How to start and monitor a workout on Apple Watch

One of the highlight features of the new Apple Watch is its fitness tracking abilities, which lets users track movement throughout the day, keep tabs on wellness goals and monitor specific workout routines.

To start a new workout session on Apple Watch, navigate to the Workout app.

Upon opening the app, users will be presented with a list of workouts from an Outdoor Walk to Rowing. There is also an other option if your workout does not fit into these categories. Tap the workout that best fits your routine.

Next you will choose a goal for your workout. Options are a calorie goal, time, distance, or OPEN with no goal specified. Once the goal is set, tap the Start button.

A short countdown will display on the Watch and the workout will begin.

During a workout, users can track calories burned, distance traveled, elapsed time, and take a heart rate measurement.

To end a workout, Force Touch by firmly pressing the screen.

A summary of your workout will be displayed with a percentage of completion and other stats.

Scroll to the bottom of this screen and choose to either Save or Discard the workout session.

Saved workouts and trends can be seen in the Activity app on your iPhone, while fitness data is automatically stored in the Health app.

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12 Comments

ajbdtc826

said about 8 years ago

Can someone let me know if they've been able to sync this with Nike+ (not sure if it's even possible). The Nike+ app for the Watch is terribly slow and was really distracting by not having a convenient interface while running. Music cut out, watch rarely turned on without having to tap it. Then again, Nike's always been bad with their UIs.

maestro64

said about 8 years ago

Does it track everyday activity or do you have to go into the fitness app for it to track your walking and such. It is not clear if it does or does not.

matrix07

said about 8 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maestro64

Does it track everyday activity or do you have to go into the fitness app for it to track your walking and such. It is not clear if it does or does not.

The Watch will track every day activity. It will even add brisk activities as exercise. You only use Workout when you want to record an exercise by session, or want to exercise by goal.

In the end, all the data will be recorded to the same place, Health app on iPhone.

anantksundaram

said about 8 years ago

This is a somewhat puzzlingly designed app from Apple. Too many swipes back and forth required to get to relevant info. I wish there was a simple way to toggle between screens (distance, bpm, time elapsed, calories, etc) -- e.g., a double-tap. I am not sure I trust the numbers it puts out. I noticed that that the number of calories are about half those shown by the (fairly) high end treadmill at my gym. Then I saw what the problem was: The Watch records about half the distance as the machine does. I am fairly certain that the machine is closer to the truth. bpm numbers fluctuate wildly (from the upper 80s to the 150s and back) -- trust me, I do not have arrhythmia! The bpm also takes a while to register, much longer than the machine. That's a bit annoying when all one wants is a quick glance. Also, it would be nice if the Workout app was coordinated with the Activity app. It's just not clear how they are coordinated (for example, I spent 45 minutes at the gym today, yet the Activity app registered only a few minutes of it).

bageljoey

said about 8 years ago

[quote name="anantksundaram" url="/t/186114/how-to-start-and-monitor-a-workout-on-apple-watch#post_2719617"]This is a somewhat puzzlingly designed app from Apple. Too many swipes back and forth required to get to relevant info. I wish there was a simple way to toggle between screens (distance, bpm, time elapsed, calories, etc) -- e.g., a double-tap. I am not sure I trust the numbers it puts out. I noticed that that the number of calories are about half those shown by the (fairly) high end treadmill at my gym. Then I saw what the problem was: The Watch records about half the distance as the machine does. I am fairly certain that the machine is closer to the truth. bpm numbers fluctuate wildly (from the upper 80s to the 150s and back) -- trust me, I do not have arrhythmia! The bpm also takes a while to register, much longer than the machine. That's a bit annoying when all one wants is a quick glance. Also, it would be nice if the Workout app was coordinated with the Activity app. It's just not clear how they are coordinated (for example, I spent 45 minutes at the gym today, yet the Activity app registered only a few minutes of it).[/quote] Well, this is more than a little disturbing! One of the things that helped push me over the edge to getting an Apple Watch (Sport) was my faith that Apple would get the fitness tracking down in an awesome package. Clearly, they got the awesome package right. I hope that the fitness tracking issues are mostly fixable with software updates... I suppose I could handle the Watch giving me different calorie counts than the equipment at the gym--I've never known what to do with the 850 calories "burned" information from the exercise bike. I guess as long as it is consistent so I can compare workouts rationally, that would be a plus. Currently, I work out at three different gyms. I ride the same model bike at each. They are so differently callibrated that they give calories burned totals that are 40% off for equivelant workouts... I assume the Watch will cut through that...