A Fitness App's Subscription Price Almost Quadrupled, So I Built My Own with AI

Around 2024, I purchased an annual subscription to a fitness app to help track my workouts.

I was using it, everything was fine, and I planned to continue. But about a year later, the annual subscription price had increased almost fourfold.

That made me think: what if I built my own workout tracking app instead?

There was just one problem. I wasn't an experienced Android developer.

I had been studying Java development at Mate academy, where Kotlin was also part of the curriculum. I haven't finished the course yet, and I'm still learning at my own pace.

But I had some programming knowledge, access to AI tools, and an idea I wanted to turn into something real.

So I decided to give it a try.

From a Personal Project to LiftCore

At first, I wasn't trying to start a business or compete with established fitness apps.

I simply wanted to create a workout tracker for myself.

I started developing an Android application with extensive help from AI. What began as a personal experiment gradually turned into LiftCore: Fitness Tracker, an app that's now available on Google Play.

As the project developed, my goals changed.

I started thinking: if I can build something useful for myself, perhaps other people could benefit from it too.

And eventually, I began considering turning LiftCore into a commercial product.

Yes, there's some irony here.

I originally started building my own app because another fitness app's subscription had become too expensive. And now I'm considering introducing subscriptions myself.

But my problem wasn't necessarily with subscriptions. It was the dramatic price increase.

For now, LiftCore is completely free. There are no advertisements, subscriptions, or paid features.

I may introduce paid functionality in the future, but that hasn't happened yet.

What LiftCore Can Do

LiftCore is focused primarily on strength training and tracking progress over time.

Here are its main features:

• Personalized strength training programs — generated based on experience level, training goals, and available equipment.
• Workout logging — record weights, sets, and repetitions during workouts.
• Progression recommendations — suggestions for adjusting training loads based on previous workouts.
• Progress charts and statistics — visualize improvements over time.
• Workout history — review completed training sessions.
• Rest timer — keep track of recovery time between sets.
• Custom workout routines — create your own training plans using exercises from the existing catalog.
• Cardio exercises — include cardio activities alongside strength training.
• Offline functionality — use the app without an internet connection.
• Ukrainian and English interfaces.

The app also has limitations.

For example, you can build custom workout routines, but you can't currently add entirely new exercises to the exercise catalog.

That's one of the things I may improve in future updates.

Learning to Build Software with AI

I don't want to pretend that AI magically created a complete application from a single prompt.

AI has been a major part of the development process, but building and maintaining a real application involves more than generating code.

There are bugs to fix, features to improve, and decisions to make as the project grows.

My Java and Kotlin studies gave me a foundation, while AI helped me work on a project beyond what I could comfortably build on my own at the beginning.

I'm still learning programming, and I'm still improving LiftCore.

The application isn't perfect, and I don't consider it finished.

But something that started as an idea to avoid an expensive subscription has become a real Android app that other people can download and use.

And that alone has made the experience worthwhile.

What's Next?

My immediate goal is to improve LiftCore and understand what people actually need from a strength training app.

I also want to explore whether it could eventually become a sustainable commercial project.

But before introducing paid features, I'd like to hear from real users.

What works well? What's missing? What would make someone choose LiftCore over an established workout tracker?

Try LiftCore and Share Your Feedback

If you use Android and enjoy strength training, I'd really appreciate it if you gave LiftCore a try.

Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jekaG.myfitness

I'm particularly interested in hearing from developers and people who use workout tracking apps regularly.

• What would you improve first?
• What features are essential in a workout tracker?
• What would make a paid subscription genuinely worth it?

I'm also curious whether anyone here has built their own application with AI assistance while still learning programming.

I'd love to hear about your experience.

Thanks for reading!