btwb Workout TV — Bringing Real-Time Training to the Gym Space

Overview

In gyms, the big screen on the wall isn't just a display—it's the most visible touchpoint in the facility. It's what athletes look at during workouts, what coaches reference when leading class, and what creates the shared experience that builds community.

When I first joined BTWB in 2018 as a freelancer, gym displays were exactly that—static, limited tools. I redesigned the original WODscreen, bringing clarity and improved hierarchy to gym spaces. When I rejoined full-time in 2022, Workout TV became a core design surface for BTWB's evolving ecosystem.

By 2025, we had transformed it into a dynamic platform that:

• Unified the in-gym experience with BTWB's broader ecosystem (Tempus, Plan, Gym Management)
• Expanded the product's reach from gym-only to individual home users
• Created differentiation in a competitive market where most platforms treat displays as an afterthought

The 2025 release delivered the strongest, most cohesive version to date — unifying experience, visuals, and functionality across the entire BTWB ecosystem.

Problem & Opportunity

Before the 2025 overhaul, WODscreen (the earlier version of Workout TV) served gyms well but was limited:

• Minimal customization options (colors, layout, number of WODs)
• Static screens with no real-time updates or athlete context
• Inconsistent visuals compared to other BTWB surfaces
• No integration with Tempus or the evolving All-In-One platform
• Limited ability to support coaches during class flow

Gyms needed something more dynamic — a display that:

• Matched the evolving BTWB design language
• Integrated real-time athlete data
• Celebrated PRs, consistency, and milestones
• Adapted to different workout types and class needs
• Worked anywhere in the gym via Chromecast or desktop

Workout TV evolved from a simple WOD display into a fully integrated visual layer for training environments.

My Role: Lead Product Designer

I was the sole designer on Workout TV throughout its evolution from 2018 to 2025, owning the complete design lifecycle across four major releases:

• Led visual, interaction, and behavioral design for all display modes
• Partnered directly with founders and engineering to define product strategy and prioritize features
• Conducted ongoing feedback loops with gym owners, coaches, and athletes to validate decisions
• Maintained design consistency across multiple generations while evolving the interface to meet platform-level goals
• Balanced long-time user expectations with the needs of gyms adopting BTWB's All-in-One platform for the first time

The challenge was unique: every iteration needed to respect the mental models of gyms who had used WODscreen for years while making the product dramatically more flexible and modern for new users.

Five Display Modes for Any Class, Any Goal

Workout TV includes four distinct display modes, each designed for a different moment in the training experience. Gyms can swap modes instantly, customize details, and cast wirelessly with a single tap.

1. Workout View

The classic WODscreen — clearer, modernized, and customizable. Supports multiple WODs, movement demos, scaling notes, and flexible text sizing.

2. PR & Celebration View

Automatically highlights newly earned PRs, badges, and milestones. Designed to build community and reinforce consistency.

3. Leaderboard View

Displays athlete results after class, surfacing effort, pacing, and performance across athletes.

4. Tempus Pacing View

A competitive, real-time view for workouts tracked via Tempus. Shows pacing, live reps, heart rate zones (when supported), and athlete position.

Tempus Integration: Bringing Live Data Into the Gym Space

When BTWB introduced Tempus — a competitive, real-time workout experience — Workout TV became the natural display layer for bringing that pacing, intensity, and energy into the physical gym environment.

• Live rep tracking
• Pacing indicators and positional comparisons
• Countdowns and intervals
• Heats and class-wide visibility

Tempus mode enhances the training atmosphere by visualizing pacing and performance in real time.

This integration strengthened BTWB’s “fitness-first” positioning and brought meaningful coaching insights directly into class flow.

Design Decisions & UI Evolution

Workout TV spanned multiple generations and design eras — which meant every update needed to respect existing mental models while leveling up clarity, visual polish, and functionality. My responsibility was to create a product that felt familiar to long-time users but unquestionably modern and intuitive for new gyms adopting BTWB’s ecosystem.

The evolution below reflects visual, structural, and functional progress from early 2018 redesigns through the 2025 platform-aligned release.

Key Design Decisions

Constraints & Tradeoffs

Not every idea made it into the product, and that was intentional. Here are a few things we deliberately chose not to pursue:

• Radical layout experimentation

  We could have built entirely new workout layouts, but preserving the familiar WOD structure was more valuable than novelty. Coaches needed to glance at a screen and instantly know where to look.

• Over-customization

  We received requests for per-element color control, custom fonts, and animated backgrounds. While technically possible, this would have created visual chaos and made maintenance unsustainable. We drew a clear line: enough flexibility to adapt to different gyms, not so much that users could break the experience.

• Mobile-first design patterns

  Workout TV lives on large screens viewed from a distance. Design patterns that worked beautifully on phones (like cards, stacked layouts, or tap targets) didn't translate. We optimized for legibility at 15+ feet, not for touch interactions.

These constraints kept the product focused and shipping, rather than endlessly iterating in pursuit of edge cases.

UI Evolution Over Time

Workout TV’s evolution mirrors BTWB’s broader transformation — from a simple WOD display to a connected, dynamic, data-informed training experience. Below is a high-level visual progression.

2018: Freelance redesign introducing clarity and hierarchy improvements.

2022: Foundation adjustments and alignment with BTWB's updated product surfaces.

2023–2024: Tempus pacing and competitive display modes added.

2025: Full multi-mode system aligned with BTWB's All-In-One platform.

Shipped Outcomes & Impact

Rather than iterate in isolation, each release built toward a cohesive platform vision — here's the impact:

The 2025 release represented the culmination of this work—a modern, flexible, deeply integrated display that supported coaches, motivated athletes, and reinforced BTWB's positioning as the platform that puts fitness and results first.

Reflections

Designing Workout TV over seven years taught me a few things that have shaped how I approach product work:

1. Evolutionary design can be just as impactful as revolutionary design

   We didn't reinvent the display experience in one big launch. We iterated generation by generation, each time making it more flexible, more aligned, and more powerful. That patience paid off—long-time users stayed engaged while new users found it modern and polished.

2. Consistency across a platform requires constant negotiation

   Aligning Workout TV with BTWB's broader design language meant coordinating with multiple product surfaces, each with different constraints. I learned to be a strong advocate for visual cohesion while respecting what made each product unique.

3. Designing for visibility at scale is a different discipline

   Every decision—contrast, font size, spacing, motion—had to account for viewing distance, screen size, and ambient lighting. This forced me to think beyond what looked good on my monitor and design for real-world gym environments.

4. Early stakeholder alignment prevents late-stage redesigns

   Working closely with gym owners, coaches, and athletes from the beginning helped us avoid building features nobody needed. The feedback loops we established in 2018 paid dividends through 2025—we rarely had to backtrack on major decisions because we validated early and often.

If I were starting this project today, I'd invest earlier in a structured design system and component library. Much of the consistency we achieved by 2025 was hard-won through repeated refinement. A solid foundation earlier would have made iteration faster and more sustainable.