Include guided programs from Fitbit Coach in the Premium offering

[Wibling]

I have been a very happy customer with Fitbit Coach for years and was sad to hear that you decided to close the app.
Having transitioned to Premium I can now see that the guided training programs are no longer available. I suggest to bring them back ASAP as they work extremely well and should be relatively easy to implement.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Wibling, and thanks for taking the time to share this suggestion about including guided programs from Fitbit coach in the Premium offering. We rely on feedback like yours to help us develop products and features that we know our community wants to see. If this suggestion receives votes from other customers and gains popularity, it will be shared internally with various teams at Fitbit. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.

Watch this space for status updates. In the meantime, try visiting Health & Wellness to talk with other members about all things health and fitness.

[Wibling]

@YojanaFitbit - thank you for your comment. I am happy to see that this suggestion already has been given 15 votes of support and if you took the time to look into this post https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Fitbit-Premium-Coach/Fitbit-Coach-will-become-part-of-Fitbit-Premium... you will see, that the suggestion has many additional supporters. I trust that you will not ignore this valuable feedback and do the right thing by including the guided programs from Coach into the Premium offerings. 

I look forward to hear from you.

Br, Anders 

[mkostersitz]

I agree this is disappointing and will lead for me at least cancel premium

[Crazydaze27]

I have done 4 Coach workouts a week for about 18 months. I liked them because:

• they were constantly varied,
• they were personalised for my fitness level,
• they stretched me,
• I didn't have to look for one every day, and
• they were on my laptop.

I don't like that I'll have to use my phone to use the Premium workouts, or that every day I'll have to look for a workout that suits me.

I'm guessing that Google has done the maths and it's a decision based on the numbers. Coach was a separate Fitbit team and didn't get the investment it needed and deserved to grow.

So thank you for the improvement Google, but I won't be using the un-personalised pick-and-mix hit-and-miss Premium workouts on a tiny screen. I think I'll start putting together my own workouts and I will probably cancel my Premium membership. 

[Nmanders]

I totally agree! The guided walks, treadmill workouts, etc. are essentially garbage without any background music or the ability to play your own music. This is a huge downfall. Unfortunately, I won’t renew my premium membership again if this doesn’t get resolved. I used to use this daily. Now I feel like I can’t use it at all because running in silence is torture… lol 

[VickyWH]

I agree!

I have done about 5 workouts a week with Fitbit Coach for the past 1,5 years. I stopped going to the gym because of the programs being so good.

All of a sudden, I have no workouts lined up for me. No algorythm that makes sure I train every muscle group in my body and that I get better and stronger. All that is left are some videos I can find on YouTube.

Must admit it actually makes me both sad and angry and I feel kind of lost as my daily routine all of a sudden is gone. 

[VersaDude]

After years of paying for coach and premium, I canceled. They won't get me back until we get personalized workout plans and web access again.

[CollinM]

This feature request being recreated and the activity on it really underlines that this is a feature people want. And makes it truly strange that our precious feature request for it was closed "Due to inactivity". Are the votes for that from users that haven't voted for this one going to be merged here? Seems appropriate to me considering the complaints I've seen about this feature disappearing and how active people are about this.

[Tourmalily]

I will absolutely be cancelling my Premium membership unless or until this functionality is added to Premium. Without it, these video workouts are useless to me. I relied heavily upon the algorithms and the preview of each workout. I used coach multiple days ac

week, sometimes 5 days. 

I am a working mother of 2. I do not have time to screw around looking for the coach videos (I haven't been able to find a single one thus far) and since none of your current videos contain previews or demonstrations of the moves they contain, I have no interest in paying for this loss of functionality. 

[CoachFan]

I've used Coach regularly since May of last year to get myself into shape. I've gone from a walker to doing bodyweight 4 times a week and running 5 miles and lowered my resting heartrate by 10 bpm. Without this program, I never would have accomplished this. Now the sessions I've relied on no longer include background music, rep ticks and don't use the trainer of my choice which pretty much ruins the experience for me. I think I'd be better off doing the routines independently at this point and canceling my membership. I really hope you'll consider adding the setting options and music back to the coach sessions that are in the Fitbit app or bring the coach app back.

[hswope]

I liked the guided workouts in FitBit coach. I also liked the fact that I could look at all of the moves in a workout and see a description before starting the workout. That is not available in Premium, even for the workouts that were copied from Coach. This is a serious downgrade. 

The FitBit app also does not open to fit my iPad screen. How am I supposed to do a workout that is playing on a postage stamp sized screen?

if these features are not integrated into Premium, you will lose my business.

[SunsetRunner]

According to the Moderator, "We rely on feedback like yours to help us develop products and features that we know our community"...it was just a pity that they didn't think to ask for our feedback BEFORE removing the Coach Workouts. It would have saved them all the negative feedback and comments. I am in two minds about continuing with Fitbit because of this...

[LauraHarsh]

I agree. I have used the Fitbit Coach app for the last year. The Get Strong program has kept me in shape and motivated with the consistent variety of workouts, all delivered with the same trainer. I have also used the audio outdoor run workouts throughout the pandemic to stay in running shape. I also always mirror my Get Strong videos to my TV so I don't have to workout on the phone. And I have grown very fond of the Coach radio stations as background music. 

Replacing a personalized, algorithm-based workout app with just 250 premade workout vids (that is more expensive annually!) is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen a business do. Please bring back all elements of Coach into the Premium subscription or I will cancel. It's not worth it without the Coach app. 

[pcharby]

I am in total agreement with the posters here.  I don't want to workout from my phone and I don't want to have to go and scan through dozens of workouts in hopes of finding one that is suitable for the day.

Removing the Coach programs that provided total body progression and randomized exercises based on previous workouts was a game changer that Google has decided they don't want.

I'm cancelling my Premium membership and will go see if there's another provider that will offer something I need.  Otherwise, I'll just build my own workouts from the ones I've been doing and play around with changing it up.

This is so awfully disappointing.

[SunsetRunner]

Without the easy access and guidance of the Coach feature, it pretty much makes the Fitbit less appealing.  I have been using the feature for at least a year (or more).   Apple Watch here I come.  

[Hulk75]

The personalised programs were the most useful feature of Fitbit. Getting a great balanced mix of exercise without thinking and needing the expert knowledge if it’s time for cardio, legs, upper body, full body… what’s the point if I pay for a service and then I have to spend time to look at workouts that don’t even provide a preview of the exercise include. It’s very confusing and pointless if you do several of these workouts and realise after a few days that you haven’t done a single push up or some jumping around!

[Dimo302]

I loved the Coach app on my Ionic, I workout 6 days a week.  Having to use my iPhone for the guided workouts is useless.  That’s the whole reason I bought a smart watch that can store music on it; I don’t workout with my phone.  Plus, I liked how the Fitbit Coach workouts would be specifically timed, and then my watch would vibrate when it was time to switch to the next set.  I am for sure cancelling my Premium membership if this functionality is not restored, and am leaning towards finally making the switch to Garmin I’ve been considering.

[DanDiMeo]

I agree with you entirely. I’m really missing the Coach app features, the music and the ease of finding workouts. It all seems much more difficult to find a preferred workout now and worse as my favourites haven’t switched over. Not having guided programmes is a let down. 

[voland]

As a former Googler, I know the difficult position you're in with keeping millions of users happy. I hope you're take a minute to read this feedback from an unhappy Fitbit Premium user following your recent shutdown of Fitbit Coach.

What set Fitbit apart from me from any other fitness trackers was the ability to have guided training sessions right on my wrist. In case you're not familiar, the coach app on my wrist generated personalized workouts and showed me how to do them. I have spent the last year of the pandemic working through one of the three guided programs doing various exercises and improving my overall health. I can tell you confidently, I wouldn't have made it through the pandemic without this tailored daily exercise regiment.

Recently I received this note: "Fitbit Coach is now part of Fitbit Premium. Fitbit is committed to making the tools you need to live a healthier, more active lifestyle, and you can find Fitbit Coach workouts within the Fitbit app as part of the Premium membership experience. Plus, if you have a Fitbit smartwatch or tracker, you’ll also get advanced insights and personalized, actionable guidance to help you move more, sleep better, stress less and eat well."

Unfortunately, what's not mentioned is that the personalized workout feature which was Fitbit's killer feature previously was shut down...

It's true that I can... currently watch workouts but I have to pick which ones to do in Discover > Workouts. I'm not going to pick which workouts to do. I don't know which help me achieve my goals. There are also "Guided Programs" in Discover, but these are geared towards either basic "get active" type or more lifestyle (e.g., mindful eating).

Why wouldn't Google just migrate this functionality of recommended exercises, feedback / rating system, and increasing difficulty to Fitbit Premium? Is there a chance it is coming soon?

I hope to stay on as a Premium member but I'm no longer using the app and plan to cancel. Thanks for reading this novel, take care.

[Giolli]

I was as well a user of Fitbit Coach and I see no reason to renew the Premium subscription unless the functionalities of Coach are brought back in full.

I'm not familiar with the cost structure of similar apps, but this smells, looks, and feels like cost-cutting.

Hopefully, there will be a change of heart.

By the way, the current videos available in the app, are over 1 GB each, which is far from ideal for those working out where they have no WiFi access: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/Mobile-Data-Saving-Option-for-Exercises/idi-p/49...

[Giraffelion]

I enjoyed using the Coach exercises.

Why aren’t they available on Personal Computers anymore?

Why are they not part of Premium?

Why is Premium not available on personal computers?

Please add the Coach platform to Premium and include access for Personal Computers.

Thank you

[Ejb14]

Hey there everyone. I am reading what a mess closing down Fitbit coach to premium has been. No notice, explanation or guidance as to how to navigate the new platform and for me as a deaf person I’ve lost access. The visual cues and CC on the workouts/sessions are gone.  Fitbit Premium is no longer accessible to me.  This is an Americans with Disabilities Act issue (ADA). The Fitbit/Support team are in touch with me which is great.  They have been very responsive thus far.  No fix yet; I am hoping this is resolved soon. While this is not a “suggestion”. I’m hoping more people will see and agree this is a issue that needs correcting. Thank you. 

[Neou]

Agree with the poster and it's big thumb down to Fitbit. 
How Fitbit is expecting we're doing exercise while keep looking at that small screen? I'm going to stop paying for premium and going to switch to another tracker If these functions are not restored. 

[EarthgirlB]

Hello! I am a new Fitbit user, and have a free 90 day trial of premium. COACH was discontinued before  was able to use it. Positive feedback from friend's about COACH was one of the reasons I chose a Fitbit over the many other wearable options out there. I am very disappointed, and will probably not continue my premium membership once the free trial runs out, unless COACH is added or something equally as good.

[cefiro]

1. Coach had personalized workouts based on feedback you provided.
2. Coach audio work outs (running, treadmill, elliptical, etc) showed you ahead of time every segment of the work out so you knew exactly what to expect when picking it. You could see info during workout too.
3. Coach audio work outs would lower the music when the coach was talking