How Data Science Helped Build a Smarter Fitness App UMBC alum Manikanta Sirumalla (MPS '26) shares his story

AI-powered fitness apps are transforming personalized training by combining data, recovery insights, and adaptive workout planning into a single experience tailored to individual goals. For UMBC Data Science graduate student Manikanta Sirumalla, that realization came from years of personal experience in the gym. After struggling with disconnected fitness apps and generic workout plans, he decided to build something better. In this conversation with Dennise Cardona, he reflects on his journey from iOS developer to founder, how UMBC shaped his thinking, and what it takes to build an AI-powered fitness platform from the ground up.

]]> AI-powered fitness apps are transforming personalized training by combining data, recovery insights, and adaptive workout planning into a single experience tailored to individual goals. For UMBC... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/160292/guest@my.umbc.edu/0070d9659bf46d3428b33e252834ca4f/api/pixel ai alumnus data-science fitness UMBC AI https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/umbc-ai https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/002/081/cfb27ebe008c2636486089a759ea5c36/xsmall.png?1691095779 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/002/081/cfb27ebe008c2636486089a759ea5c36/original.png?1691095779 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/002/081/cfb27ebe008c2636486089a759ea5c36/xxlarge.png?1691095779 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/002/081/cfb27ebe008c2636486089a759ea5c36/xlarge.png?1691095779 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/002/081/cfb27ebe008c2636486089a759ea5c36/large.png?1691095779 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/002/081/cfb27ebe008c2636486089a759ea5c36/medium.png?1691095779 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/002/081/cfb27ebe008c2636486089a759ea5c36/small.png?1691095779 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/002/081/cfb27ebe008c2636486089a759ea5c36/xsmall.png?1691095779 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/002/081/cfb27ebe008c2636486089a759ea5c36/xxsmall.png?1691095779 UMBC AI https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/160/292/26b148385ea5f12481587846f6ae110e/xxlarge.jpg?1779461816 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/160/292/26b148385ea5f12481587846f6ae110e/xlarge.jpg?1779461816 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/160/292/26b148385ea5f12481587846f6ae110e/large.jpg?1779461816 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/160/292/26b148385ea5f12481587846f6ae110e/medium.jpg?1779461816 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/160/292/26b148385ea5f12481587846f6ae110e/small.jpg?1779461816 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/160/292/26b148385ea5f12481587846f6ae110e/xsmall.jpg?1779461816 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/160/292/26b148385ea5f12481587846f6ae110e/xxsmall.jpg?1779461816 umbc alum 0 0 true Fri, 22 May 2026 13:54:36 -0400