Coach To Fitness And Nutrition

Alpha Coach is the culmination of my struggles with getting and staying fit whilst managing a busy work, family, and social life

There is no shortage of technologies promising to make us healthier, such as fitness wearables, telehealth apps, and smart home gyms.

Since the covid pandemic has hit the world, most of the things have become digital. Nowadays there are also various apps of digital platforms that provide nutrition, fitness, and wellbeing guide to the users. Alpha Coach is one of such platforms delivering across two-tiered offerings: Alpha Coach EVOLVE,  and Alpha Coach ELITE, which is made available through a one-to-one hyper-personalised coaching program by a fitness and nutrition expert.

BW Businessworld had a conversation with Ketan Mavinkurve, founder and CEO, Alpha Coach on how is Alpha Coach working towards people's wellness. Excerpts;

What inspired you to create Alpha Coach?

Alpha Coach is the culmination of my struggles with getting and staying fit whilst managing a busy work, family, and social life. When I embarked on my body transformation journey a few years ago, I struggled to find a program worth my while – having tried several programs, most of which were "one-size-fits-all" kind of programs that failed to take into my fitness levels, body structure, food choices, work routine, and habits into consideration.

I researched the lifestyles of hundreds of celebrities, professional models, and athletes to understand why and how they got the perfect body. I also examined their habits and routines to dive deep into how they lived a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. This entire study led me to undergo a life-changing transformation eventually. 

After my transformation and wanting to be able to impact the lives of countless others, I went on to create Alpha Coach, a wholly tailored one-to-one online training platform. The Alpha Coach program helps busy professionals (much like me) that struggle to get into the shape of their lives and stay there through a holistic approach to exercise and nutrition.

Please explain how your services work and what they involve.

Alpha Coach, founded in 2021, is a Mumbai-based tech-driven online nutrition and fitness coaching platform. We have developed a technology that gives our users completely customised nutrition plans and keeps them engaged throughout the journey!

The core application is designed to help people lose the first 10% of their body weight by providing them with the right tools without the rigidity of a diet – these plans also adapt to the user's food preferences, metabolism, and lifestyle.

Users can then choose whether they want the DIY app-first approach or work with an expert human coach with higher accountability.

Alpha Coach ELITE

Most need help finding motivation, discipline, or the right fitness program. As a team of certified personal fitness coaches, we design the fitness programs our clients love while getting the results they dream of. We do this by focusing on nutrition, training, and long-term habits through our proprietary 3RT process. So whatever fitness goal you have in mind, we will get you there effectively and frustration-free. So, say 'no!' to one-size-fits-all fitness programs. Instead, get a customised solution that works for you. 

Alpha Coach EVOLVE 

Alpha Coach EVOLVE is our 100 per cent free diet coach app, our second product after our flagship premium hyper-personalized one-to-one fitness and nutrition coaching – Alpha Coach Elite. The first-of-its-kind application is best suited for people who want to manage their body weight through a healthy combination of proper nutrition and activity based on their preferences and lifestyle. The patent-pending algorithm in the app curates personalised calorie and macro recommendations for users based on the weekly changes in their metabolism. 

In addition, EVOLVE is the fastest food-logging app and comes with a robust, verified database of 18,000 foods and regional recipes. ALPHA COACH EVOLVE is a fully automated coaching platform without a coach that is affordable, accessible, and personalised and is currently available on Google Playstore and will be available on Apple Store by 1st week of December 2022. 

How Alpha Coach is bridging the gap in the healthcare industry?

The big gap in the industry right now is that One Size Does Not Fit All! It is further exacerbated by the following:

Decision Fatigue: on account of the availability of too much conflicting information

Cookie Cutter plans: offered by most players, resulting in low consistency, and 75 per cent of people dropping off plans

Low Engagement: which is one of the prime reasons for people dropping off plans?

High Cost: quality personal coaching is generally prohibitive

What technological strategies does Alpha Coach use to regulate weight gain or loss?

Evolve is the fastest food-logging app globally and is equipped with an adaptive intelligence engine that helps users make better food choices. The application uses AI/ML technologies that account for user habits, lifestyles, eating preferences, and activity tracking and adapts to users over time. The algorithm also predicts a timeline for the user to reach their body-weight goals, following the recommended plan.

With a goal-based approach, Alpha Coach Evolve helps users lose weight, gain weight, or maintain weight. The patent-pending algorithm that backs the application is the first that calculates the users' metabolism based on their food and body-weight logs. Then, based on the daily food and weight logs, the system automatically makes program adjustments for the users every week. It also seamlessly integrates with multiple wearables via Google Fit, enabling activity tracking.

The key highlight of the app is the "Daily Alpha Score" – a no-BS indicator of the program's compliance. In addition, the application guarantees result in the predicted timeline if the user scores a Daily Alpha Score above 70 every day. What makes Alpha Coach unique is its insights and recommendations using data, which makes it customised to every individual.

The closest analogy here could be that of a family doctor, who knows your entire medical history and becomes the best professional to suggest the best solutions for you. It's the same with Alpha Coach Evolve; while other apps claim to be "the best", they are usually generic; on the hand, Alpha Coach will become the best app "for you".  

The response has been encouraging, with over 1.6 lakh downloads within four months. The app also has 1700= reviews and is rated at 4.6* on the Google Play Store, and it will launch on the iOS AppStore in early December.

How AI currently controls that how fit people are?

AI cannot control how fit people are. But what AI can do, is give impactful recommendations based on data. AI uses machine intelligence to learn specific aspects unique to those users. Everything from their current lifestyle, sleep patterns, diet, activity levels, heart rates, and many more parameters can be mapped, compared, and analysed to drive deep insights into the individual patterns and progress markers.

Using this information, AI can tailor nutrition programs, give you food recommendations and insights about your progress, calculate your metabolism and adjust the plan periodically. So, you get a plan built for you that works and, most importantly, a plan you enjoy doing!

Maintaining a healthy and fit lifestyle begins with the food we eat. Unfortunately, most people do not know what and how much to eat. With an AI-powered diet plan, you have this all laid out for you, and if you log your foods accurately, it will be unlikely that you'd end up snacking or overindulging. It's incredible how much impact a simple program followed diligently with food logging for 30 days can make!

AI also enables scale with algorithms to accurately derive insights from food, activity, sleep, and other parameters. With machine learning and data analytics, these systems can accurately calculate users' metabolism and make appropriate adjustments on the back of complex data. Personalized plans work because people stick to them longer and see the benefits from long-term adherence. This one change can help millions avoid lifestyle disorders such as diabetes, and heart disease, amongst others.

What is the market's current size and potential growth areas?

Amid the pandemic, it is no surprise that technology has increasingly found its way into fitness routines. Consumer mindsets have significantly changed, and gym-goers are more proactive than ever about their overall wellness, encompassing everything from exercise, healthy eating, mindfulness, and sleep. Of course, fitness apps have been around much before the pandemic, but the shift is now more pronounced from both perspectives: the consumer (gym-goers/ fitness enthusiasts) and the service providers (gyms/trainers.) 

Fitness apps have seen a meteoric rise during the pandemic, demonstrating just how popular fitness has become; as a result, people are now always on the lookout for science-backed solutions, seamlessly adaptable to them and easy on the pocket.

While the market size of health and fitness is a total of USD 44 billion, the revenue for the digital fitness and wellbeing segment is only just USD 7.50 billion in 2022. Nevertheless, the market is expected to grow at an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2027) of 24.15 per cent, resulting in a projected market volume of USD 22 billion by 2027.

Do you have any plans to expand? 

Evolve has already crossed 1.6 lakh downloads and is on track now to hit ten lakhs within the next 8-9 months. Our current data set shows impressive retention and engagement, with users beginning to deliver weight loss results in a matter of weeks. We're confident of being able to use this platform substantially in the next year and taking more giant strides into the fitness industry. We have some incredible new and exciting features and modules being launched over the next few months, which will allow us to take our nutrition and fitness to a whole new level.