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UNDA — Daily Insights, Training Analytics & Check-in UX Specification ​

Status: Draft specification. Not yet implemented; roadmap tracks the build in three slices (see ROADMAP.md → Daily Insight + check-in analytics suite). Last reviewed: 2026-08-21

1. Feature objective ​

UNDA should combine three types of information in one coherent experience:

  1. What is happening today

    • cycle day
    • estimated/confirmed cycle phase
    • symptoms
    • subjective readiness
    • sleep/recovery
    • recent training
  2. What the user has actually experienced historically

    • performance
    • training consistency
    • symptoms
    • personal patterns across previous cycles
  3. Educational context

    • short evidence-based explanations about physiology, training, recovery, nutrition and symptoms
    • sources available directly from each insight
    • uncertainty clearly communicated

The app must avoid implying that every user should feel or perform in a particular way purely because they are in a particular menstrual-cycle phase.

The primary product principle is:

Personal data first. Population-level cycle research second.


2. Home / Today screen ​

Purpose ​

The Home screen answers:

“How am I doing today, and what should I know before training?”

It should provide a fast summary rather than require the user to interpret several physiological metrics.


2.1 Daily readiness card ​

Top-level card:

Before training

Example:

Readiness 82 Good readiness today

Secondary text:

Based on your recent recovery, symptoms and training data.

CTA:

View check-in →

Inputs ​

The readiness score may incorporate:

  • sleep
  • subjective energy
  • soreness
  • fatigue
  • stress
  • menstrual symptoms
  • recent training load
  • resting HR/HRV if available
  • user-reported readiness

Cycle phase should not independently reduce or increase readiness.

Instead:

text
Readiness =
individual current state
+ recent training/recovery
+ personal historical cycle patterns

Not:

text
Readiness =
menstrual phase → predefined score

3. Daily metrics ​

Below readiness:

Your day ​

Display modular metric cards in a 2-column grid.

Possible cards:

Cycle ​

Day 6

Follicular phase

Secondary information:

  • estimated / confirmed status
  • expected next period
  • cycle length

Sleep ​

7 h 42 min

Sleep duration

Optional small graph showing the previous 7 days.

Training load ​

312

7-day load

Small trend graph.

Recovery ​

78

Good

Symptoms ​

2 reported

Mild cramps · fatigue

Hydration ​

1.8 L

Daily logged intake

The user should be able to configure which metrics appear.

CTA:

Edit metrics


4. Today's workout ​

Large recommendation card below metrics.

Example:

Today's session ​

Endurance — 75 min

Z2 aerobic ride

Additional information:

  • planned intensity
  • expected duration
  • training objective
  • estimated load

CTA:

Start workout

Secondary CTA:

Why this workout?


Workout reasoning ​

When the user taps Why this workout?, show:

Recommended primarily because of your training plan and current recovery.

Then optionally:

Your historical data also shows that you usually tolerate similar sessions well around this point in your cycle.

This distinction is extremely important.

UNDA should never claim:

“You are follicular, therefore today you should do intervals.”

Instead, cycle information becomes one contextual variable among several.


5. Pre-workout check-in ​

This corresponds to the full-screen questionnaire shown in the reference screenshots.

The check-in should take approximately 10–20 seconds.


Screen 1 — Energy ​

How energetic do you feel?

5-step scale:

  • Very low
  • Low
  • Normal
  • Good
  • Excellent

Screen 2 — Sleep ​

How did you sleep?

5-step scale.

Optionally preload wearable data:

7 h 21 min detected

User reports perceived sleep quality separately.


Screen 3 — Soreness ​

How sore do you feel?

Scale:

0 — None 1 — Mild 2 — Moderate 3 — High 4 — Very high

Optional body map later.


Screen 4 — Menstrual symptoms ​

Any symptoms today?

Multi-select:

  • cramps
  • headache
  • bloating
  • breast tenderness
  • fatigue
  • lower-back discomfort
  • GI symptoms
  • heavy bleeding
  • mood changes
  • none

Allow severity:

Mild / Moderate / Severe


Screen 5 — Motivation ​

How ready do you feel to train?

1–5 scale.


Check-in result ​

After completion:

Ready to train ​

82 / 100

Then explain the recommendation:

Training recommendation

Continue planned workout

or:

Reduce intensity slightly

or:

Recovery session suggested

Importantly, UNDA should explain why.

Example:

Your sleep and energy are normal, but you reported unusually high soreness. Your workout has therefore been reduced from 4 × 8 min threshold to 3 × 8 min.

This makes the recommendation auditable.


6. Daily Insights ​

This is the feature most closely inspired by the full-screen “Daily Decoding” screenshots.

Possible UNDA naming:

  • Today's physiology
  • Daily Insight
  • Inside your cycle
  • What's happening today
  • Cycle Insight

Recommended:

Daily Insight ​

The UI can be immersive without using the astrology/cosmic aesthetic of the reference.

UNDA should instead use its own visual system:

  • water
  • gradients inspired by depth/current
  • wave forms
  • flowing particles
  • controlled biological animation
  • subtle phase colours
  • no stars
  • no moons
  • no zodiac imagery

7. Daily Insight entry point ​

Home screen contains a compact card:

DAY 6 ​

Today's cycle insight

What may be changing physiologically today

Explore →

The card should display an evidence indicator:

Evidence: Moderate

or:

Evidence: Limited

This immediately distinguishes UNDA from apps presenting speculative statements as facts.


8. Daily Insight story flow ​

Opening the card launches a vertically immersive screen.

Top:

Daily Insight: Exercise

Below:

Cycle day 6 of 30

Optional:

Estimated follicular phase

Progress navigation:

text
━━━━ ━━━━ ━━━━ ━━━━ ━━━━

User can:

  • swipe horizontally
  • tap right side → next
  • tap left side → previous
  • swipe down / tap × → close

9. Insight categories ​

Do not force the user through seven categories every day.

Recommended categories:

1. Physiology ​

What is happening with:

  • menstruation
  • follicular development
  • ovulation
  • luteal physiology
  • estrogen
  • progesterone

Avoid implying hormone concentrations are known unless actually measured.

Use wording such as:

In a typical ovulatory cycle, estradiol generally begins to increase during the follicular phase.

Not:

Your estrogen is increasing.

unless UNDA has verified physiological data.


2. Training ​

Topics:

  • performance evidence
  • perceived exertion
  • thermoregulation
  • recovery
  • menstrual symptoms
  • training tolerance

Example:

Training today ​

Your symptoms matter more than the calendar

Research has not shown sufficiently large or consistent performance differences across menstrual-cycle phases to prescribe different training intensities for everyone.

Your recommendation today therefore uses your current recovery and your own historical response.


3. Recovery ​

Topics:

  • fatigue
  • sleep
  • temperature
  • soreness
  • HRV where appropriate
  • recovery perception

4. Nutrition ​

Topics may include:

  • appetite
  • energy intake
  • hydration
  • GI symptoms
  • iron
  • carbohydrate requirements for training

Avoid recommendations such as:

“During menstruation you should eat pomegranate and broccoli.”

Instead:

Some studies report differences in appetite and energy intake across the cycle, particularly between follicular and luteal phases, but individual variation is substantial.

Then give normal sports-nutrition recommendations based on the user's training.


5. Symptoms ​

Topics:

  • cramps
  • bloating
  • headache
  • fatigue
  • GI symptoms
  • breast tenderness

This category can become highly personalised.

Example:

You reported cramps today. Exercise may help some people with primary dysmenorrhea, although responses vary.


6. Mind ​

Topics:

  • mood
  • subjective concentration
  • motivation
  • stress
  • perceived cognitive symptoms

Avoid deterministic language such as:

“Estrogen is rising, so your brain fog is disappearing.”

Prefer:

Some users notice changes in concentration or mood across their cycle. Research has not established a universal cognitive pattern, so your own observations are more useful here.


7. Skin ​

Possible topics:

  • premenstrual acne
  • skin hydration
  • oiliness
  • sensitivity

Avoid prescribing cosmetic products solely by cycle phase.

Example:

Hormonal variation can influence skin physiology, and premenstrual acne flares are commonly reported. Whether this occurs consistently is individual.


8. Sexual wellbeing ​

Optional and opt-in.

Topics:

  • libido
  • vaginal symptoms
  • cervical mucus
  • sexual wellbeing

Never present fertility predictions as contraception.

Example:

Sexual desire can vary across the cycle, but hormones are only one of many psychological, physiological and contextual factors involved.


10. Insight screen layout ​

Each Daily Insight page contains:

A. Category ​

Daily Insight · Training

B. Cycle context ​

Cycle day 6 · Estimated follicular phase

C. Illustration ​

Custom UNDA visual.

Examples:

Training → moving body/wave Nutrition → food/energy illustration Recovery → sleep/current illustration Skin → skin barrier/water visual Physiology → simplified reproductive physiology

D. Headline ​

Short editorial title.

Example:

Symptoms > phase

E. Explanation ​

Maximum approximately 80–130 words.

Readable, evidence-aware and practical.

F. Personal context ​

Optional personalised block:

For you

During your previous three cycles, you reported lower energy on days 1–2 but your cycling power did not meaningfully change.

This should eventually become one of UNDA's strongest differentiators.

G. Evidence level ​

Example:

Evidence Moderate

H. References ​

Expandable accordion.


11. Reference accordion ​

At the bottom:

Sources ​

⌄

Collapsed by default.

Expanded:

McNulty et al., 2020The Effects of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Exercise Performance in Eumenorrheic Women. Sports Medicine.

Evidence type: Systematic review + meta-analysis

Why we use it: Supports the conclusion that average performance differences across cycle phases appear small and inconsistent and that individualisation is preferable.

Actions:

View paper ↗

Optional:

How we interpreted this evidence

This transparency should exist for every scientific claim shown by UNDA.


12. Evidence badges ​

Recommended evidence system:

Strong ​

Multiple good-quality systematic reviews / consistent evidence.

Moderate ​

Reasonably consistent evidence but important limitations exist.

Limited ​

Small studies, inconsistent results or indirect evidence.

Emerging ​

Interesting preliminary research but insufficient for recommendations.

Personal pattern ​

Finding derived from this user's longitudinal data rather than general population research.

The last category is particularly important.

Example:

Personal pattern · 4 cycles

Your reported energy tends to be 14% lower during the first two days of menstruation.


13. Training exercise analytics ​

The first reference screenshot introduces another useful feature:

Exercise details ​

Example:

Squat ​


Personal best ​

20 repetitions

Last 30 days

Graph underneath.

The graph should plot the metric over time.

Possible selectable metrics:

  • repetitions
  • weight
  • volume
  • estimated 1RM
  • power
  • duration
  • pace
  • cycling power
  • heart rate
  • RPE

14. Cycle overlay on performance charts ​

This is a particularly valuable UNDA feature.

The performance graph can optionally display menstrual-cycle context.

Example:

text
Performance
│
│           ╭────╮
│    ╭──╮  ╭╯    ╰──╮
│────╯  ╰──╯         ╰──
└─────────────────────────
  M     F     O     L

Phase information appears as a subtle background layer.

But it must not visually imply causation.

When tapping a point:

14 Aug

Power: 218 W RPE: 7/10 Cycle day: 13 Phase: estimated late follicular Sleep: 7 h 48 min Symptoms: none

This lets the user investigate actual relationships.


15. Performance summary cards ​

Below chart:

Total volume ​

12,450 kg

Last 30 days

Best performance ​

65 kg × 8

14 August

Or for cycling:

Best 20 min power ​

238 W

Average weekly volume ​

9 h 12 min


16. History table ​

History ​

Columns:

DateCycle contextResult
24 AugDay 3 · Menstrual60 kg × 8
18 AugDay 25 · Luteal62.5 kg × 8
11 AugDay 18 · Luteal65 kg × 8
4 AugDay 11 · Follicular62.5 kg × 8

Tapping a row opens the original workout.


17. Personal cycle-performance analytics ​

Once enough data exists, UNDA can show:

Your patterns ​

Example:

Threshold cycling

No meaningful difference detected across your cycle.

Confidence: Moderate Based on 14 workouts / 5 cycles

or:

Perceived fatigue

You report higher fatigue around days −2 to +2 relative to menstruation.

Confidence: Moderate Observed in 4 of your last 5 cycles.

This is much more scientifically defensible than generic “cycle syncing”.


18. Minimum-data rule ​

UNDA should not claim a personal pattern after one cycle.

Suggested thresholds:

1 cycle Collecting data

2 cycles Early observation

3 cycles Possible pattern

4–6 cycles Personal pattern

6+ cycles Higher-confidence personal trend if effect remains consistent

The statistical model should also consider:

  • sample size
  • missing data
  • effect magnitude
  • variance
  • training type
  • illness
  • sleep
  • training load
  • contraception status

19. Estimated vs confirmed cycle state ​

Every relevant screen should distinguish:

Estimated ​

Calculated from dates.

Ovulation-supported ​

Ovulation supported by LH testing or another appropriate signal.

Hormone-confirmed ​

Only if actual validated hormonal measurements exist.

UNDA should never convert a calendar estimate into a physiological certainty.


20. Suggested complete flow ​

text
HOME
   ↓
Today's readiness
   ↓
Daily metrics
   ↓
Today's workout
   ↓
Daily Insight
      ├── Physiology
      ├── Training
      ├── Recovery
      ├── Nutrition
      ├── Symptoms
      ├── Mind
      ├── Skin
      └── Sexual wellbeing
             ↓
           Sources

Training flow:

text
TODAY'S WORKOUT
      ↓
Pre-workout check-in
      ↓
Workout recommendation
      ↓
Workout
      ↓
Post-workout check-in
      ↓
Workout saved
      ↓
Performance history
      ↓
Personal cycle patterns

21. Post-workout check-in ​

Very short questionnaire:

How did it feel?

  • Easier than expected
  • As expected
  • Harder than expected

Did you complete it?

  • Yes
  • Modified
  • Stopped early

If modified:

  • fatigue
  • pain
  • symptoms
  • lack of motivation
  • excessive intensity
  • time
  • other

Optional:

RPE 1–10

This information becomes critical for personalisation.


22. UX design principles ​

The interface should feel ​

  • premium
  • athletic
  • intelligent
  • calm
  • biological rather than medical
  • scientific without being clinical
  • visually rich without resembling astrology

Avoid ​

  • moon metaphors
  • flowers
  • pink “female fitness” clichés
  • deterministic hormonal predictions
  • fake precision
  • “your body wants X today”
  • mandatory phase-based training
  • unverified medical claims

Use ​

  • UNDA wave language
  • flowing data visualisations
  • dynamic gradients
  • restrained motion
  • evidence badges
  • personal longitudinal data
  • transparent scientific references

23. Core content rule ​

Every Daily Insight should internally follow:

text
CLAIM
↓
SOURCE
↓
EVIDENCE QUALITY
↓
LIMITATIONS
↓
ALLOWED USER-FACING WORDING
↓
PERSONALISATION RULE

Example:

text
Claim:
Exercise performance differs across menstrual phases.

Evidence:
McNulty et al. systematic review/meta-analysis.

Finding:
Possible trivial reduction in early follicular phase.

Limitations:
Low-quality heterogeneous evidence.

Allowed wording:
“Some studies suggest small differences, but these are not consistent
enough to prescribe different training for everyone.”

Forbidden wording:
“You are menstruating, therefore your performance is lower.”

This rule should apply to every scientific insight published in UNDA.

UNDA is a fitness and training support product. It is not a medical device.