Increase Motivation to Work Out with LIVE Cheering in Your adidas Running App

There are many different motivating factors for different individuals at different fitness levels. Those who haven’t been active for a while are perhaps motivated by needing a healthier lifestyle overall. Others, like professional athletes for example, are perhaps more motivated by needing to stay on top of their game. In the end, motivation, whatever it may be, is very likely the key reason for someone to get up from that comfortable couch and get moving.

Another important aspect of motivation is feedback. Nowadays, we tend to publicize our lives on social media. We do so, intentionally or not, for accountability and feedback. Here at Runtastic, we want to leverage this in a positive manner by allowing your friends to give you immediate positive reinforcement during your workout. We’ve found this to be an incredibly powerful motivator.

Just like the person standing on the sidelines during a marathon race to cheer you on, giving you an extra boost, Runtastic LIVE Cheering allows for the same effect from your connections all over the world – in real time.

LIVE CHEERING – HOW DO I ENABLE IT

To enable Live Cheering, you need to let your friends and family on social media know that you are actually moving. Thus, the first step is to log into the adidas Running app with Facebook on iOS or G+ on Android. If you are already a member of Runtastic using your email address, you may connect to your social media through the Settings menu inside the app.

To connect Facebook to your Runtastic account, we will request to access your basic information – nothing more. This includes your picture, your age, gender and email.

Lastly, LIVE Tracking needs to be enabled in the Activity Setup Panel. Once started, your LIVE activity will be posted on your Runtastic News Feed as well as on your Facebook News Feed (if permitted). When starting a LIVE Tracking activity for the first time, you will be asked if you want to share it on social media, too. If you do wish to share on social media, we will also ask for permission to post on your wall – which is what enables your friends to see that you are LIVE. This decision can always be revised in the Activity Setup settings later. The shared link lets your connections on social media, and of course Runtastic, know that you are currently out exercising.

_{LIVE Tracking on iOS and Android}

What happens now?

Once you start a workout, we post a little message on your Facebook news feed to let your friends and family know that you are LIVE. Additionally, your friends will receive a push message when you’re LIVE letting them know they can cheer you on! They may now “Like” this post on Facebook or even open up your LIVE activity and select from a range of cheers. We will pass on every Like and every cheer to your phone, so that you can hear it as it happens. All you need to do is ensure that you have an active data connection – we take care of the rest.

Now if you haven’t been very active with the friends feature in the Runtastic community, remember you can always search for friends from your contact list in the Profile tab.

It’s like having your best friends right by your side to push you further and to keep you going. Even if they are half way across the globe, enabling LIVE Cheering allows them to partake in your journey to a healthy life right when it matters most. So, get out there and show them how it is done!

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