I started with some competitive analysis, to help me understand what features would be expected as a given if I were to build a solution into the fitness landscape.
They have made group fitness classes accessible through one UI. Their model is a membership model that works on a point system. For standard gyms, Planet Fitness is the greatest competitor. You can view the full audit here. LINK
Over the course of two weeks, I conducted 13 interview sessions, 30 minutes each. My research sample was an even mix of males and females aged 24 - 46, middle-upper class and urban residents. The interviewees preferred a diverse variety of sports including yoga, spinning, cross-fit, jujitsu, personal training, team sports, barre, and dance. Most people had one or more gym membership currently. Nobody was perfectly happy with how they were fitting fitness into their lives. This validated my hypothesis.