Active&Fit Direct
UX Research & Product Strategy
Redefining fitness when the gym was no longer an option.
In summer 2020, I joined American Specialty Health as a UX Design Intern to study how COVID-19 had changed the fitness routines of Active&Fit Direct members. The product had long helped employers and health plans provide discounted gym access. Suddenly, the place at the center of that benefit was unavailable.
Over eight weeks, I helped the team understand what members had lost, what they were trying to rebuild at home, and how Active&Fit Direct could remain useful beyond the gym.
Member interviews
34
current members shared how their fitness routines had changed.
At-home fitness
72%
of surveyed members were now exercising at home.
Routine support
44%
said a clearer routine would help them stay active.
Problem Space
The gym closed. The need for structure did not.
Active&Fit Direct's central promise had been access: make fitness more affordable by helping members get into gyms.
Members lost more than the equipment.
When facilities closed, members lost the equipment, classes, and dedicated space they expected. They also lost the less visible parts of the experience — the schedule, accountability, and social cues that made exercise easier to maintain.
Ammar et al., 2020
Sitting rose. Activity fell.
During home confinement, average daily sitting increased from approximately five to eight hours, while physical activity declined across intensity levels.
Research
We wanted to understand what members lost beyond the gym.
A short SurveyMonkey survey established how sharply behavior had changed. Conversations with current members helped explain why the transition was proving so difficult.
61% Stopped Using The Gym
Gym routines came to a stop for most surveyed members.
72% Exercising At Home
Home became the primary workout space.
44% Wanted A Clearer Routine
Members wanted help rebuilding consistency.
Listening to the routine behind the workout.
I spoke with 34 current members about how their routines changed, what made exercising at home easier or harder, which virtual programs they had tried, and what they missed most about the gym.
Member interviews
Synthesis
The equipment changed. The deeper needs stayed remarkably human.
Affinity mapping turned the survey and interview data into four themes. What initially looked like a collection of practical barriers was also a problem of structure, motivation, relevance, and trust.
Affinity map
Three member mindsets.
Member persona
Holly needed an approachable way to build a routine, starting from cues the gym used to provide for her.
Member persona
Carrie stayed motivated through shared participation, and lost that when classes and familiar faces disappeared.
Member persona
Flint wanted enough flexibility and challenge to maintain progress without the equipment he was used to.
Looking beyond gym access.
Each competitor supported part of what members were missing, and each stopped short somewhere Active&Fit Direct could reach.
Competitive analysis
Positioning map
How Might We
Adapt Active&Fit Direct to better support members' evolving fitness needs and preferences for virtual and at-home workouts?
Discovery
An opportunity to support fitness wherever it happened.
Active&Fit Direct did not need to become another digital workout library. The research pointed to four directions it could support instead.
The reach was already there.
Its existing reach through employers and health plans created a different opportunity: help members build structure, find relevant options, and stay connected to their goals across home, virtual, and future in-person routines.
User goals and product direction.
Delivery
What the team could act on next.
The internship closed with three artifacts the team could carry into concept development.
What we delivered.
Stakeholder Presentation
The behavior shift, member evidence, and emerging opportunity.
Research Report
Survey findings, interview themes, affinity mapping, and personas.
Product Opportunity Framework
Four research-backed directions for future concept development and validation.
Next Steps
Moving from direction to validation.
Three studies would test whether the directions hold up in members' routines.
Reflection
What this project taught me.
Eight weeks of research changed how I frame questions and hand off findings.
Research can feel messy, and that's okay.
Affinity mapping helped turn scattered comments into patterns the team could discuss and act on.
Asking the right questions is half the battle.
Neutral prompts gave members room to describe what they needed without reacting to a solution we had already imagined.
Turning findings into action is harder than it looks.
The most valuable work was translating broad themes into focused opportunities without claiming more than the research proved.
Thank You
It took a team.
Thank you to the American Specialty Health design team for welcoming me into the research process. A special thank-you to Judy for her mentorship, patience, and guidance throughout the internship.
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