress Over Time
What I Learned?
Design Isn't a Linear Process
At the start of this project, I was uncertain about which fitness problem to tackle. It wasn’t until my mid-fidelity interviews that I focused on weightlifting. The process involved revisiting my research, but that’s the thrill of design— drawing, researching, testing, and repeating. Keeping the user’s needs as my north star guided me to a genuine area of opportunity.
Don't Forget About The Tech!
I love getting into UI and UX design, but that’s just one piece of the puzzle. Researching AI has shown me how crucial it is to stay updated with the latest tech to keep innovating. I think it’s all about balancing the tech we have with imagining what it could be to keep pushing the boundaries.
Let's get in touch!
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kirstengeigerdesign@gmail.com
© Kirsten Geiger 2024
Kirsten Geiger
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