I got a Strava Subscription sometime in May and managed to log 250+ workout since then. When I subscribed it was driven by curiosity rather than fanaticism about fitness.
After seven months I think I can meaningfully comment on the product proposition with a bit more clarity.
The Moment of Hiring
I would like to go back to the “moment of hiring”, as explained by Clayton Christensen in his book Competing with Luck. It seemed like a great idea to get access to some cool features like maps, recovery tracking, cool icons and “AI powered insights”.
To be honest I never used any of these features over the last few months. But I still feel the Strava subscription is worth it because of other normal features which kept me on track.
What Worked
What really worked was quite simple and had nothing to do with AI. Strava covers all gaps that are missed by Apple Watch and makes the user experience great with good design. It scores high on these parameters.
Community (a platform that unites both Android and iOS users)
Every time you get a kudos for a run or workout from a stranger, you feel good however tiny it might be. It’s as good as the dopamine hit from an Instagram like.
People are now saying that Strava is the Instagram for 30+ people. Haha.
Badges (especially the monthly badges, activity milestones)
Clicking on a monthly 100km target and earning that badge, (in spite of being a virtual badge) feels like an achievement. It truly helps you feel that you’re kinda moving towards some goal.
Of course, even Apple Watch offers the same, but the badges are hidden somewhere deep in the UI.
Strava brings these motivating stats/goals a level up. Branding it as a “trophy case” makes it more accessible and occupies a larger space in the minds of the users.
Metrics and goal setting (Training Zones and Weekly goals)
The product encourages you to setup weekly activity goals and it’s right on top of the home screen. This reminds you how many activities you’ve finished and gives you an opportunity to catchup if you’re lazy.
I am surprised why Apple’s Activity UI doesn’t have this easy and basic feature. It was a clear miss on Apple’s end.
Fitness metrics, analytics and predictions (it accurately predicted my Half Marathon time)
I am unsure how the fitness score is computed, but it is a black hole metric that keeps you going. I hit the highest score of 76 few weeks back and now I’ve dropped to 66. All thanks to the brief hiatus due to the smog in Delhi. But now I’m kinda pumped to get back to 76.
The other cool feature that caught my attention was the race predictions. There must be some simple formula to calculate all of this and recompute prediction after each workout. But, I was truly impressed when my Half Marathon time was predicted perfectly.
In addition to this, the visibility given for heart rate / zone training metrics is super useful. Even Apple Watch does give zone related data for running workouts but it is hidden deep inside and aggregate zone training data is not available on Apple’s Activity metrics.
A yearly wrap (If Spotify does it for music, then why not?)
This story is not over. I have been checking if the “Year in Sport” stats update as I log more. It does. This is a well thought out feature as the year doesn’t truly end until it does.
This my Strava data from May 2025 to 22nd December 2025 (I will update this).
Verdict
All in all, Strava clearly addresses many gaps in health devices like Apple Watch and brings personal accountability to the centre-stage. Community likes and support are an icing on the cake.
The sexy features, though not-so-useful make sense in the context of the core fitness focused features on Strava. It’s a worthy investment all in all.
The answer to the title of this post — Strava exists to ensure you set fitness goals, follow them and feel successful via the community approval along with meaningful UI and stats that track your progress.