Strava's New Strength Muscle Maps: What They Mean for Runners Who Lift

Strava now turns every logged strength session into a muscle map, a front and back body diagram that shades the muscle groups you trained, and since September it shades them brighter the more sets you complete. For runners who lift, that is a quick way to check whether your gym work covers the muscles that keep you running, but it shows what you did, not what you should do next. Here is what changed, how the shading works, and how to balance running and lifting in a normal week.

What did Strava change for strength training?

On 21 May 2026, Strava announced an overhaul of its strength experience. The update added a workout log for recording sets, reps and weight, a muscle map generated automatically from the exercises you log, five new strength shareables, and 14 partner integrations at launch, including Garmin, COROS, WHOOP, Runna, Hevy, Fitbod and JEFIT. Strava said the changes would roll out globally over the following weeks, and described strength as one of its fastest-growing sport types.

The muscle map first appeared earlier in the year, when Strava said in March 2026 that it was testing the feature and rolling it out to everyone. Then, in its update of 15 September 2026, Strava said muscle groups now shade brighter based on the sets you complete, so your hardest-worked muscles stand out after a session. The same update added three more strength apps that sync with Strava: Lyfta, Gravl and Hybrd.

Strava has not described the workout log or muscle maps as subscriber-only, and they are not on its list of subscription features at the time of writing. Features and tiers can change, so check what your own account shows.

How does the Strava muscle map work?

The map appears on Weight Training, Workout, HIIT and CrossFit activities, where it takes the place of the route map at the top of the activity. Strava builds it from exercise-level data, which can come from three places:

• A connected partner app or device that sends exercise names, sets, reps and weight. Some apps need this switched on in their own settings.
• Automatic detection on some devices, including select Garmin watches. You can correct anything it gets wrong in the workout log.
• Manual entry. Add exercises from Strava's exercise library, type in your sets, reps and weight, and the map is generated when you save.

According to Strava's help pages, shading is based on the number of working sets for each muscle group, not the weight you lifted or your reps. There are four levels (not worked, light, medium and full), and the muscle group you worked most is the darkest. When an exercise uses more than one muscle, the main muscle gets full credit for each set and the supporting muscles get half. A squat, for example, gives full credit to your quads and half to your glutes and hamstrings.

Alongside the map, each strength activity shows total sets and total volume (weight multiplied by reps, added up across your sets), plus time, calories and heart rate where available. Edit the log and the totals and map update. Exercises Strava cannot match to a muscle group stay in your log but are left off the map, and if there is no exercise data at all, you simply will not get a map.

On privacy, Strava says its strength shareables respect your privacy settings, and you can hide the muscle map, volume or weight on an activity if you would rather keep them to yourself.

What does the muscle map not tell you?

It is a good picture of where your sets went. It is not a measure of how hard the session was, or whether it was the right session for that day. A few things to keep in mind:

• Sets, not effort. A heavy set of five and an easy set of fifteen count the same, and the map cannot tell whether you stopped two reps short of your limit or twenty.
• It only knows what you log. Miss an exercise, or log a circuit as one block, and the map will not match what you actually did.
• Your runs are not on it. The map belongs to strength-type activities, so the work your calves, quads and glutes do on a long run is not shaded anywhere.
• It does not plan anything. A bright map says a muscle group got plenty of sets. It does not say whether your legs are ready for Saturday's long run.

None of that makes the map less useful. It just means it works best as a check on your training, not a guide to it.

Why should runners who lift pay attention?

Most runners start lifting to feel stronger on their feet and handle more running, and the muscles that matter most for that are often the ones that get skipped. Hamstrings, glutes, calves, hips and core all work hard on every run, yet a typical gym session can easily end up as squats, a few upper-body moves and not much else.

This is where a weekly look at your muscle maps earns its place. If your calves and hamstrings never shade, that is a gap worth filling with moves like calf raises, Romanian deadlifts or glute bridges. If your quads hit full every session while your upper back stays grey, your routine may be lopsided. Our guide to the best strength exercises for runners breaks down which moves cover which muscles.

The hybrid angle matters too. Strava pitched the update at people who mix running, lifting and classes in the same week. For them, the hard part is not logging the work. It is arranging it so the lifting helps the running instead of getting in its way.

How do you balance running and lifting in the same week?

UK guidelines recommend strengthening activities on at least 2 days a week, and two sessions is a sensible starting point for most runners. The bigger question is where they go. A few simple rules help:

• Keep heavy leg sessions away from key runs. Where you can, leave a day or two between hard lower-body work and your intervals or long run.
• Go easy the day after leg day. An easy run, rest or some mobility work fits well here.
• If you do both on one day, do the priority first. Run first if the run matters most that day.
• Keep lifting in big running weeks, just do less. Fewer sets keeps the habit without leaving your legs heavy.
• Progress slowly. Add a set or a little weight at a time, not both at once.

Here is what a simple week could look like for a runner who lifts twice, and what your Strava feed might show each day.

Notice the pattern: the brightest leg day sits two days before the quality run, and the second strength session sits two days before the long run. If your week looks different, the same idea applies. For more on spacing, see our guide on how to balance running and lifting in one week.

How can you use the muscle map without letting it run your training?

• Look weekly, not session by session. One workout does not need to light up everything.
• Spot the grey areas. A muscle group that never shades over two weeks is a gap to fill.
• Do not chase full shading. More sets is not automatically better, especially in a heavy running week.
• Log completely. The map can only reflect the exercises and sets you record.
• Check your privacy settings before you share, if you would rather keep your weights private.
• Pair it with a plan, so you know what the next session should be, not just what the last one was.

How does Edge plan running and lifting together?

Strava is a great record of what you have done. Edge is built to plan what comes next. Edge treats running, strength, HIIT and mobility as one plan, so your leg days and key runs are set out around each other rather than juggled across separate apps.

Edge is free to use, and Edge Pro gives you a fully personalised plan, ready within 24 hours, with a real coach you can message anytime, for example to ask whether to move a leg session before a race. Edge Pro is from £19.99 a month with a 7-day free trial, which needs a card to start. Edge syncs with Strava, Garmin, Apple Health and Coros, so you can keep Strava as your feed and keep enjoying your muscle maps. Edge has 20,000+ members, and if you are weighing the two apps, our Edge vs Strava comparison covers the differences in detail.

Strava features, integrations and subscription tiers change, so check the app for current details. Accurate at the time of writing.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.