A few weeks ago I bought a new tracker: Moov Now which I have been testing. And so far, it’s been a pretty good experience. In this post I’ll tell you about my experience with the Running Workouts.
As a runner, you can choose from a variety of workouts, all with a different goal. Running Efficiency lets you run farther and easier, while Sprint Intervals pushes you to your limits. There’s HIIT Running, Speed Endurance and Brisk Walking. All workouts have different levels, which you set before you start. You can also run your own way with Open Training.
I have tried all of them. You’ll need to use head phones with your run so you can benefit from the real-time coaching. If you are running indoors, you can activate Treadmill before you start your Workout, which allows you to add your distance when you’re done.
Some people complained about the mechanical coaching voice, but I did not find it unpleasant or distracting. When you start running, you’ll get feedback from Moov every 2 minutes or so. The coach will tell you how your perform against your distance and speed target and occasionally give you advice on form “your impact is too high, land softer” or how many steps per minute you run, so you can quicken or lower your pace. I found that I especially liked the form advice because it reminds me to watch my posture (shoulders straight, arms at the right angle).
After you choose your target and level, Moov constantly evaluates your running performance. I started out on a lower level for my first run and pretty soon the coach made recommendations to move to a higher level, which I did and made the experience more enjoyable.
There are 2 ways to track a free run. You can run with your Moov and without the iPhone. In that case Moov will track your activity but not your distance. You can also run with iPhone and active Open Training. I am a bit ambivalent about this last program because it was not always 100% reliable during my runs.
The other area of improvement is when you complete a defined Workout and you don’t want to stop running, the tracking gets unpredictable. In some cases, Moov added a new interval to the workout (so #4 to a series of 3) and continued the program. In other cases Moov coach suggested to change to a different level and then started to switch between levels, which I found distracting so I had to stop.
What I would consider a big improvement is if Moov would sound out your target cadence in beats. You will get your pace data delivered during your run, but if your target is 180bpm and you run 190bpm, it would be great if you could hear the correct beat so you can adapt your stride. You obviously can combine Moov with your Music list, but sometimes I want to run without music.
The comments don’t take away from the fact that I enjoy running with Moov and I find that the workouts are challenging and motivating, especially the intervals. If you’re in the market for a running tracker, you don’t want to buy another watch and you could benefit from coaching, Moov is the tracker for you.
Happy Running!
