Back to an Exercise Routine — When the First Step Is the Hardest
Year
2026 | in progress
Time scope
1.5 months
Key Skills
UX Research
Wireframing
Prototyping (AI-assisted)
Usability Testing
Tools
Figma
Claude
Claude Design
Miro
Role
Product Designer (UX/UI) – solo project, self-initiated
About
Reflow is a product design concept exploring how people find their way back into an exercise routine after a longer break — without pressure, without motivational pushing.
It is grounded in four qualitative interviews and a survey of 68 solo athletes. The research surfaced a core insight: the inner resistance before exercising isn’t a matter of willpower but an automatic cognitive protective mechanism. The brain evaluates the anticipated effort and triggers avoidance.
Why does the couch so often win and how do we get past it?
The goal was to design the moment before exercise: that instant when people know the workout will do them good, yet resistance wins anyway.
What I’m Working On
Instead of building a new habit from scratch, Reflow focuses on habit resilience: the accelerated return after a break. The approach works at the behavioral-architecture level: making the first step so small that no evaluation kicks in.
The project is currently in an iterative phase of prototyping, usability testing and refinement.
The full case study — process, decisions, and final UI — is coming soon.