As much fun as Instragram and Snapchat can be, after downloading Strava, this will quickly turn into your favorite form of social media. Strava is a social network where you can track your jogs, walks, bike rides, swims, hikes, etc. however, there is a fun twist! Once downloading, you can follow your close friends, family, and/or athletes you want to keep track of, and instantly, you have an uplifting workout community.
There is nothing better than getting back from a great run where you went a little faster than usual or a workout where you burned SO many calories. Your adrenaline is up, you feel great, and you want to tell someone about it instantly! This is where Strava can be so fun. Once your workout is posted, instead of your followers "liking" it, they give you kudos and can comment and hype you up. You can even post fun pictures or videos, whether it's the view from the top of the mountain you just hiked or a sweaty selfie of you smiling in the blazing heat after a good workout.
Not only is the social aspect fun, but Strava maps out your workout so you can refer back to it or save a certain route. It also shares stats with you such as your average mile pace, how many calories you burned, your elevation gain, etc. One of my favorite features is that it keeps track of how many miles of an activity you have done per week and year making it easy to set mileage goals. It can even keep track of how many miles you have put on your running shoes so you know exactly when to get a new pair!
It only gets better... Strava is completely FREE! Everything I have mentioned so far you can do at no cost! You can even track activities such as surfing, kayaking, yoga, crossfit, and rock climbing! They also offer a premium version which is only $5 when billed annually and offers many extra features such as heat maps, goal setting, advanced metrics, route planning, and more. Strava also can easily link to an Apple Watch and Garmin, allowing you to enjoy the outdoors while you leave your phone behind.
Lastly, you can be as competitive or as friendly as you choose on Strava as you can have a private account, even hiding your pace times, or you can compete to be on the leaderboards in your area for fastest times and most miles. Health and fitness brands also create monthly challenges for you to join and if you complete them, many of them offer discounts and fun deals on their items.
If you want to know more about Strava and how it started, I recommend listening to the podcast I highlighted on Tuesday' blog post, How I Built This With Guy Raz and listen to the "Strava: Mark Gainey and Michael Horvath" episode, recorded on May 2.
Strava, Swedish for "strive", can motivate you to strive towards being more active, to set goals no matter how big or small, and to overall have more fun while staying active. If you know no one on the app and need someone to celebrate your activities with, feel free to follow me at @salleywilson and we can stay active together!
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Kudos!