Feedback System
Collect and analyze workout feedback to optimize your coaching and client outcomes.
Feedback System 💬
Great coaching is a conversation. You bring expertise; your athletes bring their lived experience. The Feedback System creates a structured channel for that input.
Why this matters
Without feedback, coaching is guesswork. An athlete might be struggling for weeks before you notice—or they might be cruising when they could handle more. Feedback surfaces these signals early.
How It Works
After completing a workout, athletes are prompted to share how it went:
Session completed! How'd it go?
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Overall rating
Difficulty: Too easy | Just right | Too hard
Energy: 😴 Low | 😊 Normal | ⚡ High
Comments: [Open text field]This feedback:
- Gets timestamped and linked to the specific workout
- Appears in the Feedback section
- Shows up in the athlete's profile
- Builds trends over time
The Default Questions
Out of the box, OwnFit captures:
| Question | What It Reveals |
|---|---|
| Overall rating (1-5 or 1-10) | Quick snapshot of experience |
| Difficulty assessment | Perceived challenge vs. prescribed |
| Energy/mood indicators | Before and after training |
| Open comments | The gold—specific, unstructured feedback |
The comments are gold
Structured ratings are useful, but free-form comments often contain the most valuable insights. "My knee felt weird on squats" or "Loved this workout!" or "Can we do more of X?"
Customizing Questions
Don't like the defaults? Modify them in organization settings:
- Add sleep quality questions
- Ask about nutrition compliance
- Include sport-specific metrics
- Remove what you don't need
Balance depth vs. completion rate. A comprehensive questionnaire yields rich data but might suffer low completion. Brief forms done consistently > detailed forms done sporadically.
Reviewing Feedback
The Feedback Dashboard
All submissions, aggregated:
| Feature | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Chronological list | Recent feedback first |
| Athlete name + workout | What prompted the feedback |
| Rating + comment preview | Quick scan for issues |
| Filters | By athlete, date range, rating |
The dashboard highlights feedback needing attention: unusually low ratings, concerning keywords, athletes who stopped submitting.
Individual Athlete View
Within each athlete's profile, see their full feedback history:
- Does rating correlate with workout type?
- Are certain days consistently harder?
- Is subjective experience improving over the program?
Graphs and trend lines visualize patterns over time.
Acting on Feedback
Collecting is step one. Acting is where value happens.
The Daily Ritual ☀️
Review overnight submissions
Takes 2-3 minutes each morning
Flag anything needing action
Struggling athlete? Concerning comment? Pattern emerging?
Respond or adjust
Message them, or modify their programming
When to Respond
| Situation | Action |
|---|---|
| Unusually low rating | Check in—what happened? |
| Positive detailed comment | Acknowledge it—reinforces engagement |
| Concerning symptom mentioned | Follow up immediately |
| Routine feedback | No response needed—they know you're watching |
You don't need to respond to every submission. But athletes who take time for thoughtful feedback should know their effort matters.
Making Programming Adjustments
Feedback should influence decisions:
| Feedback Pattern | Possible Action |
|---|---|
| Consistently "too hard" | Reduce load or volume |
| Consistently "too easy" | Increase challenge |
| Low energy trends | Check recovery, add deload |
| Multiple athletes struggling with same workout | The workout's the problem, not them |
Understanding Patterns
Individual submissions tell stories. Patterns reveal deeper truths.
Normal Variation
Not every low rating is a problem:
- Training should sometimes be hard
- Bad days happen unrelated to programming
- One data point = noise
Look for sustained patterns, not single submissions.
Red Flags 🚩
| Signal | What It Might Mean |
|---|---|
| Sudden rating drop | Overtraining, life stress, emerging injury |
| Pain/symptom mentions | Requires immediate follow-up |
| Stopped submitting feedback | Disengaging from training process |
Positive Indicators ✅
Feedback confirms what's working too:
- Sustained positive ratings
- "Feeling stronger" comments
- Enjoyment expressions
- Energy improvements
Capture these wins. They're evidence of your coaching impact.
Integrating with Other Data
Feedback is subjective. Performance metrics are objective. The best picture combines both.
Alignment
| Feedback | Performance | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| "Hard" | Stalled | Appropriately challenged (or over-challenged) |
| "Easy" | Improving well | Ready for more |
| "Hard" | Performing great | Underselling themselves, or anxious |
| "Easy" | Mediocre | Lacking awareness, not truly pushing |
Don't increase load for someone performing well but reporting excessive difficulty—you might push them into overtraining or injury.
Building a Feedback Culture
The system works best when athletes engage willingly.
Setting Expectations
During onboarding:
- Explain why feedback matters
- Emphasize that honest feedback (including negative) improves their experience
- Make clear: if they say nothing, you assume everything's fine
Reframe 'complaining'
Athletes often hesitate to criticize. Tell them: "Reporting problems isn't complaining—it's giving me the information I need to help you succeed."
Maintaining Engagement
Engagement naturally fluctuates. Keep it up by:
- Referencing feedback in communication — "Based on your feedback last week, I adjusted..."
- Thanking detailed responses — Reinforces the behavior
- Treating feedback completion as part of compliance — Athletes who skip feedback might be disengaging overall