Hiya – I’d really appreciate some honest views on an app idea.
During Covid, when I was WFH much more, I realised I was sitting for very long stretches. With all the talk about sitting being “the new smoking”, I started thinking how useful it would be to have something that simply reminds you to stand up and move a bit during the day.
As I went further down the research rabbit hole, I was genuinely surprised by the science around very short bursts of activity – aka “exercise snacks” – things like 1-2 minutes of more vigorous movement, which seem to improve health markers across the board and potentially support health and quality of life later on.
This really struck a chord with me personally, as my dad died suddenly at 60, largely because he didn’t look after his own health (ironically, he was a GP).
So the idea I’m working on is an app aimed at people with sedentary jobs or who work from home (or who care about your future health). It gives gentle nudges during the day for:
short bursts of vigorous exercise (e.g. jumping jacks, squats)
mobility and strength moves (e.g. wall sits, planks)
breathing exercises (e.g. box breathing)
mindful moments (e.g. a short nature break or pause)
Everything is backed by science/research, and you choose how long the movements last (30 seconds to 2 minutes), which ones you do, and how often you’re prompted. You can snooze if you’re busy, and there’s light encouragement like streaks rather than pressure.
My genuine questions are:
is this something you’d find useful?
would you ever pay a small monthly amount if you felt it genuinely helped your future health?
Just trying to work out whether this is actually useful or a nice idea that wouldn’t get used in real life 🤔