Garmin and Strava finally agree on something – 2026 will be the year fitness changes direction

As the year wraps, both Garmin and Strava have published their annual data reports. Viewed together, they tell a far more interesting story than either does alone.

Garmin’s numbers show what people actually did with their bodies in 2025. Strava’s report shows why they did it and what social and psychological forces drove the miles.

Reading both, a clear trend appears: fitness is diversifying faster than anyone expected, and 2026 may be the year the industry finally stops thinking in neat categories like “runner,” “cyclist,” or “gym-goer”.

Garmin recorded an 8% rise in total activity logged this year, fuelled by big jumps in strength workouts, HIIT, Pilates and racket sports.

Strava, meanwhile, saw running stay on top, but walking surged into second place, with younger athletes driving race participation and lifting weights for aesthetics more than performance.

Layered together, they show a global community that’s moving more often, in more ways, for more reasons.

The scatter of new rituals

Both datasets show the same thing from different angles, namely that hybrid athletes are now the norm.

On Strava, over half of users recorded multiple sports across the year, with those on year-long streaks four times more likely to log three or more different disciplines.

Garmin’s side of the picture mirrors this, showing a 45% rise in HIIT workouts logged, a 46% uptick in Pilates sessions, and an impressive 67% surge in racket sports-related activities.

Running remains the global favourite on Strava, but walking has become the silent giant of 2025, owing to its greater accessibility and sustainability. Garmin’s rising daily step counts corroborate this shift.

However, what’s interesting is the psychology behind it. Walking hits the sweet spot between fitness and mental reset, and younger athletes use it as social glue.

Strava notes that Gen Z sees exercise as a primary way to meet people, with more than half expecting to use Strava more next year.

The iron aesthetic

One of the sharpest parallels between the two reports is the rise of weight training.

Garmin saw strength sessions jump 29%, while Strava shows a generational split.

Gen Z is twice as likely as Gen X to name weight training as their main sport, and 61% say they lift for aesthetics first.

The same group uses Strava as the one app they expect to use more in 2026 while dialling back on everything else.

Anti-doomscrolling, community events, club-led workouts and even running-club romance all show that exercise is becoming a key part of social identity.

Predicting next year becomes surprisingly easy once the two datasets are stitched together.

People will walk more, lift more, mix more sports and anchor more of their social life around movement.

They will want wearables that understand variability, not rigidity, and apps that feel like clubs, not spreadsheets.

They’ll expect metrics that reflect the full cycle of their lives, from sleep and recovery to aesthetics and community.

If 2025 was the year fitness broadened, 2026 is shaping up to be the year it belongs everywhere, including your social life, your wardrobe, your commute and your recovery routine.

And as both Strava and Garmin show, the era of the single-sport athlete is fading fast.

You can read the 2025 Garmin Connect Data Report here.

You can read the Strava 2025 Annual Year in Sport Trend Report here.