Where Training Becomes Competition: Host Fitness Challenges in Your Gym

Competitive fitness is growing fast, and gyms are building strong communities around it.

Events like HYROX are growing fast, with organisers aiming for 1 million race participations globally. At the same time, established competitions like CrossFit Games and newer formats like ATHX and XENOM show that competitive fitness is expanding across many formats and events.

Athletes don’t just want workouts anymore. They want something to measure. Something to improve. Something to beat.

That’s why we created Challenges in Pulses App. It’s the bridge between race days, designed to keep your community engaged, accountable, and craving their next PR.

This first version of Pulses Challenges is for iOS only. Stay tuned for the Android release!

What are Pulses Challenges?

A Challenge is a structured, station-based workout performed in sequence for time. Because your members have different fitness levels, our challenges vary in difficulty, allowing you to select the perfect fit for any group, from beginners to elite competitors.

While you track progress in real-time, the app captures:

• Finish times and station-by-station splits.

• Personal bests and historical comparisons.

• Heart rate and recovery metrics. (when Heart Rate bands are used)

• Leaderboards that drive in-class intensity.

Each athlete receives a custom results page via QR code, perfect for social media sharing.

You can also use Challenges to run race simulations, helping athletes prepare for events and test pacing, transitions, and overall performance.

Challenges turn training into a test. And a test into something athletes want to repeat.

Why we created Challenges

In many gyms, the workout ends when the clock stops. The result vanishes, progress remains anecdotal, and the data that could drive retention is lost.

Challenges change that dynamic.

• For the Athlete: Every session becomes a measurable event. They can track their progress, compare results, and return to smash their previous bests.

• For the Coach: Gain instant insight into pacing, fatigue, and raw performance.

• For the Gym: When athletes share their verified results, they don't just brag, they market your gym for you.

The best part? It’s flexible. While we recommend running a major benchmark challenge every 4–6 weeks to build momentum and track long-term development, you are free to run tests whenever it fits your specific programming schedule. Whether it's a monthly test or a spontaneous race simulation, the data is there to show your athletes exactly how far they've come.

How Challenges works

Pulses App makes group tracking simple. Select a Challenge, add your athletes, and start.

Then:

• Mark each completed station

• Use Undo if needed

• Set DNF if someone stops

After finish:

• 1 minute recovery (if using heart rate)

• End Challenge

• Review results

• Athletes scan QR and see their result

Start running Challenges in your gym

Run your first Challenge in minutes.

This first version of Pulses Challenges is for iOS only. Stay tuned for the Android release!

👉 Download Pulses App and get started:

FAQ

What is a fitness challenge in a gym?

A structured workout where athletes complete stations for time, ranked on a leaderboard. In Pulses App, this is tracked live, with results automatically saved and shared.

Can I run Challenges with a group?

Yes. Pulses App is built for group sessions, allowing you to track multiple athletes at the same time.

Can Challenges be used for race simulations?

Yes. Challenges can be used to run race simulations, helping athletes prepare for events and test pacing, transitions, and overall performance.

How do athletes see their results?

After the Challenge, athletes scan a QR code and open their personal result page with time, progress, and performance data.

Can athletes share their results?

Yes. Athletes can share their results from their personal result page, helping promote your gym and strengthen the community.