As the world of social media spirals into a cesspit of negativity, trolling and general gloominess, there has been an exception to the rule: Strava. It's the remedy to the rampant doomscrolling that we've allowed to creep into our lives. It's also the perfect tonic to not only escape it, but to make yourself physically and mentally healthier.
It was initially launched as a fitness app in 2009 for serious athletes and weekend warriors to record their running and cycling routes via GPS data. It works on a “freemium” model where you get a basic amount of stats for free and a tonne more with an annual subscription for $60 – and both come with a social feed.
Fast-forward to 2021 and it has become an integral tool to track all manner of fitness activities. Swimming, weightlifting, yoga – there isn't much it doesn't cover. It also spawned the tongue-in-cheek phrase: "If it's not on Strava, did it really happen?"
I’ve had a Strava account for a while, but only started using it frequently in the past 12 months. I’m not alone, as the app saw an incredible upsurge in subscribers and fitness activities in 2020 as more and more people used the pandemic to up their fitness game.
Personally, gamifying my exercise with the little digital trophies you get for setting personal bests is the easiest way to get me off the sofa. That little dopamine hit keeps me coming back for more – it’s all very Pavlovian. But much more than this, I’ve found the unequivocal positivity of the Strava community to be key in pushing me to loftier fitness goals.
Comments underneath my workouts, rides or runs fall into two categories: congratulatory or encouraging. You can type out a description of how your exercise went without fear of some troll jumping in with something negative. It genuinely feels like we’re all helping to motivate each other without exception.
I've gone from riding solo around Al Qudra cycle track, to having a number of people I can call on to join me
Injury and rehab advice, too, is dished out by those with a similar experience. A great example of this is when I damaged my Achilles tendon. A virtual friend read my description and asked for my WhatsApp number. They then sent me the name and contact details of a consultant in Dubai who I was able to make an appointment with that same day. A scan and diagnosis later, and I had a full treatment plan that helped me recover. I dare not think of the "advice" I'd have received from a random stranger on Twitter.
And that's the other thing – lots of these connections on Strava have led to real-life friendship groups offline, too. I've gone from riding solo around Al Qudra Cycle Track, to having a number of people I can call on to join me. I'm also in a few cycling WhatsApp groups made up of people who not only ride together, but also socialise off the bike. This includes a "cake ride", where most of the participants meet up for a big cycle and then bring homemade cakes and treats out afterwards.
I can’t recall a single time this has happened with any other social network.
So I find myself drawn to Strava each morning to see what everyone has achieved the previous day. I’ll stop and “like” every single effort, and will even drop a comment on notable achievements, because this is what my small group of followers do for me and it works wonders for my motivation. It doesn’t matter if it’s simply a walk to the shops and back or a 100-kilometre bike ride, there’s always a positive response that follows.
But if you’re more of an introvert, you don’t have to become part of these fitness groups. Many people exercise alone, but finding the motivation to continue when you’re not seeing tangible progress either in the mirror or on the scales can be tough. I have a friend who used to go for a walk every other week and record it to Strava. However, they’ve recently upped it to daily walks, increasing in distance, and admitted that gaining a few “likes” on each workout is providing the fuel to spur them on.
One final thing that adds to the Strava experience is the end-of-year wrap-up. If you’ve ever had a subscription to Spotify or Apple Music, you’ll be well aware of these. They give you an annual breakdown of what song you listened to the most, favourite genre and so on. But with Strava, it packages together all of your exercises and achievements in a handy infographic that you can screenshot and share. Sure, it can certainly look like bragging – especially when shared across networks other than Strava – but there was plenty of praise in the WhatsApp groups for each person’s round-ups.
It’s too easy to be sucked in by the negativity of various social networks – and that serves no purpose other than to simply put you in a bad mood. By switching my morning routine away from all that and simply congratulating my virtual friends for their physical efforts – and vice versa – it has really helped me to kick each day off in the best possible way.
if you go
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Champions parade (UAE timings)
7pm Gates open
8pm Deansgate stage showing starts
9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral
9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street
10pm City players on stage
11pm event ends
DAY%20ONE%20RESULT
%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Charlotte%20Kool%20(NED)%20%E2%80%93%20Team%20DSM%3A%202hrs%2C%2047min%2C%2014sec%3Cbr%3E2.%20Lorena%20Wiebes%20(NED)%20%E2%80%93%20Team%20SD%20Worx%3A%20%2B4%20secs%3Cbr%3E3.%20Chiara%20Consonni%20(ITA)%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20Team%20ADQ%3A%20%2B5%20secs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
