Her junior year, Tina He ’19 was tired of checking the gym schedule everyday. The process of searching through class times and availability felt tedious.
“I thought there has to be a better way to do this,” He said.
And so He, part of project team Cornell AppDev, became the project lead for student-made fitness app Uplift. Alongside her team members, He developed Uplift, designed to help Cornell students make staying healthy on campus enjoyable.
The team behind Uplift is working on the latest version of the app, which focuses exclusively on Cornell and includes new features that allow students build easy-to-achieve routines and to learn from top student fitness influencers on campus to manage their school-health balance.
The current version of the app allows students to look at the exercise class schedule and add classes to their favorites list. However, the app is currently limited to those with Cornell gym memberships.
The new version to be launched includes a new habit-tracking feature — starting with something as simple as walking up the slope. Users can develop “streaks” when they maintain a habit, which can include physical fitness habits, such as cardio and strength, or mindfulness.
A launch event will be held on May 1 as part of The Straight Edge Pop-Up Series at Willard Straight Hall from 3 – 6 p.m. The event will feature outdoor yoga sessions, a demonstration of the app’s latest features and conversations between students interested in fitness
It was a team effort that lead to the development of the app, and He attributed the design to Cornell AppDev. The group is an undergraduate project team which is dedicated to creating open-source applications that are available on the App Store and Google Play Store, according to their website.
The Uplift team is also creating an influencer community, whose members are referred to as Uplift Pros. These Pros are Cornell students that already have a large social media following and will share tips and “life hacks” about how they stay healthy on campus, He said.
Overall, the Uplift team wants to make staying healthy on campus easier for students — physically and mentally. By focusing on using small steps to get started, He believes that it is simple for any student to create new habits and become more active.
Although she is graduating this year, she hopes the project team will continue expanding the app’s features and possibly work to adapt its features for other college campuses.