Alva · For fitness instructors & personal trainers

Video · Drip progress tracking · native Shopify player

Alva Courses for fitness instructors

Fitness instructors on Shopify want to sell workout programs and training plans as video courses — with weeks that unlock on a schedule and progress they can actually see. Alva Courses is a Shopify app that turns your training plan into a drip-released video course : clients watch each workout in a branded player inside your store, weeks unlock on a timed schedule, progress bars track who is on pace, and a completion certificate fires automatically when they finish.

Install on Shopify An instructor's workflow →

★★★★★ 5.0 ·

· 13 App Store reviews · 14-day free trial · By Tom Rushmore, Founder

Drip release

By week

Unlock X days after enrolment

Video hosting

50 GB

No per-video limit (Pro)

Progress

Per client

Completion-rate analytics

Certificates

Automatic

Emailed on completion

TL;DR

Alva Courses is a Shopify app for fitness instructors who want to sell workout programs and training plans as video courses. Drip-release training weeks on a schedule, gate workouts in order, track each client's progress, and auto-award a completion certificate. Clients watch in a native storefront player — no second login. Two plans, 14-day free trial.

A day in the life

How a fitness instructor's Shopify + Alva Courses workflow actually runs.

06:30 · FILMING

Upload this week's workout videos.

Film the follow-along sessions for Week 4. Drag the files into Alva Video Hosting on the Unlimited Pro plan — no 1 GB or 10-minute Shopify file cap to fight. Add each clip as a Video block in the lesson editor, with a Text block underneath for sets, reps, and form cues.

07:15 · STRUCTURE

Build the program — sections are weeks, lessons are workouts.

In the drag-and-drop builder, each section is a week and each lesson is a workout. Set the drip so Week 2 unlocks seven days after a client enrols, Week 3 after fourteen, and so on. Turn on "Require completion before next lesson" so clients move through the plan in order.

12:00 · SALE

A client buys the 8-week plan. Access is instant.

The order is paid and Alva Courses enrols the client the moment checkout clears. A branded "Start Learning Now" email lands from coach@yourgym.com, and the same start link appears on the Shopify Thank-You page. Week 1 is unlocked; the rest will drip in.

19:00 · CHECK-IN

Review progress, reply to a comment.

Open the per-course Members Overview: completion rate, active enrolments, and a progress bar per client. One client asked a form question on the squat lesson — answer it inline in the discussion thread. Anyone who finished the program today already has their certificate in their inbox.

The client's view

Clients train in a branded player inside your Shopify store.

No second platform, no extra password. Clients open "My Courses" from their Shopify customer account and play each workout in a course player with a lesson sidebar, a progress bar, and completion ticks. Finished workouts are checked off so they always know where they left off.

What instructors actually use

Alva Courses' feature set, re-angled for a fitness program.

01 / 06Video

Follow-along workout videos, hosted properly.

Each lesson can carry a video block. On Unlimited Pro, Alva Video Hosting gives you 50 GB and no 1 GB / 10-minute Shopify file cap — so a full 45-minute HIIT session uploads as one clip. Prefer to keep videos elsewhere? Embed YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher or Loom into a lesson instead.

Videos play in the native storefront course player, framed by your theme. Add a Text block beneath each workout for the day's sets, reps, tempo and rest, plus a PDF block for a printable program sheet.

02 / 06Drip

Release training weeks on a schedule.

A 12-week plan should not dump 12 weeks of workouts on day one. Alva Courses drips each section a set number of days after enrolment, so Week 2 unlocks seven days in and clients stay paced. Combine drip with sequential gating — "Require completion before next lesson" — so they finish today's workout before tomorrow's appears. You can also schedule a lesson to publish on a fixed date or hold it as a draft.

03 / 06Progress

See who is on pace and who has stalled.

Clients watch a progress bar fill and tick off each completed workout in the player. You watch the per-course Members Overview: total members, active enrolments, completed clients, completion rate, and a per-student progress bar with enrolment date and status. Spot the client who stopped at Week 3 and send a nudge before they cancel.

04 / 06Certificates

A finish line that earns you testimonials.

When a client completes the program, Alva Courses automatically awards a custom-designed certificate and emails it to them. Edit the template to match your gym or coaching brand. A "Couch to 5K — Completed" certificate is a share-worthy moment that lifts completion rates and hands you the social proof you need for the next launch.

05 / 06Members

Manage clients and bulk-enrol your roster.

A global Members view spans every program — email, progress, course tags, member-since date. Manually Add Member, search and filter, Export CSV, or Bulk import via CSV to move an existing client list onto a new plan in one go. Sell time-boxed access with Limited-time access when a program should expire after a set window.

06 / 06Community

Form questions, accountability, and live calls.

Native per-lesson discussions let clients ask "is my form right?" on the exact workout — with moderation tools and an email ping when someone comments. Drop a Quiz block to check technique knowledge, and a Zoom block for a weekly live check-in. Everything stays inside your Shopify store, not a separate community app.

Pricing, instructor-sized

Which plan does a video-heavy program need?

For fitness, the binding constraint is almost always video. A follow-along workout can run 30–45 minutes and weigh well past Shopify's native 1 GB / 10-minute per-file limit. That is the decision: stay on Shopify-hosted video, or move to Alva Video Hosting on Unlimited Pro for 50 GB and no per-video cap. Both plans include a 14-day free trial.

PLANPRICEFITS

Unlimited$9.99/moAn instructor with unlimited programs, members and comments who keeps workout clips short, or hosts longer videos on YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher or Loom. Includes drip, sequential gating, progress tracking, certificates and limited-time access. Shopify-hosted video limit: 1 GB / 10 min per file.

Unlimited Pro$14.99/moEverything in Unlimited plus Alva Video Hosting: 50 GB and no per-video limits. The right plan for full-length follow-along sessions you upload directly, so clients never leave your store to watch.

Both plans include unlimited courses, members and comments, progress tracking, custom certificates, branded email delivery with a custom email domain, limited-time access, and delivery on the Shopify Thank-You and Order Status pages. There is no free plan; each plan starts with a 14-day free trial. See the full pricing page for details.

Setup path

From in-person sessions to a sellable video program in 4 steps.

Most instructors already have the content — recorded classes, a written plan, a coaching template. The job is to package it as a structured, drip-released program your existing clients can buy on Shopify and follow at home.

01
Map the plan to sections and lessons.
In the drag-and-drop builder, create one section per week and one lesson per workout or rest-day brief. Reorder by dragging; use "Create Multiple" to spin up a week of lessons at once. This skeleton is your whole program before you add a single video.
02
Add video, instructions, and a printable sheet.
In each lesson, add a Video block (Alva-hosted on Pro, or YouTube / Vimeo / Loom embed), a Text block for sets and reps, and a PDF block for a downloadable program card. Add a Quiz block where a technique check helps.
03
Set drip, gating, and the certificate.
Drip each week a set number of days after enrolment. Turn on "Require completion before next lesson" so clients move in order. Design the completion certificate so it auto-fires when the program ends. Bind the course to a Shopify product and set your price.
04
Enrol your roster and launch.
Bulk import your existing client list via CSV, or let new clients buy through Shopify checkout — Alva Courses enrols them the instant the order is paid. They get a branded "Start Learning Now" email from your own domain and start training in the storefront player. No second login.

Shopify App Store reviews

What merchants say

“Very easy to use and customizable, and it works seamlessly for selling online courses on Shopify. The support is outstanding and genuinely responsive.”
— Tokos, Canada · Shopify App Store review

“I’ve researched and tested a lot of Shopify course apps, and I recommend Alva Courses without hesitation. Setup was easy and everything works exactly as it should.”
— Freedom by Digital, United Kingdom · Shopify App Store review

“So easy to use, and the support is unmatched.”
— Edge Elements, Kuwait · Shopify App Store review

★★★★★ 5.0 from 13 reviews on the Shopify App Store.

FAQ for instructors

Questions fitness instructors actually ask.

Can I drip-release my training weeks?

Yes. Alva Courses drips lessons or whole sections a set number of days after enrolment, so Week 2 unlocks seven days after a client starts. You can also schedule a lesson to publish on a fixed date or keep it as a draft. Sequential gating can require a client to finish one workout before the next unlocks, keeping the program in order.

Where do my workout videos play and how big can they be?

Clients watch your videos in a branded storefront course player inside your Shopify store — no second login or external platform. On the Unlimited plan, Shopify-hosted video is capped at 1 GB and 10 minutes per file. Upgrade to Unlimited Pro for Alva Video Hosting with 50 GB of storage and no per-video limits, which suits longer follow-along sessions. You can also embed YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher or Loom.

Can clients track their progress through a program?

Yes. Each client sees a progress bar and completion ticks in the course player as they finish each workout. In the Shopify admin, a per-course Members Overview shows total members, active enrolments, completed clients, completion rate and a per-student progress bar with enrolment date and status, so you can see who is on track and who has stalled.

Can I award a certificate when someone finishes a program?

Yes. Alva Courses automatically awards a custom-designed completion certificate when a client finishes the program, and emails it to them. You edit the certificate template to match your gym or coaching brand. Certificates give clients a finish line to aim for, which lifts completion rates and gives you proof points and testimonials for the next launch.

How do I manage members and bulk-enrol existing clients?

Alva Courses gives you a per-course Members Overview and a global Members view across every program. You can manually Add Member, search and filter, Export CSV, or Bulk import via CSV — useful for moving an existing client roster onto a new plan at once. Courses are delivered the moment an order is paid, so paying clients get access automatically.

Do clients need a separate login to access my programs?

No. Alva Courses runs natively inside Shopify. Clients access My Courses from their Shopify customer account and play workouts in your branded storefront course player — no second platform and no extra password. You can also surface a start-learning link on the Shopify Thank-You page and Order Status page right after checkout.

Guides for selling training programs on Shopify.

Guide

How to Sell Online Courses on Shopify (2026 Guide)

The full setup walkthrough — build a course, attach video, drip the weeks, and sell it through Shopify checkout with Alva Courses.

Guide

Drip-Feeding Course Content: When and How

Why a paced, weekly release keeps clients engaged through a multi-week training plan — and how to set drip schedules in Alva Courses.

Feature spotlight

Add Course Completion Certificates on Shopify

Reward clients who finish your program with an auto-awarded, on-brand certificate that doubles as shareable social proof.

Install in 90 seconds

Turn your training plan into a course this week.

Install Alva Courses from the Shopify App Store. Build your program as sections and lessons, add your workout videos, set the weekly drip, and bind it to a Shopify product. Place a test order and watch the branded "Start Learning Now" email land — then your client trains in your store's own player. Each plan starts with a 14-day free trial.

✓ Drip-released weeks with sequential gating ✓ Alva Video Hosting — 50 GB, no per-video limit (Pro) ✓ Progress tracking and auto-awarded certificates

Install on Shopify See pricing & plans

courses@alvaapps.com
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