Six Pack in 30 Days… What?!

Ling U
Ling U
Nov 5 · 3 min read

Usability, Accessibility and Ethics in an everyday app.

Six Pack in 30 Days is an app I downloaded a couple months ago to try and get my Indian summer bod. Well, not really, but it’s an app I do use for abs when I work out. I don’t use it as intended — let’s be honest, I need way more discipline to do an ab workout everyday for 30 consecutive days — but it’s a great structured workout to help my body with that last piece of chocolate cake I just scarfed down. To be clear, I’m only going to talk about the free version without the Premium perks.

From the get-go I noticed how easy it was to use. I selected my Training Plan according to difficulty, aka beginner and was led to a schedule of 30 days. Each time I use the app, I click on the respective day, Day 1 or Day 17 or wherever I am in the program. The affordance of the checkmark delineating completed days reminds me of a literal checklist which helps me get through it all. Each day’s exercises are clearly aligned and follow a consistent pattern throughout the app.

Checkmarks let me know what I’ve completed.

The colors and minimalist design keep me focused on the task at hand: getting a six pack. During my workout, I’m given a choice to rest 30 seconds between each exercise, add an additional 20 seconds, or skip the rest period and jump to the next exercise. This flexibility to customize my workout ensures efficiency while using the app. If I accidentally start a workout but need to stop for whatever reason, I’m offered options to either restart or continue. Being able to easily recover from my error adds to the app’s already great usability.


Information is presented in various ways to inform the user.

As a physical fitness app, Six Pack in 30 Days isn’t accessible to certain users (i.e. those with impaired mobility), but it does what it can. There is an optional voice guide and even coach tips to help those visually impaired and needing encouragement. Additionally, for those who aren’t familiar with the exercise name or can’t hear the voice guide, there is an animation of the exercise. The number of reps is in a large font so users can quickly glance at their screen to be reminded of how many to do, and if needed, users can pause at any time. These accessibility features allow the app to accommodate a diverse set of users.


Using the app is pretty straightforward and I don’t find many issues with it… except for the name. Six Pack in 30 Days is something you will NOT get. Yes, maybe you’ll get more fit and health conscious, but with this app alone, it’s not going to happen. Sorry. Luckily I wasn’t expecting that especially since I didn’t stick to the plan. The structured workouts are awesome, and I love the coaching tips. Though when there’s an app called Six Pack in 30 Days, I kind of think that’s what should happen if you follow the program. Fortunately, many users don’t feel deceived, given the 4.9 stars with 12.2K reviews on the App Store. I guess the name is catchy enough and provides a good workout regardless. I mean, who would download an app called Humble Beginnings of a Six Pack?

Ling U

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Ling U

UX design student practicing my way with (design) words one article at a time

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