Strongerbound: the fitness app that's nice t

Here's a confession from the Little Gary Games studio: we are not gym people.

We've downloaded the fitness apps. We've started the streaks. And we've all had that moment where you miss one day, the counter drops back to zero, and the app sends you a little notification that feels like a disappointed PE teacher. Delete. Back to the sofa.

So we made the fitness app we'd actually keep. It's called Strongerbound, it's for Android, and it's in testing right now.

Pick a buddy, go on an adventure

The first thing Strongerbound asks is who you want to bring along. An adventurer, a dog or a cat. (Yes, you can have a cat personal trainer. No, it won't judge you. Probably.)

Your companion walks the whole journey with you. Every day you get three tiny quests: move a bit, do something strong, have a stretch. Tick one off and your companion does a little cheer. Do enough of them and you level up, earn XP and travel along a storybook trail through six places.

Skip a day? That's fine. Rest days are part of the adventure. Nothing resets, nothing sulks, and your companion is just happy to see you when you're back.

[Screenshot: Today screen with companion and three quests]

What can Strongerbound do?

We got a bit carried away, so here's the short version:

• Daily quests sized to you. Not feeling it? Hit swap for something easier, harder or just different.
• 24 companion expressions, because a cheering cat felt important.
• Walks and runs recorded by GPS, even with your screen off.
• A gym logger for weights and reps, with body maps showing which muscles you just worked.
• Skill quests like Couch to 5K.
• A food and drinks log, where tea and coffee count towards hydration (beer, sadly, does not).
• Health Connect support, so your watch workouts count too.

And a few things it deliberately doesn't have: no ads, no tracking, no account needed. It works offline and your data stays on your phone.

[Screenshot: companion cheering] · [Screenshot: journey trail map]

Can I share a run without sharing where I live?

If you want company, you can start a Party: a small, invite-only group where you share the runs and workouts you choose and throw each other cheers, stars and waves.

We were quite careful here. Before a run gets shared, the start and end of the route are trimmed off and any private places you've marked are removed. Your mates see that you ran 5K; they don't see your front door.

Parties are totally optional. Everything else works without ever signing in.

[Screenshot: party feed with a shared run]

Made in a weekend (ish)

Strongerbound went from an empty folder to a working app in three days, 25 to 27 September, built with the help of Claude Code. A lot of that time went on the fiddly bits nobody sees:

• making sure a walk you logged by hand, recorded on GPS and imported from your watch only counts once;
• picking each day's strength quest so a week of them works your whole body;
• testing the privacy rules by trying (repeatedly) to break them.

If you're a developer and want the nerdy version, we'll do a proper "how we built it" post soon.

When can I try Strongerbound?

Strongerbound isn't on the Play Store yet. We're starting testing on Google Play now, and we'd love some fresh legs (literally) to try it before it launches.

We're especially curious about:

1. Do the daily quests feel doable?
2. Is sharing a run with a friend easy?
3. Does your companion make you want to keep going, or is it a bit much?

No pressure, no streaks, no disappointed PE teachers. Just a small adventure and a cat who thinks you're doing great.

— Tom, Little Gary Games