HOW STRAVA'S ATHLETE INTELLIGENCE IS CHANGING THE GAME

Strava's chief of tech gives us the lowdown on how its new AI feature translates your raw workout data into meaningful, personalised coaching, and what to expect next

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Strava has long been the go-to platform for athletes tracking their workouts. Whether you're a weekend runner or a hardcore cyclist, the app’s brimming with features that offer people of all fitness levels better insights into their workout metrics, from distance travelled to what heart rate zones you were in.

But is simply glancing at the post-workout data from your smartwatch, phone or fitness tracker really enough? Most fitness enthusiasts will agree that, while wearables offer interesting stats such as pace, speed and calories burned - understanding their real impact on training and health longer term is a different story.

Well, this is where artificial intelligence (AI) can step in - turning raw data into meaningful insights that help you train smarter

AI has amazing capabilities to solve problems that were previously impossible, but it can't solve anything without data

Not another buzzword

You can't scroll for five minutes without seeing something about AI these days. Once just a fearmongering tech term flung about by tabloids, the technology has become pervasive to the point where most of us use it on the daily. But it was only a matter of time before it made waves in the fitness space.

In the last few months, we've seen AI assistants baked into budget smartwatches a la the Amazfit Active 2, the launch of Al-powered dumbbells by Technogym and AI innovations in the NBA, including robots for rebounding, coaching and wellness.

In among all of this, one of the world's most popular fitness apps, Strava, took a leap into the world of

Al with the launch of Athlete Intelligence. Just out of Beta, the Al-powered feature translates exercise data such as pace, heart rate, elevation and effort into insights that not only make sense for the average Joe, but are actionable.

But does this mean the end of staring at a screen, wondering what all those post-workout numbers mean?