Personal Trainer: Gravl

What it does

Gravl is an AI-powered fitness coach designed for strength training. The app creates personalized workout plans based on a user's goals, experience level, training frequency, and the specific equipment they have access to. It's not just a workout logger; it actively tracks progress, projects future strength gains, and adapts routines to ensure continued improvement.

Where it shines

Gravl excels at making the value of its AI immediately tangible. During onboarding, it presents a 'Strength Projection' screen (01:38) that shows estimated gains in key lifts over the next three months. This turns an abstract promise into a concrete number, motivating users before they've even started. The workout interface itself is also powerful. Features like the AI Coach summary (04:52), which explains the 'why' behind each workout, and granular advanced settings for exercises (06:45) make the app feel like a true training partner rather than just a static list of tasks.

UX highlights

In-depth Personalization: The onboarding quiz is detailed, covering everything from goals (00:14) to specific gym equipment (01:23), ensuring the generated plan is genuinely tailored.
Clear Value Communication: The 'We track your progress' screen (01:17) explicitly explains the app's unique Strength Score, educating users on how their progress will be measured.
Smart Use of Wait Time: While the AI generates the initial plan, the app displays cycling user testimonials (02:00), effectively using a loading state to build social proof.
Flexible Workout Modification: Users can easily modify workouts on the fly. Options include replacing exercises (05:13), creating supersets (05:27), and even removing exercises the AI recommended (07:23).
Contextual AI Explanations: The AI Coach feature provides a textual summary of a workout's intention (04:53), adding an educational layer that builds trust in the AI's choices.
Comprehensive Analytics: The app offers detailed analytics on muscle recovery (10:09), volume trends (12:22), and workout history, giving users multiple ways to visualize their progress.

Monetization & growth

Gravl uses a soft paywall strategy. After a lengthy and engaging onboarding process that builds significant perceived value, the user is presented with a subscription screen (02:17). This screen highlights key features and offers three plans, with the annual option marked as 'Best value'. A secondary, pop-up discount offer for 25% off appears (02:58) if the user attempts to close the initial sign-up screen, creating a second chance to convert. The app does not appear to offer a free trial, instead focusing on selling the value of the personalized plan the user just helped create.

Who it’s for

This app is primarily for individuals serious about weightlifting and strength training, from beginners to intermediates. The detailed equipment selection and advanced exercise settings suggest it's designed for people who have access to a gym (whether a large commercial one or a well-equipped garage gym) and want to follow a structured, data-driven plan. The AI coaching and progress tracking features make it ideal for those who want guidance but may not want to hire a personal trainer.

Notes & opportunities

The app experience is robust, but there are a few points of friction. The onboarding process, while thorough, is quite long and includes multiple permission prompts (tracking, health, notifications) plus a mandatory sign-up, which might cause some user drop-off. In the workout log, the process to delete a set by swiping feels slightly clunky (08:08). Lastly, the app presents an error message for an empty field ('Field is required') even when the user is trying to correct a different error ('Field must be unique') (12:55), which could be a confusing interaction.