Apple Fitness Plus and Strava team up in new integration

Apple Fitness Plus has a new look in the Strava app. The two companies announced that they are collaborating to improve how Fitness Plus integrates with popular fitness communities, including more detailed workout summaries, Strava athletes appearing in Fitness Plus content, a three-month free trial of the service for Strava subscribers, and more .

Starting today, you can view information such as thumbnails of Fitness Plus workouts, episode numbers, music genres, trainers, metrics, and performance. Although mostly a design update, this brings Fitness Plus more in line with other Strava integrations for services like Peloton and Ladder.

Technically, Apple Watch users have been able to import their workouts into Strava from the beginning. However, this integration was limited by basic motor summaries. You could see activity type, calories burned, and basic heart rate metrics, but there was no information about the class or instructor. (As you can see in this screenshot, you’d be hard pressed to tell that my New Year’s Day yoga workout was a Fitness Plus class.)

Fitness Plus and Strava integration goes both ways. First, new and existing Strava subscribers in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia will receive a free three-month trial of Fitness Plus, regardless of whether they own an Apple Watch or not. (However, you’ll need an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV to access the service.) Popular Strava athletes also appear as guests in Fitness Plus workouts. This includes a strength workout with runner Hellah Sidibe on January 13 and a treadmill workout with Kayla Jeter.

Until now, Apple has only offered free Fitness Plus trials with the purchase of a new Apple device. And while the service regularly features famous athletes as guest hosts on its programs, it has never sourced those guests from third-party fitness communities.

For example, Sidibe may not be as famous as two-time Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety (who recently hosted the Fitness Plus series). But if you’re interested in running and social media, you’re likely familiar with Sidibe’s content. 7 years I run continuously every day and love running with four smartwatches.

“We’ve had great respect for what Strava has done over the last 10 years to impact the fitness space, especially the community,” said Jay Blahnik, Apple’s vice president of fitness technology, noting that Apple doesn’t often engage in this kind of activity. admitted. collaboration.

Blahnik says the collaboration with Strava provides new opportunities for Fitness Plus’ reach. When the service first launched, the focus was on making it inclusive, motivating and accessible to people at all levels. And in the beginning, Fitness Plus felt like a fitness starter pack for regular people who needed a little encouragement. The Verge I pointed this out in my initial review. This is not your typical Strava user.

“They don’t need us for motivation! They are already self-motivated,” says Blahnik. Instead, for seasoned athletes, Blahnik presents Fitness Plus as a supplemental resource for cross-training and discovering new activity types.

Zipporah Allen, Strava’s chief business officer, added, “If you’re new to running, you may need to do yoga and strength training to avoid injury.”

Allen and Blahnik also point out that collaboration is not a one-time deal, suggesting that integration could develop further in the future. Although both declined to provide specifics, Blahnik pointed out that both companies “have bold ambitions for what they can do going forward in terms of sharing.” (When asked if he might one day be able to tap on a Fitness Plus class a Strava friend has taken and instantly do that workout on his phone, Blahnik said he would keep that in mind.)

In the short term, it’s a beneficial move for both companies. Strava recently changed its API terms for third-party apps, angering users and causing some disgruntled users to question the value of their Strava subscription. A three-month free trial of Apple Fitness Plus may appease some users. Strava has long served as the de facto fitness data hub for aspiring athletes, making Fitness Plus easily accessible to long-term athletes who aren’t likely to give up on their New Year’s resolutions.