Strava has updated its goals feature, now allowing riders to set monthly distance, duration and power goals as well as, for the first time, elevation goals.
The new features are live now and are only available to premium subscribers.
Previously, Strava users could only set distance, duration or power goals for cycling, running and swimming. Goals can now be set for every trackable activity on Strava (which, if you're curious, include stair-stepping, stand up paddleboarding, inline skating and canoeing among others).
It is also now possible to set elevation goals over a fixed period of time – for example, you may wish to try and climb the height of Everest in a week of riding (or in a day, if you enjoy that kind of thing).
Strava users could previously set weekly and yearly goals. This has now been expanded to include month-long goals.
Finally, it is now possible to make goals private. Before this update, if you completed a goal, it would show up on the feed of those that follow you
The goals feature is due to be moved under the training tab, but, at the time of writing, it is still under ‘Dashboard’.
It bears mentioning again that Strava Goals is a paid-for subscriber-only feature, although, unlike segment leaderboards and route planning, which only recently became a premium feature, this has always been the case.
Why should I use Strava Goals?
According to Strava, in its Year in Sport 2019 report, users who set a goal of three activities a week instead of two “tended to be more consistent, resulting in double the activities over the [course of a] year”.
The platform believes that this update will push “athletes to commit to their goals and remain active throughout the year”.
Strava expands on this data, saying that for cyclists, the most popular weekly distance goals are 50, 62, 93 and 100 miles.
Do you use Strava Goals to help with your training? Or are you still happily using a pen and paper mileage log thank-you-very-much?
