Explore the app to get more training with your company colleagues

This text was written by a TecMundo columnist; learn more at the end.

More and more companies are concerned about the health of their employees. For this implementing health and wellness programsDesigned to meet this demand, VIK is a B2B2C or Business to Business-to-Consumer (Business-to-Business-to-Consumer), that is, the company rents the application and users are created for employees to use.

The app currently serves more than 70 companies, including Itaú, Localiza and Amazon. It marks employees’ physical activities, exercises and sports on the app that encourage and promote better health, and does so through scientifically validated strategies such as gamification, rewards, sense of belonging, autonomy and socialization.

Understand the features of the app that meets these strategies below.

Gamification and bonuses

The app rewards you based on frequency – This is the most important aspect of building an exercise habit.that is, it is important to do some activity. Given the critical mass of physical inactivity in the world, valuing consistency in physical activity behavior is an important health concern.

Physical activity is a desirable behavior throughout life.

Every activity performed and recorded in the app generates a bonus, a VIK coin. There is a limit of only one per user per day and five per week. By accumulating coins, it is possible to redeem rewards such as VIK products, as well as discount coupons in online stores. Companies can also include personalized rewards.

For an exercise session to provide a bonus, it must last at least 30 minutes, in line with the WHO’s weekly physical activity recommendation (150 minutes per week – approximately 30 minutes per day, performed 5 times per week). For the race – Current method in Brazil, minimum 4 km covered.

Personalization and self-monitoring

At the beginning of use, after downloading, the user answers some questions about health and habits, creating a “health score” in which an individual grade is given. Such a grade can encourage the individual to improve or maintain their health.

It’s possible to track activities like cycling, walking, and running via GPS. For indoor activities, you’ll need to prove it with a photo, like a post-workout photo at the gym.

Sense of belonging and autonomy to choose the method

The formation of groups within the application creates a sense of belonging to a tribe. This feature is inherent in our species. and helps behavior because it is social support.

The “Activity” menu has 30 exercise and sport options to choose from, a factor that allows the worker/practitioner to be candid when choosing their preferred method.

For successful exercise behavior, it is important to match the real reasons for exercising with your preferences. This is a kind of “fit” between reasons and practice. The truth is that everyone can find their own exercise or sport..

Interaction via feed and social connections

Matching individuals with different fitness levels is an interesting feature of the app. You can comment and like activity posts, Fostering social interactions that create support and social approval among employees.

Social relationships are a human psychological need that is often neglected in exercise environments such as gyms.

Different difficulties and classes available

Companies can create challenges for their employees, such as tournaments among employee teams that include individual and team prizes. For example: The person who exercises the most in three months wins a prize along with a ranking.

The app provides a virtual gym with Yoga, dance, home functional training and meditation classes in Portuguese and Spanish through “VIK Fit”.

The motivational aspects are the app’s key differentiator, as other apps don’t really address this important variable. “Our results are excellent among healthcare apps for businesses,” said Ana Mourawad, the company’s marketing manager. The app is available for Android and iOS devices.

*The author has no conflict of interest with the application.

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Fabio Dominski She holds a PhD in Human Movement Sciences and a degree in Physical Education from the State University of Santa Catarina (UDESC). She is a university professor and researcher at the Laboratory of Sport and Exercise Psychology (LAPE/UDESC). She presents science in a podcast available on social media and Spotify. She is the author of Physical Exercise and Science – Facts and Myths.