I’ve always enjoyed exploring new ways to keep track of my activities. There’s nothing quite like putting on a new wearable or loading a new app before you hit the streets.
I’m all for this relatively new and ever-evolving trend in health and fitness, but for some reason I’ve never been able to stick to any particular wearable or app in the long run. Maybe I lack self-discipline. Maybe I just haven’t found the right one for me. Or maybe it’s a combination of the two.
Could the beloved Strava app be the one that wins my heart? It’s one of the most versatile and feature-rich activity tracking apps that I haven’t tried yet.
What is Strava?
Strava is an activity tracking app that mainly tracks GPS-based activities. Like any GPS app, it runs in the background while you do your thing. You can run, walk, bike, hike, canoe, ice skate, kayak, kite surf, ski, row, snowboard, snowshoe, stand up paddle, surf, swim and much more with it.
There are also options to pursue more stationary activities like elliptical training, stair climbing, weight training, yoga, CrossFit, and general training. However, these activities are not quite as compatible with Strava’s offering. The functions are suitable for activities such as cycling, running, and swimming.
Starting a hike in the Strava app is easy.
Image: crushable; Elise Moreau
Most sports are aimed at distance.
Image: crushable; Elise Moreau
Is Strava Free?
You don’t have to pay anything to use Strava’s core functionality. The most important one is tracking GPS activity. You can also use the social skills, participate in challenges, and use segments.
Just for the basics, the free version of the app is pretty darn good. However, if you want access to a host of additional features and functionality, you’ll need to upgrade to a premium subscription for $ 5 per month or $ 59.99 per year. There is a 30-day free trial so you can try it out before you commit to a subscription.
The tracking activities are seamless, but they drain the battery life
I recently took Strava on a five hour day hike and thought a hike would be a great activity as it depends on my location. It certainly worked fine for tracking my route, but it had drained almost all of my iPhone’s battery power by the fourth hour when I had to keep my route from being tracked so I could return with some battery life.
Little did I know I could break the chase when I took two long breaks during my hike, which would have saved battery power and likely affected my stats a little. Even so, it was cool to be able to zoom in on the map and see how closely I followed the path I was on. I also liked the interesting stats it shared like distance, altitude, moving time, average speed, and top speed.
The GPS tracker was pretty accurate.
Image: crushable; Elise Moreau
If you love statistics, Strava has a lot to offer.
Image: crushable; Elise Moreau
I haven’t used a portable or other fitness app (remember my inability to commit?) But when you do, you can just upload your data or sync compatible devices to keep everything in Strava. You can also create a manual upload by tapping the little plus sign in the upper left corner and then tapping “Manual Activity”. This can be helpful if you forget to keep track of something through the app.
What about privacy concerns?
In 2018, Strava came under fire for posting a heat map detailing user activity, including exposing locations (like apartments, U.S. military bases, etc.). It’s no secret that this is a location-based app, but Strava now has a lot of privacy settings. Your profile, activities, group activities and local legends are visible to everyone by default. However, you can change these to be reserved for your followers or just you. You can also create “privacy zones” up to 1,600 meters from an address to hide the portion of past or future activity that begins or ends in the vicinity, such as walking tours. B. Your home location, where you start and end.
Getting social can be fun when you are competitive
Not everyone wants their fitness app to act as a social network, but Strava’s social features go beyond the basics of adding friends, sharing your activities, and liking or commenting on others’s activities (although you can do the same if you If you want). You have challenges, clubs, and segments to keep and keep you busy.
Not everyone wants their fitness app to act as a social network, but Strava’s social features go beyond the basics.
Just sign up for a challenge that matches the activity you want. This can be as short as a day or as long as a month. Some challenges, such as B. Virtual races have a leaderboard where you can compete against other members, while strip challenges ask you to complete a certain number of activities for a consecutive number of weeks.
Strava challenges can be a tempting way to stay active.
Image: crushable; Elise Moreau
A more detailed look at the social aspect of Strava.
Image: crushable; Elise Moreau
The premium version offers some useful functions
Segments: One of the best features Strava has to offer is route suggestions near you, which you can customize using various filters such as current location, activity type, distance, altitude and surface type. Simply select a filter and the app will automatically adjust your route to suit you. You can use segments to view routes created by other members. Your segment efforts can then be compared to the efforts of other participants, which gives you a great opportunity to become competitive. While you can see and use segments with the free version, you won’t see leaderboards unless you upgrade.
Route adjustments: If you are not entirely satisfied with the route generated for you, you can draw your own route on the map with your finger and Strava will snap the line onto the road or path so you can keep it accurate. This is one of the best features you can get out of the app when you’re exploring new areas or want to shake things up with your regular route.
Security text: With Strava Beacon, you can send automatic text messages to up to three contacts to inform them of your safety. This can be useful if you are regularly alone in forested parks, rural areas, or places you are unfamiliar with. Your contacts can even get a GPS tracking map so they can check your progress after completing your route.
Advanced analysis: And if you’re a data nerd, consider subscribing to the advanced analytics features. Strength training analytics are especially useful for cyclists who want to train smarter. You can get insights into your exercise load to determine rest times, intensity, how difficult your rides are, your overall effort (weighted average) and your best efforts (performance curve).
Use a pre-created segment.
Image: crushable; Elise Moreau
Segment leaderboards add another competitive element.
Image: crushable; Elise Moreau
Premium vs. Free Version: Which is Better?
If you just want to follow your runs or bike rides, take part in a challenge, or try a segment that many times, you should go for the free version of Strava. However, if you have the thought of competing on segments and creating your own custom routes, then it’s worth subscribing.
It really depends on what type of activity you are mainly doing, what you want to pursue and which features are most important to you. Personally, I prefer to diversify my workouts with other types of activities that are more stationary, like yoga and weight lifting, so the premium features aren’t that useful to me.
But as someone who lives in a bike city, Strava will definitely be my go-to if I ever finally get a bike.
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