8 Apple Watch fitness tips to help you hit your goals
Making new habits isn’t easy at any time of the year, but it’s especially tough to get active when the weather is as miserable as it is in January. Let’s be honest, working out is the last thing many of us want to be thinking about, but we still all know that the little things we do every day can add up to make a real difference.
Whether you just want to move a bit more, be more consistent with those yoga classes or start running in the morning, the best tech can support your fitness goals. Fitness watches can give us valuable insights to keep us on track, providing step count, sleep data, active heart rate readings and more. And while there are many great options available on the market, we recommend Apple Watches for iPhone users looking for simplicity, accessibility and performance.
It’s now been almost 10 years since the first Apple Watch launched, and the brand's range of wearables remain some of the best smartwatches and fitness trackers you can buy. If you’re looking to invest in one to support your new year fitness goals, and are wondering how to interpret all that data, which features are best if you've got limited time to exercise, and how your Apple Watch can help keep you motivated, we've got all the answers from Apple's Vice President of Fitness Technologies himself, Jay Blahnik.
We caught up with him to find out the how an Apple Watch can help us get fitter, and how the brand's approach to fitness has changed over time. Here are some top tips.
1. Start small
Remember that drastic changes can be overwhelming and you’re much more likely to build sustainable habits if you start out small.
Jay explains that users should find value and usefulness in their Apple Watch every day as it's designed to “meet you where you're at” thanks to its Activity rings, which measure your active kilocalories, your exercise minutes, and whether you’ve stood up each hour.
“The Exercise ring is giving you credit for every minute you do that's a brisk walk or greater,” Jay says. “So it doesn't require you to have to start a workout or go to the gym or actually change clothes; you can actually just get credit for taking the stairs, walking a little bit faster on your way home from a friend's house, or even a short walk around the office.”
2. Don’t be too hard on yourself
If you put yourself under too much pressure too quickly, it can lead to burnout and demotivation. We recommend using the functionality on the Apple Watch to pause your rings and maintain your streaks when you need a break, and build in rest days to recover, swapping a big workout for a walk.
Jay spoke a lot to us about how the Apple Watch experience is made to be welcoming, inclusive, motivating and useful. It’s worth remembering that you don’t always need to find the time for a dedicated workout. “The experience gets smarter over time, so even if you don't know how much you're going to move, if you set up the rings for that first week, even if you set your goals lower, the watch will start to recommend goals that are in line with what you're actually doing,” he says.
“So many people tell us that their dog walks get a little bit longer, they sometimes walk a little bit faster, or they take the stairs because they can accumulate that 30 minutes of exercise throughout the day.”
3. Take your time to set up the watch
Letting the watch work in the background is one of the most helpful things you can do, no matter which model you choose. It works so seamlessly with your iPhone that it’s worth taking the time to limit the number of notifications it receives, set up Apple Pay for convenient contactless payments, and load it up both with the apps you’ll want for your health and fitness, and the ones that’ll help you manage your schedule and reminders.
“What we find so motivating is that [the Apple Watch] can sit quietly on your wrist and be really integrated into your routine, providing you with great features as a fitness companion, but also being really useful throughout your day,” Jay says.
“What I would recommend to anyone buying their first Apple Watch is to take the time to set it up in a way that really focuses on the things that matter to you. That includes the elements you might love, like Messages or Apple Pay, but also the fitness features specifically.”
Once it’s all set up, the watch will automatically track your daily activities without demanding constant attention. As you get into the habit of wearing it each day, it will record your steps, heart rate and active minutes. Over time, you’ll get used to wearing it and step up to more focused fitness tracking.
It’s important to remember that the gadget isn’t designed only for advanced sportspeople. “We've really pushed hard to make sure that we're releasing features for the recreational athlete, the person who's just getting up and moving, all the way up to that more pro-consumer who's looking for deep features,” Jay adds.
4. Set specific and achievable goals
While you’re taking that time to set up your watch, think hard about personalising the goals you set within the activity rings for movement, exercise and standing each hour.
“I think for all of us, it’s human nature to set really big lofty goals, but there's real power in setting things that are achievable and having success and consistency,” Jay says. “The Apple Watch is designed around that to say that everything counts and if you can just close your rings for a week and then move it to a month, you can progress to something more consistent.”
If you don’t think you'll be able to stand 12 times an hour, set a goal you think you’ll be able to hit. You can always change it later! And, you can even set different goals for different days of the week. If you know you’re going to have a yoga class every Wednesday, you can maybe be a bit more ambitious with your targets for that day.
Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)
Apple Watch Series 10
Apple Watch Ultra 2
5. Consider activity sharing to boost motivation
It won't work for everyone but some people find a lot of motivation in accountability. Within the Fitness app, you can choose to share your activity data with close friends or a partner who also has an Apple Watch. You may find it helpful for staying connected, trying to outdo each other, or just cheering one another on.
6. Use stand reminders
Hitting the stand goal is a key part of the watch's activity rings system, as evidence shows that sitting down for too long can have a negative impact on your health.
While everyone will need different numbers of breaks from prolonged sitting, something we really like about the Apple Watch is the reminder to get up and stand if you’ve got through 50 minutes of the hour without getting out of your chair.
It’s a simple prompt that you might end up seeing often, especially if you work at a desk like we do, but it’s always a useful reminder to get up, stretch a bit and walk around.
7. Celebrate your victories
One thing that’s great about having an Apple Watch is how you’ll get little rewards and virtual trophies for your successes. These include monthly challenges, activity streaks, Limited Edition challenges (such as an Earth Day Challenge or Heart Month Challenge to close your exercise ring or work out for a certain amount of time on a specific day) and records (like burning your most kilocalories ever on a walk).
It’s worth taking note of each of these milestones and recognising the work you’ve put in to hit them. The achievement badges don’t disappear either; you can always see everything you’ve earned – and your progress towards future goals – in the Activity app on your Apple Watch or iPhone.
“We hear every day from users that tell us that they're on their 20th marathon and the watch continues to be their partner but we also hear from people who say they started by closing their rings and at first they got excited by doing it for one day and then one week and then wanted to get a perfect month,” Jay says. “And now they’ve created consistency in their life and they haven't turned into an elite athlete, but they've seen weight loss, they're more mobile, and they're doing more active things.”
8. Try Apple Fitness+
Launched in December 2020, you might think Apple Fitness+ is only for home exercise, but it’s also designed to be used in the gym. The service offers a variety of workouts guided by professional trainers, and is suitable for all fitness levels. There’s a lot that’s worthwhile about it, including the option to start with shorter sessions and increase the duration when you feel comfortable, and the fact the Apple Watch syncs with Fitness+ to give you real-time metrics during your workouts.
Jay told us Apple Fitness+ has helped him fit in shorter yoga sessions around his routine. “I've always loved yoga, and now I'm doing a 10-minute yoga session at the end of almost every gym workout (which I do four to five times a week). I do it in 10 minute increments. I feel like I've become a yogi because I've been able to fit it in more often.”
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