I was previously a fan of "Map my Ride" which is apparently sponsored by Under Armor and had been using that for a while. The other day a friend of mine on a hash run told me about an app called Strava, that like most things, I had never heard of. I have now been using it for a week and not only is it better than Map my Ride, I feel it might be one of the best free apps available for outdoor exercise in existence.
The 2 main things I enjoy about Strava is that 1. It works and 2. It is free. Map my Ride is also free but is so inundated with ads and efforts to constantly upgrade you that many times these "offers" actually interfere with what you are trying to do. When I am charging down the road at 25km an hour and dodging traffic I don't want to have to stop what I am doing in order to look at an advertisement.
Many times I didn't even know that the ad had paused my workout and later stop only to find out that there are massive gaps in my route because I didn't pull over to buy something from the ad that took up the screen (and subsequently the operation of the app in the first place.)
Starting a ride is as simple as pushing one button and then pausing if you stop to do things like look at temples or get a water (there is an option to auto-pause when lack of movement is detected but at least on my phone / network, this is unreliable on any app I have tried as it fails to recognize that I have stopped moving very accurately.) For the most part I think you can just leave it on all the time. I'm not training to enter the Tour de France, I'm just trying to get an idea about how far i went, how fast i was going, and how long I was doing it. Strava has this in spades.
There is a "social" aspect of it for those out there that feel as though the world needs to know every time you break a sweat. I haven't used it much but unbeknown to me, I was on some elements of it as a few friends of mine "liked" my workouts. haha. I wont use this aspect of it but for some people this could be a big plus.
It is possible to "step up your game" and connect the app to heart rate monitors and also smart-watches and this could be a plus for people that want to integrate extra features into their workouts
I don't use these features because I have not found a wristwatch that actually gives accurate heart rate information, i'm not gonna wear one of those things that wraps around my chest, and I don't need a machine to tell me that my heart is beating fast. However, I can see how this would be helpful to some people.
It tracks both running and biking and keeps track of every route that you take. You can set weekly or daily goals (probably monthly too) and for me, this free app is simply wonderful. Since it costs nothing I find it to be an excellent method of making sure I am getting enough movement in my life... perhaps you will feel the same. It costs nothing to try it out!
