Dany ChoProduct designer & full-stack engineer
All projects

FYL / Independent product / 2026

Built for the next rep.

Making progressive overload easier to track, and consistency more rewarding to share.

Explore FYL
My role
Product design & full-stack engineering
Scope
App, web, backend & release
Platforms
iOS · Android · web · Apple Watch
The core loop, in motion. Mobile UI with illustrative workout data.

01 / The idea

Make the work visible. Make showing up social.

I started with a question about technology and AI: could tracking progressive overload feel easier, more motivating, and social? FYL grew into a workout tracker that connects reusable plans, live logging, and the progress that accumulates between sessions.

The shipped experience starts with the training loop: know what to do next, record what happened, and see a reason to come back. Routines, personal records, friend streaks, and leagues connect those moments.

  1. Before training

    A clear next workout, without rebuilding the plan.

  2. Between sets

    Weight, reps, and rest within reach.

  3. Over time

    Progress you can understand, and consistency you can share.

02 / The workout

A small interaction, over and over again.

The set row is the part of FYL a lifter returns to most. Previous performance can fill empty fields, weight and reps have direct controls, and completing a set starts its rest timer. The design keeps those actions together.

Try the detail below: adjust a set, mark it complete, and watch the volume update. This is a focused case-study demo of the interaction, using sample data.

Interactive detail · sample data
Push Day
Volume200kg
Completed1/ 4

Bench Press (Barbell)

W2010✓
1
2
3

Try a set

Same hierarchy. Two environments.

03 / Design decisions

A system for attention.

Logo design / From sketchbook to app icon

Finding the shape of “forge.”

I explored what Forge Your Lift could look like on paper: hammers, lifters, an animal mascot, and an anvil built around an F. The sketches move from a broad set of ideas to green marker studies, with the anvil direction carrying through to the finished icon.

Sketchbook page headed Forge Your Lift, with pencil studies of hammers, lifters, lettering, and F-shaped anvils.
01 / Explore the ideaPencil thumbnails explore the name through tools, figures, lettering, and anvil silhouettes.View full photo ↗
Sketchbook page with green marker studies of an animal mascot, an F-shaped anvil app icon, and a figure lifting a hammer.
02 / Try it in colorGreen marker studies compare three directions, including the F-shaped anvil on a rounded square.View full photo ↗
Finished FYL app icon: a white and pale-green F-shaped anvil on a green background.
03 / The finished markThe finished icon keeps the F-shaped anvil and green field, translating the hand-drawn idea into a clean geometric mark.
  1. 01

    One main action per screen.

    I separated Home from Workout: Home answers what to do today, while Workout holds the plan. That removed competing starts and duplicate statistics from the planning surface.

  2. 02

    Let the numbers do the talking.

    The redesign paired Geist Mono for data with Spline Sans for reading. A shared set of type roles replaced screen-by-screen styling, with an audit to keep the system consistent.

  3. 03

    Give feedback a purpose.

    Green marks action and achievement; amber marks rest and time pressure. Set completion, PRs, and recaps get feedback, with reduced-motion alternatives throughout the app.

FYL routine with exercises, sets, and a start button.
Reusable sets and rest targets put the plan in place before training.
FYL dark workout logger with bench press set controls.
The active session keeps time, volume, and set controls together.
FYL active workout after a completed set, with the rest countdown.
An amber countdown keeps recovery visible alongside the workout.
FYL workout summary with duration, volume, sets, and sharing controls.
A summary collects the session before saving, with sharing under the lifter’s control.

04 / Progress & people

Give the numbers somewhere to go.

Logging is only useful if the history becomes readable. FYL brings volume trends, personal records, estimated one-rep max, and muscle coverage back into the experience. The web dashboard gives those longer views more room.

Recorded in the live FYL web app. These are workout values, not product growth metrics.

05 / Across devices

The same session. A smaller screen.

I built the Apple Watch experience as a native companion. Routines travel from the phone to the wrist; sets are logged alongside a HealthKit workout session; the finished workout returns to the phone to be saved.

That keeps the watch focused on the session, with account handling and the shared save path on the phone.

FYL dark workout logger with bench press set controls.

Phone

Routine + unitsCompleted workoutPhone saves to Supabase
FYL Apple Watch companion showing workout duration, heart rate, calories, and set progress.

Apple Watch

The companion flow. Animation illustrates the handoff.

06 / Scaling

Making it work was only the beginning.

Scaling was harder than I expected. I started adding caching and leaning on Supabase and Vercel to do more of the delivery work. The useful distinction was between frequently revisited app data and public content that could be cached at the edge.

App / query cacheSupabase / source data
Public pages / CDNPublic exercise catalog

Reuse app data

TanStack Query gives the app a shared cache. Queries have a freshness window and avoid refetching just because the window regains focus.

Send less

Exercise lists request the fields they display. Full instructions load on the detail screen, while search and filtering work on the loaded list.

Cache public pages

Public exercise pages use CDN caching with stale-while-revalidate. Personal workout data stays on its authenticated path.

07 / Launch & reflection

Shipped. Still learning.

  • Live on the App Store
  • Live on Google Play
  • Web + native Watch companion

Performance is a product decision.

Caching, smaller payloads, and delivery infrastructure became part of making the app feel responsive. Scaling needs attention while the product is still taking shape.

A redesign needs enforceable rules.

A palette alone didn’t bring the screens together. Shared typography roles, consistent actions, and an audit made the visual system something I could maintain.

FYL

A routine, a set, a little progress. Repeat.

FYL is live, with free core tracking and optional Pro features.

App StoreGoogle PlayExplore FYL
Next projectPallav Panigrahi