As the temperature rises, more people have been exercising in order for them to get fit for the summer. In today's world consumers have access to a multitude of wellness apps that can provide assistance when it comes to improving cardiovascular health and muscle strength. It comes as no surprise that many sports brands have developed their own running app to help users track their distance and progress.

One of the most popular apps on the market right now is Map My Run by Body Armour. Map My Run belongs to a list of MapMyFitness family apps. Initially released in 2007, it was one of the first apps of its kind that was specially built to monitor sports activity. The Map My Run app can track an individuals pace, physical route, and distance by using the GPS system within the phone. The app used to be available for Windows based phones and can be found in the Android and iOS app store.

Features And Benefits

The app isn't just limited to tracking running paces and routes alone. Users have the option of being able to to track various activities such as hiking, interval training, walking, cycling and other exercises. The app is able to track your route, distance and speed by utilizing your smartphone's GPS system. As far as notable features go, one of the more interesting features the app provides is the ability to play songs from their phone's storage, directly through the app. Users can also create and save their own routes or take routes that other users have uploaded. Interestingly enough, users who pay for the premium version of the app gain access to an audio coaching feature. Body Armour proclaims that the audio coaching feature was implemented to help users improve their stride and cadence. Upon activating it, the app provides audio feedback as a user partakes in a given activity in an effort to help them improve their cardiovascular fitness and form over time.

Users can choose between the free or MVP versions of MapMyRun. The MVP version provides users with additional features such as power analysis, training plans, heart rate analysis, ad-free experience and advanced audio coaching. Users can pay $29.99 for a annual plan or $5.99 per month. Both the MVP and free versions of the app give players the ability to play their phone's music as well as to get basic verbal announcements. Social media users are sure to love the social elements of the apps. The website version of the app has been around since 2005. Since then, it's community has grown to span over 3 million users. Users are able to interact with the community, via built-in community feed which lets users see what kind of routes other users have been taking in their neighborhood. Both versions give access to the 'friends' feature, which enables users to add individuals to their their own friends list from within the app. Friends are able to share workouts and routes with each other. Many health and fitness experts have praised the app for this specific feature because data suggest that friends who workout togther, tend to keep each other accountable. Users who sign up for the MVP version get an additional friend feature which is called 'live tracking'. The live tracking feature allows friends to actually watch each other as they go on their own routes.

Pros

• All-In One App - Unlike other running apps, the app lets you track various activities such as hiking, running, walking and cycling.
• Map Your Route- As you go for a walk or run, the app maps your route, saves it and provide useful information such about each saved route such as the amount of miles that you took and the estimated amount of calories that you burned on the route.
• Audio Feedback - A significant amount of energy is lost, when you walk at the wrong cadence. It's audio feedback features can help to improve form, cadence and stride

Cons

• Disruptive Ads - Many users have complained about the influx of ads which tend to disturb them as they're running or trying to listen to music.
• GPS Accuracy - One of the more profound issues users have noted is that the GPS mapping is far from accurate.
• Paywall - Even though the app is free and MVP users are able to use the app to track various activities, some of the most important features are locked behind a paywall. For instance, in order for you to fully maximize your running and walking sessions, your heart rate needs to be at 80% of your maximum heart rate level. While the app features a heart rate monitor, this is locked behind a paywall.

Conclusion

Fitness apps like Map My Run can help to track your routes, speed, heart rate and distances while hiking, running, cycling or walking. Even though the app provides a vast amount of features, many of them are stuck behind a paywall. While its pricing structure may seem fair, many other runners' apps only require a one-time fee to access their full list of features as opposed to a recurring subscription fee. On the other hand, individuals who have no problem committing to a subscription service will be able to get an extensive list of premium features such as a calorie counter, advanced audio feedback, its live tracking feature and more. When it's all said and done the app is a tad bit pricey, considering the fact that you can get the same kind of features elsewhere, at a more cost efficient rate.