Strava is adding coach-designed strength workouts that guide you through each exercise and log every set and rep as you train. The workouts are rolling out to subscribers over the next few weeks, and free users get one sample workout to try.
Strava announced the update on October 15. It builds on the strength tracking the app added earlier this year, and it also brings new guided running workouts to the library.
Every exercise comes with an animation, form tips and target muscles
The workouts are built by experienced strength coaches, so you are not left guessing what to do when you open the app. That is the barrier Strava says it wants to remove for people who are new to lifting.
Tapping into any exercise shows what you need to get it right:
- A guided animation of the movement
- Guidance on correct form
- Coaching tips for the exercise
- The exact muscles it targets
For anyone who has stood in a gym unsure what to do next, that is the point. The app shows the movement, tells you what the exercise works and keeps count while you lift.
Sets and reps are logged live and saved to your activity
Strength sessions have always been awkward to track. Distance and pace do the work in a run, but lifting depends on sets, reps and which muscles got worked.
With the new workouts, you track sets and reps as you move through the session. When the workout ends, every exercise, set and rep is saved directly to your activity, with no manual entry afterward.
Your muscle map updates at the same time to show where the effort went. Strava says strength is one of its fastest-growing activity types, as more people look to track resistance training with the same rigor they bring to running and cycling.
Screenshot import and a build-your-own workout feature are next
Strava plans to let you screenshot the sets and reps from a training plan or a notes app and upload them instantly. A build-your-own workout feature is also on the way, along with more workout series before the end of the year.
Apple users have seen this approach before with the Apple Fitness+ and Strava partnership. Strava says it will keep launching partner integrations so strength data flows in automatically from wherever people already train.
The company reports more than 200 million users in more than 185 countries.
