runtastic PRO – Personal Trainer

Summary

Runners and sports enthusiasts, lend me your ears! If you're looking to keep on top of your physical activities but don't want to carry around pen and paper with you in order to make notes and calculate distances, read on for more details about runtastic PRO. This application promises to be an all-in-one kind of tool to help keep track of your fitness regime—but does it really deliver?

runtastic PRO caters to almost every physical activity there is: biking, running, badminton, curling—you name it.
Here's an overview of what it will track:

• Duration
• Distance
• Speed (average incl.)
• Pace (average incl.)
• Calories
• Heart rate
• Time

Duration and distance are always displayed prominently, and two other features can be determined by the user. The app also lists current weather and temperature conditions in accordance with your location, very useful for athletes who train or work out outdoors. The pro version also lists sunrise and sunset schedules.

It’s all about the workout

There are three different types of workouts to choose from. There's a tracker, you can set a workout goal or enter everything manually. I have found this type of training to be much more motivating than the good old run-like-the-wind approach. For the workout goal option, you may enter details regarding the distance, duration, time unit per km or burned calories.

Tracks in Google Maps

All of your movement can be tracked via GPS. The advantage here is that you can check where you've been. There's even an option for shooting pics during your training session, and pinning them to your Google Maps workout map.

History

Check out what you've achieved thus far in the app's history section. Every workout can be accessed in order to check out individual details. It also syncs with the runtastic servers, meaning that in the unfortunate event that a smartphone is lost or stolen, the user won't lose all of their data, and there's no need to create backups.
For each training session you can check out detailed graphics and tables displaying your achievements. After every workout session, runtastic PRO will ask you how you are feeling, what surface you've been running on and what the weather conditions were like.

Settings

Details such as units, count downs prior to kicking things off and speech output can easily be configured. If the storage area on your device isn't massive, all runtastic PRO data can be saved to the SD card.

Live Tracking & Social Media

runtastic PRO can be connected to Facebook and/or Twitter, which is a fun feature for those who are so inclined to share workout updates with their online aquaintances. What I found to be annoying, however, is that personalised messages aren't an option. Preset texts are posted to one's Facebook wall / Twitter instead. Details shared are the route, speed and altitude difference.

All inclusive internet package

The runtastic portal is wonderful. It lists and stores all relevant information related to your training. runtastic PRO even has the potential of serving as a sort of Facebook for athletes, meaning you can track your contacts' physical activities and post motivating messages to their walls.

The application also comes with accessories. While certain features, such as pedaling cadence and pace counter, are only available for iPhone users, runtastic for Android does have a cardiac rate measurer. Run-of-the-mill bluetooth chest straps burn a lot of battery life, the runtastic strap is top notch. The clip is attached to the headphone output (doesn't impede upon listening to music), and then registers signal from the chest strap and relays them to the app.

Basic app advantages

• Speech output
• Live tracking
• Motivation
• Pulse displaying
• Geo tagging
• Workouts
• Shoot pics
• No ads
• Sunset and sunrise information

Advantages

• Comprehensive sport tracking application
• Speech output helps keep users motivated
• Photos geo tagging
• Weather
• Online portal
• Community
• Live tracking

Drawbacks

• Deviating from a set route isn't possible
• Maps can't be pre-cached
• Community not accessible via the application
• Motivational element is via the online portal only

runtastic PRO is one of the best apps in terms of user friendliness, easy navigation and design I've come across thus far. A few swipes is all it takes to jump from one thing to the next and the graphics are great.

runtastic PRO runs well, even on low end devices. Fast, smooth and reliable without ever crashing. Picking up GPS signals takes but a few moments.

runtastic PRO is our app of the week and available for a special price of only € 1,99 (rather than € 4,75) from the AndroidPIT App Center.