How can I improve user engagement on my fitness website?

One idea that could work is to make your guides interactive. You could set it up so users can click "start" and get step-by-step instructions in large, easy-to-read text, allowing them to follow along without needing to stay glued to their screen.

You might want to rethink your metrics too. Focus on having one primary action visible right away, like "Start workout" or "Log progress". After that, consider adding incentives for repeat visits, like saving a workout plan or a weekly streak tracker. If you're still seeing a high bounce rate, maybe some user testing could help you fix any confusing parts of your interface.

Instead of dragging out visits, aim to solve their problems quickly. If users can find what they're looking for in 30 seconds and come back later, that's way better than making them annoyed and spending five minutes without gaining anything. Think retention over session length!

From my experience, most fitness apps or websites don't really hold my interest for long. If I need workouts, I usually just hit up YouTube. It seems easier and more dynamic than just logging progress on another site.

It's important to think about why you want your users to stay engaged longer. If you're not running ads or monetizing based on time spent, it might not be the key metric to focus on. Instead, consider what value you're providing in that time. If they find what they need quickly, they may return, which is more valuable than simply increasing the minutes spent on the site.