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Dubai: New app to reward residents for burning calories

Prizes include gym classes, equipment, sportswear

Getting active will now get you rewarded! A new fitness app launched in the UAE will reward members who exercise regularly with gym classes, sportswear and branded gym equipment. Your Fitness Coach (YFC), which aims to be the most holistic fitness app in the region, has also partnered with gyms and studios in over 15 locations across the UAE.

“Our aim is to make fitness more accessible, more affordable and more rewarding,” said Johan Du Plessis, founder and CEO of YFC. “This app is a result of years of hard work where we asked industry experts and fitness enthusiasts what they would like to see in the future so that we could create that.”

According to Du Plessis, the vision is to become the most go-to application for all fitness activities and services. “The YFC app perfectly marries fitness and technology. We want to bridge the gap in the industry and create a holistic global platform,” he said.

In addition to tracking their steps and calorie burn, users of the app will be able to access various gyms and fitness studios, purchase access to group classes, get a certified personal trainer, follow an in-app training programme designed by fitness experts and get rewarded for all their activity.

Using the app for tracking activity levels and earning points is free whereas users who want to use the app for gyms and studios can get a monthly membership for Dh399. They have the option to freeze or cancel at any time. Both free and paid members can earn points for burning calories. The points unlock Y-coins that can be redeemed against purchases.

“The future of tech is driven by the convergence of digital, biological, and physical innovations,” said Sujoy Cherian, co-founder and MD of YFC. “The app uses complex and disruptive technologies that enable users to track their activity and get rewarded with points based on their steps and workouts. The purpose of all this tech and innovation is to support our core values which are: to engage, activate and reward people for being active.”

YFC also integrates cryptocurrency into the platform and enables users to make purchases using their crypto wallets. The app will also award points multipliers to users who take part in sports and fitness activities such as Dubai Fitness Challenge, Spartan, Tough Mudder, among others.

Eduardo Ribiero from Team Noguira, one of the partners of YFC, said the gym was looking to attract more customers with the app. “We are a fairly new facility,” he said. “Also, we have an innovative concept of offering martial arts along with a gym membership. The values to YFC aligned with ours, and we thought the app would give us access to a whole new customer base who are willing to try new things.”

“It is a one-of-its kind initiative,” said Anne from Nitro Gym, that has been operating in the city for over 10 years. “We are quite honoured to be part of YFC”

According to the founders of the app, there is no place better than Dubai to launch an app like YFC. “Dubai is very ambitious when it comes to fitness,” said Sujoy Cherian. “No other city has done what Dubai has whether it is the government games or Dubai Fitness Challenge. The way the government approaches fitness and has encouraged the community to participate, we love that we are in such a city and are happy to contribute to this spirit in our own way.”

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