Apple Fitness Plus is getting a fresh makeover in the Strava app. The two companies just announced they’re collaborating to revamp how Fitness Plus integrates with the popular fitness community, which includes more detailed workout summaries, Strava athletes appearing in Fitness Plus content, and a free three-month trial to the service for Strava subscribers.
Starting today, you’ll be able to see a thumbnail of the Fitness Plus workout and information like episode number, music genre, trainer, metrics, and achievements. While mostly a design update, this brings Fitness Plus more in line with other Strava integrations from services like Peloton and Ladder.
Technically, Apple Watch users have been able to import their workouts into Strava from the get-go. However, that integration has been limited with bare-bones workout summaries. While you could see the activity type, calories burned, and basic heart rate metrics, there wasn’t any information about the class or instructor. (As you can see from this screenshot, you’d be hard-pressed to know that my New Year’s Day yoga workout was even a Fitness Plus class.)
The Fitness Plus and Strava integration goes in both directions. For starters, new and existing Strava subscribers in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia will get a free three-month trial of Fitness Plus regardless of whether they have an Apple Watch. (You do, however, need an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV to access the service.) Popular Strava athletes will also feature as guests in Fitness Plus workouts. That includes a strength workout with runner Hellah Sidibe on January 13th and a treadmill workout with Kayla Jeter.
So far, Apple has only offered free Fitness Plus trials with the purchase of a new Apple gadget. And while the service regularly features well-known athletes as guest hosts in its programming, it’s never sourced those guests from a third-party fitness community.
Sidibe, for example, may not be quite as famous as two-time Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety (who recently hosted a Fitness Plus series). However, if you’re into running and on social media, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with Sidibe’s seven-year daily run streak and penchant for running with four smartwatches.
“Over the past 10 years, we’ve hugely admired what Strava has done to impact the fitness space, especially around community,” says Jay Blahnik, Apple’s vice president of fitness technologies, acknowledging that Apple doesn’t often partake in this sort of collaboration.
Blahnik says working with Strava also presents a new opportunity for Fitness Plus’ reach. When the service first launched, there was an emphasis on making sure it was inclusive, motivating, and accessible for people of all levels. And in those early days, it often felt like Fitness Plus was like a fitness starter pack for the average person who might need a little encouragement — something The Verge pointed out in its initial review. That’s not exactly the typical Strava user.
“They don’t need us for motivation! They’re already self motivated,” says Blahnik. Instead, for seasoned athletes, Blahnik is pitching Fitness Plus as a supplemental resource for cross-training and discovering new activity types.
“Maybe they’re taking up running for the first time, and they want to make sure that they don’t get injured, and they need to do the yoga and the strength,” adds Zipporah Allen, Strava’s chief business officer.
Both Allen and Blahnik also note that the collaboration isn’t a one-and-done type of deal, hinting that the integration could evolve further down the road. While both demurred on providing specifics, Blahnik noted the companies “have bold ambitions for what [they] might be able to do down the road in terms of sharing.” (Asked if perhaps one day you could tap on a Fitness Plus class a Strava friend took and immediately be taken to that workout on your phone, Blahnik said they’d keep that in mind.)
In the short term, it’s a beneficial move for both companies. Strava recently angered users by changing the terms of its API for third-party apps, leaving some disgruntled users questioning the value of a Strava subscription. A free three-month trial to Apple Fitness Plus could appease some of those users. Strava has long been a de facto fitness data hub for dedicated athletes, giving Fitness Plus easy access to long-term athletes who aren’t likely to quit their New Year’s resolutions.
