Results can be thought of as a souped-up on-demand service for workout videos. Subscribing to the $50-per-year premium tier and taking a brief fitness test nets you a 12-week workout plan built from a library of more than 120 12-45 minute fat-burning, waist-trimming, and strength-building routines, none of which Runtastic says require specialized equipment. You also get a few other (potentially) motivating bonuses: periodic check-ins to assess your progress, access to Runtastic’s discussion forums, and a personalized weekly nutrition guide.
The more frugal users among the Runtastic community aren’t being left in the cold, though. The app itself’s a free download for iOS and Android users. And while free users have to put up with the inconvenience of manually updating their workout stats, they get access to a rotating selection of standalone sessions.
Results is available starting today from the App Store and Google Play.
Results is only the newest service in Runtastic’s growing, veritable ecosystem of apps, services, and hardware. Since being acquired by Adidas for $240 million late last summer, the company’s partnered with Jawbone to integrate with the company’s UP fitness-tracking app. And it launched the Moment, an activity- and sleep-tracking wearable designed by watchmaker Georg Krippl, in early September.
The pace of innovation may sound relentless, but it increasingly passes for normalcy in the cutthroat fitness sphere. Athletics accessories maker Under Armour purchased activity and diet trackers MyFitnessPal and Endomondo for a total of $475 million in Februrary and has since launched a premium service. Meanwhile, Misfit, Fitbit, Garmin, Microsoft, and half a dozen other wearable makers vie for limited real estate on fitness enthusiasts’ wrists.
Time will tell whether Runtastic’s apps, which now number more than 15, are any more effective than the myriad of other services out there. But if you wake up one morning to find the ‘ol belt a bit tighter around the waist than usual, they probably couldn’t hurt.
