Under Armour is bulking up on mobile by enabling consumers to easily manage their health and activity levels via a new digital data network that syncs with the brand?s mobile application as well as third-party devices.

The sports clothing and accessories retailer is launching the UA Record app to help connect customers to their digital communities and offer quick access to fitness goals, from getting a certain amount of sleep each night to burning calories through exercise. Under Armour recognizes that users appreciate support when working towards physical or mental goals, prompting the brand to offer the ability to share content such as workout stories and videos within the app.

?With wearables getting more and more popular, the next stage of growth for them is really to make them ?social? enabled,? said Vivek Agrawal, vice president of mobile solutions at Skava, San Francisco. ?Most fitness enthusiasts have wearables and beginning of year is the perfect time for such a platform.  

"It will be a great boost for UA?s image and is a great way to gamify fitness awareness."

Mr. Agrawal is not affiliated with Under Armour, but agreed to comment as an expert.

Data features
UA Record, which is available for download for iOS and Android platforms, creates a visual dashboard of customers? data by syncing thousands of fitness tracking mobile apps and devices onto its digital platform. These data features include GPS activity tracking from third-party devices and mobile sensors, analysis based on individual workouts and a total view of overall progress, such as steps taken, calories burned and weight lost.

Users of the app can invite up to 20 friends to join their network and compete in personalized fitness and health challenges created for specific goals. Members can partake in challenges based on total distance, calories burned, total steps and workout count.

The in-app competitions can take place daily, weekly or monthly, and offer real-time updates, a conversation forum for all network participants and leaderboard progress information.

Consumers can connect to an activity tracking device to activate the 24/7 Activity Graph function, which offers an overview of workouts, steps and sleep levels. Users can sync with the iPhone 5s, 6 or 6 Plus, or use a third party device such as the Jawbone UP, Withings Pulse or Garmin GPS watch.

Shareable content
The UA Record app encourages customers to interact with their digital communities for support in fulfilling health achievements. Consumers may select to share their personal photos and stories to inspire and help others.

Users also receive in-app access to exclusive content developed by health and fitness experts on training techniques, nutrition, injury prevention and more.

Individuals using the MapMyFitness app can also access the UA Record digital platform. The app has a slew of updates planned for 2015, focusing on enhancing the platform?s personalization and connectivity options.

UA Record will soon enable users to incorporate customized feedback and partake in health assessments within the app as well.

?Mobile these days are is the way most consumers go about doing things along with their daily routines,? Mr. Agrawal said. ?Be it commerce, productivity tasks or even fitness mobile is integral to one?s lifestyle. 

?All wearables leverage mobile for enabling interactions and bringing the social aspect to fitness using this platform is a great way not only to increase adoption but also an incentive for people to stick to their health related New Year resolutions.

?I think what UA has done here will set the industry standard and soon will become table stakes for most other fitness brands,? he said.

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York