Strava has been trickling out several mobile app functional updates over the past month or so, helping to keep us all motivated and looking forward to training goals ahead. From making it easier to see where friends are riding to seeing how far you’ve come on your own, this series of app updates are helping up stay connected and looking forward to a time when we can ride more together.
Strava mobile app updates better connect training & motivation
One of the most subtle updates even slipped in under our noses, simply listing the activity location right next to the time stamp for each entry that comes across our feed. Obviously, the location was already there on the map, but now it’s easier at a glimpse to see where your friends were riding, especially nice since many of us still aren’t riding together as much we’d like these days.
Strava mobile Monthly Recaps
Another one that popped up about a week ago, new Monthly Recaps in your Profile tab gives you a quick personalized overview of your activities for the previous month, showing how it compares to the previous year, plus a day-by-day breakdown of activities by sport. On top of that, paying subscribers also get a more-detailed look breaking down the percentages of their cross-training, a highlight of their longest effort of the last month, and then even a glimpse of what you were doing a year ago.
Strava says the recap is about looking back to stay motivated for what’s to come. And each element in the Monthly Recap can be shared with friends on Strava, through pretty much any social media platforms, or DM’ed directly to your friends.
Indoor training with heart rate, but without GPS
Next update up, Strava now lets you record indoor activities that don’t have GPS or accumulated movement distances directly from your smartphone via the iOS or Android app. Now, for example: yoga, weight training, cross-fit, or even aerobics activities can be recorded with heart rate data logged as well. Your indoor activities track start time, elapsed time, and heart rate data (if you have a heart rate monitor paired to the phone), plus showing you calories burned after the fact.
Improved mobile activity search
Next, better mobile access to older activities. Strava mobile updates also recently improved the app’s activity search functionality to streamline hunting down past workouts. No more endless scrolling. Now, just search in the app from your phone, going to Profile then Activities to get the magnifying glass icon. Search either directly for keywords written in your activity titles or descriptions, or simply filter activities by sport, distance, time, elevation gain, date range, or type designation (workout/race/etc).
Personalized & automated heatmaps on desktop
Lastly, those much better and more personal heatmaps for subscribers that we already shared several weeks back. Only accessible in your browser, they’re not one of the Strava mobile updates, but still worth mentioning again. Now automatically updated, subscribers get much more control over how they visualize their activities. Definitely, something fellow map nerds will enjoy playing with.
