Its time to talk about Strava...

Strava comes up a lot in my sessions with clients.

Sometimes a client will sit across from me and start talking about their “feed”...usually pointing out a friend’s “Lunch Run” where the splits seem a little too good to be true. Other times, I’ll get a full breakdown of someone’s distance, vert, VO2 max…all the data that’s readily available if you’re willing to go looking for it.

And almost inevitably, the conversation circles back to my client’s own perceived “failure.” They start reading into the data from their own workouts and get concerned. Sometimes it’s about their overall fitness…but more often, it’s about their fear of other people’s opinions (also known as OPP- shoutout to Michael Gervais for this coined term!).

So, as you can probably guess, the conversation around Strava isn’t usually all that positive.

When I start to see Strava shift from a point of connection to a comparison tool in the still relatively niche (though growing) world of endurance sports, it feels similar to when I’m telling teenagers to take a break from Snap or TikTok. When something becomes a comparison trap instead of a source of connection, it’s worth stepping back and reevaluating its role in our lives.

That said…I’m not here to villainize Strava. I actually like it (more on that below). This just deserves more nuance than the usual “social media is bad” conversation. It’s an app that does a lot of good…but like most things in this space, it comes with a sharp edge.

So first, let’s start with the positive because this fitness tracker really can be fun.

I was talking to my husband the other day about how Strava feels like the new AIM (AOL Instant Messenger). It has that familiar, slightly nostalgic feel for millennials. The photos (if people post them at all) are usually pretty raw. There are little to no filters, and overall the posts feel unpolished in a good way. You’ll see music lyrics (my personal go-to…you’re welcome for the Hootie & the Blowfish poetry), inside jokes, and some surprisingly honest insights into how someone felt physically and mentally that day.

Then there are the auto-generated posts: the same familiar titles…“Lunch Ride” “Morning Run,” “Afternoon Swim.” Add in Peloton and Zwift uploads, and suddenly you’ve got an ongoing window into how people are training…or just trying to squeeze something in between meetings.

And then there’s the feature side of things: Local Legend status, segment PRs, leaderboards.

This is where Strava leans into competition, both with yourself and with others. You get recognized for consistency (Local Legend), for personal bests, and for holding the fastest known time- at least within the app. From a mental performance perspective, these can actually be powerful tools. They can unlock potential, encourage routine, and gamify progress in a way that keeps people engaged.

Because the reality is, we don’t often get acknowledgment in life for things that are hard and take effort. Sometimes, these small celebrations help us recognize progress, honor consistency, and give a well-earned “kudos” to others along the way.

OK… now lets talk about my concerns….

If you’re Jakob Ingebrigtsen trying to take down Josh Kerr at the Olympics, evaluating your competition is part of the sport. Rivalries can be powerful- they push athletes to their limits. Even then, though, it’s sometimes healthier to anchor your effort against the clock rather than another person.

It’s a nuanced balance, and with my professional athletes, I tailor that approach based on personality and context. But most of the people on my Strava feed aren’t operating in Olympic arenas or even at the level of Western States. They’re weekend warriors, parents, professionals… people with full lives outside of sport.

And in those cases, the comparison game can quickly become unhealthy. 

Before you know it…now we’re comparing ourselves to Mary down the street who somehow already qualified for Boston with what feels like zero training..Calm down, Mary!!  Or the other mom in the carpool line who’s also an ER doctor and woke up at 4 a.m. to run 85 miles (or 8.5…honestly, either way, I’m impressed).

Meanwhile, I’m sitting there thinking my prescribed 4 miles wasn’t so awesome. Suddenly, my “easy recovery run” gets thrown into the category of not enough…or even pathetic. And just like that, the voice in my head starts to sound a lot more like David Goggins telling me I’m, “weak” or that maybe this sport just, “isn’t for me.” *No disrespect to Mr. Goggins, but I think there is a time/place for that kind of mental ambush. Stay hard!

It sounds extreme, but it’s actually really common. I see it all the time. Athletes go out for a run that’s supposed to be based on perceived effort, and instead they fixate on pace- chasing something that might get more “kudos” but also increases their risk for injury.

And this is where things start to matter. Because now we’re not just training- we’re tying our self-worth to a social platform. It reminds me of something Freya India (an amazing writer and thought leader on Gen-Z struggles) wrote about social media and her generation:

“Why look good without getting a selfie; why go out without uploading a Story? Why commit. Why have children. Why do anything that cannot be exchanged on the market. We are products and so if we cannot sell what is the point. We were raised on recognition, a generation sustained by likes and attention and advertising ourselves, and without it we are nothing.”

That’s the space where Strava starts to feel a lot like any other social app, and it stops serving you.

Because doing it “for the 'gram” isn’t going to carry you through a dark moment in an ultra. And building your confidence on other people’s fleeting opinions, people who don’t have the full context of your life, is a losing game. It creates a volatile sense of worth that comes with some great highs… but also some devastating lows. 

You are more than your training log. It is just like that Instagram pic doesn’t really capture what is going on in that moment. The lighting might be right, the filters are on... but it leaves out the authenticity of who you truly are or what it is like to be you. It's a moment in time, on a day with multiple moving parts and overwhelming responsibilities. 

Keep in mind, Strava doesn’t measure the mental strength it takes to parent a toddler…navigate hard family dynamics…show up for a demanding job…or simply keep going in a season of life that feels heavy. Just because those things aren’t tracked or given kudos doesn’t make them any less real or any less impressive.

So what do we do with all of this?

If Strava is making you feel like crap. If it’s ruining your workouts or stripping the joy from a sport you love…take a break. Make your account private. Create some distance as you begin to remind yourself what the purpose is in this sport for you. And when you are ready, return for the music lyrics, the silly GI jokes and for the pursuit of becoming a local legend.